Holistic health

Holistic health is a concept in medical practice upholding that all aspects of people's needs, psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole. As defined above, the holistic view on treatment is widely accepted in medicine. A different definition, claiming that disease is a result of physical, emotional, spiritual, social and environmental imbalance, is used in alternative medicine.

Alternative medicine

In alternative medicine, it is believed that the spiritual aspect should also be taken into account when assessing a person's overall well-being. This spiritual aspect is claimed not to be associated with any religious ideology.

Holistic health practices

Some of the practices of alternative holistic health include, but are not limited to:

• natural diet and herbal remedies
• nutritional supplements
• exercise
• relaxation
• psycho-spiritual counseling
• meditation
• breathing exercises
• acupuncture
• homeopathy
• massage therapy - including Chi Nei Tsang

Criticism

There have been no published scientific studies that prove the efficacy, beyond the Placebo Effect, of holistic medicine in treating any known disease. Major medical organizations recommend that if holistic medicine is to be used at all, it should be used only in conjunction with conventional medicine and not as a replacement.

External links

Medical publications

• http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1744-859X-9-S1-S35.pdf
• http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/holistic-medicine

Alternative publications

• http://www.ahha.org/
• http://www.jstor.org/stable/3560273

Holistic health resources

• http://www.holistic-community.co.uk
• http://www.holistic-alternative-practioners.com/