Comparing Systems Of Medicine - Westernized Medicine Vs. Alternative Medicine

What is wellness?

According to the World Health Organization wellness, “is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This is not a measurement you are likely to nail down in one neat package. So figuring out what systems of medicine to use is a hard choice if you only consider one way of looking at it.

Each System Produces Data

In 2005 there was an article about the correlation between Chiropractic care and the levels of serum thiol. Serum thiol is a tool that is used to measure your body’s ability to heal its own DNA. Although this test is not completely inclusive it does give a good estimate of the overall potential for wellness. It does not actually indicate wellness. The research compared the clinical result of the thiol with ratings of wellness as a result of chiropractic care. In general the relationship between high levels of thiol in the serum correlated to high levels of wellness as it was perceived by the patients. What is it that the data really tells us?

While this paper does show a strong connection between these tests it is only anecdotal. This can only show an anecdotal relationship because the data does not really have a one-to-one relationship. The data is not the same type of measurement and therefore cannot speak directly to the relationship between the two. It does show statistically how often levels occur high on both tests. If these levels are both high at the same time we know that they are likely to indicate wellness. This is a lot like testing soil. When the chemistry is right, there is an environment that is conducive to getting healthy plants. It does not guaranty healthy plants however.

A Difference In Perspective

It is hard to find a common perspective for tests measuring clinical levels of a substance to a subjective rating of wellness. It starts to become clear that finding wellness for ourselves is a lifelong process of learning. We have to consider our condition and what various systems of medicine provide us to individually address our wellness. We must look at a number of factors which may include trial and error to figure it out. We can compare systems of medicine based on the outcomes in overall wellness. There are challenges to understanding what tools may be best for us.

What makes comparing systems of medicine so hard is often how the systems see things. Some systems of medicine were developed to manage the disease and infirmity in us. In many ways these systems are effective at stabilizing and managing these diseases. Westernized Medicine has been busy over the years developing tools to detect disease. It is not surprising to learn that tests used to detect disease are not particularly effective at testing wellness. The definition of wellness contains not only the lack of disease, but a more completely harmonious state of being. These systems are helpful to alleviate disease in many cases. That certainly contributes to wellness. At lease most of the time.

When A Medicine System Is Not Helpful

There are definite times when these medicines decrease wellness. It would not be helpful to take a medicine that introduced an overall drop in wellness. Sometimes this drop may be due to undesirable side-effects. At other times wellness would not be present without the medicines. We have to understand how to evaluate things based on our needs. There is more than even how our bodies feel to consider.

Social scientists have also looked to apply metrics to wellness with much the same result. In the desire to cure mental disease traditional medical treatment indicated medication to both stabilize and manage the disease. Again this does not measure wellness. It measures how often a person has undesirable mental conditions and what medications are likely to change that state of being. It only addresses chemistry based on diagnosis of disease. Since it only considers one part of a person's illness it can be considered myopic in its approach. It is in many cases an important factor in care but not a complete solution.

A Balanced Approach

The study of peer supported care systems has shown that they support wellness and recovery from mental illness. This data showed that wellness was not limited to any specific facet of their lives. It seems to be better at managing manifestation of disease than medication or therapy alone. Again, for some people medication is an important part of care. So it would be a poor choice to use one and not consider the other.

What systems will you choose?

Comparing Westernized Medicine and Alternative and Complementary Medicine can be a daunting task. The data that is produced from the process of studying them is different. To understand the dynamics of these choices we may consider things like the serum thiol. We can now collect a list of things that work most of the time. This can give us a great place to start. We must begin use other tools to narrow in on the solution that is right for us. Look for the markers that indicate your wellness and combine those into what systems of medicine you choose. This will promote your health and well-being.It is at this point that you can decide, Western vs Alternative Medicine.