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A History of Alternative Medicines PDF Print E-mail
Written by Hk. Raziya A. Mumin   
Sunday, 08 November 2009

By Hk. Raziya A. Mumin
Islamic Post Staff Writer

Kitab al Hawi fi a tibb by Al Razi Copy Completed on 30 November 1094


In 1993, the “New England Journal of Medicine” showed that over one-third of all Americans were choosing alternative medicine over conventional medicine. Alternative medicine, as it is called, has been used throughout the ages. Centuries old remedies have been passed down from generation to generation. Before antibiotics, aspirin, steroids, or even Band-Aids, people instinctively gravitated to natural substances to cure their ills.

Allah, the Most High, has sent us everything, so that we can cure ourselves, physically and spiritually. When humanity’s common father, Adam (peace be upon him), came from Paradise, he brought with him cloves, cardamom and cinnamon; these spices are used to cure many illnesses. Since then, mankind has found cure and preservation of health in natural remedies.

In ancient Mesopotamia, around 2000 B.C., Assyrian and Babylonian medicine had reached high levels of sophistication.  A medical book found, written in their original cuneiform language, Diagnoses in Assyrian and Babylonian Medicine, was nine hundred pages long. This book proved that people living thousands of years ago received what is now referred to as “alternative” health care. The book explains how these ancient physicians were trained as specialists in dentistry, neurology, gynecology, pediatrics and other areas of medicine.  They utilized the medicinal properties of more than three hundred Mesopotamian plants in their treatments.

Other ancient doctors used plants and herbs, men like Hippocrates, (460-377 B.C.), Aristotle (322-384 B.C.), Razes (865-920 A.D.), and of course Avicenna (980-1087 A.D.), with his book Canons of Medicine. In this work, Avicenna –whose actual Arabic name is Ibn Sina– explains how the body works, and the concept of the four humors, which is a method of understanding the source of illness. These men studied how the body functions and used simple remedies to heal. Diet, of course, is always a factor in being healthy.  Simple and easy to digest meals are most important, because digestion is a key factor in good health. There are so many unnatural substances in our diets, and adding synthetic drugs like diet pills, sleeping pills, cough syrups, aspirins and artificial sweeteners, put your health at risk.

Modern medicine has, for the past 800 years or so, been developing the use of unnatural substances to relieve symptoms of illnesses quickly. Scientists studied the natural healing properties within plants and made chemical copies of them. While modern medicine has been very successful in many fields, chemicals are not the best solution on a daily basis. Many chemical medicines have side affects that do more harm than the good of the drug itself. Overuse of drugs in any form tears down the immune system and sets a person up for more illnesses.

Allopathic doctors’ fundamental doctrine was founded on the Hippocratic Oath which states, “Do No Harm.”  But, unfortunately, after so many years of taking drugs for every illness, we have been broken down into a pill-popping society. People stand on line in drug stores trying to buy good health. Pharmaceutical companies reap huge profits as astronomical prices are paid to procure health.

Natural medicines were the first medicine available to man. Why do we then call them alternative?  In many instances you can cure illnesses with onion, garlic, or just drinking more water. Your body is designed to repair, regenerate and renew itself every day, without any help from you.  Your blood cells replenish themselves every 28 days, and grow a completely new liver every 6 months. Each cell in your body is brand new every 7 years.  This self regulating process is called homeostasis.  Alternative medicine supports your body in healing itself  based on a common philosophy: “Treat you, rather than your symptoms.”

There are a number of different alternative therapies to choose from. Do your own research, and seek the truth of comprehensive paths of treating  yourself. There are at least 30 major and minor therapies that have been classified into alternative medicine, and here we will look at a few of them.
The following therapies are called alternative; however, to many people, this is all that is relied on. Allah, the Most High, has given us everything, including many natural ways of curing ourselves. The following information is provided for the reader to review and learn from, for their benefit and knowledge.

1. Ayurveda- Thi is a very popular therapy. It has been practiced for some 5000 years in India. Ayurveda literally means “the science of life.” It is one of the oldest holistic medical systems available on the planet today. The Ayurveda system depends on three basic life forces called doshas, sometimes compared to the humors in Tibb medicine and the Chinese precepts, Yin and Yang. Ayurveda uses herbs, foods, aromas and colors for therapy. Practitioners observe people, take the pulse, and use hands-on tactics to evaluate illnesses. Ayurveda practitioners are all over India, and their methods have been very successful. In the 1600’s, when the British East India Company took control of the subcontinent, Ayurveda practices took a back seat. By 1833, the British banned all Ayurveda medicine and colleges. They then proceeded to open the first Western-style medical university to replace them. At this time, Ayurveda medicine survived only in rural areas, where local doctors treated those who could not afford Western medicine. When India established independence in 1947, Ayurveda medical schools were once again officially accepted and practiced.
2. Acupuncture- This word literally means “needle piercing.” It is a major part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (T.C.M). It existed long before writers started recording medical facts. Stone acupuncture needles were found in tombs in Inner Mongolia. These needles dated back to the Neolithic period (2500). The earliest written account of acupuncture appears in the Yellow Emperors Classic of Internal Medicine, which dates back to around 200 B.C. This is the oldest comprehensive medical text book. In China, acupuncture has been a major part of primary health care for the past 5000 years. It is used to prevent and treat diseases. Trained specialists use finger pressure, massage, or needles on different pressure points of the body. It takes years of study and hands on practice to master this art.
3. Homeopathy – This was developed by Samuel Hahnemann, a German Physician and chemist of the late eighteenth century. Homeopathy and the mainstream medicine, approach to illnesses hail from opposite ends of the spectrum. Homeopathy starts with the study of cures, while conventional medicine begins with the study of disease. Homeopathy begins by looking for cures through the study of the symptoms. In this two hundred year old system of medicine, symptoms are treated with minute quantities of drugs that would normally bring on those very same symptoms. The “law of the similars,” or “like cures like,” is the theory that Samuel Hahneman worked from.

In 1844, the American Institute of Homeopathy was formed; this was the first national medical organization in the country. By the end of the century, there were over 15,000 practitioners and 22 homeopathic schools in the U.S. There are more than 2000 homeopathic remedies in use, all derived from various plants, minerals, animals, or chemical sources. Unani Tibb, Eclectic Medicine, and Naturopathy are three additional therapies which will be discussed in the next edition.
 
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