Wellness Today
Today’s medical consumers are savvier about what good health and healthcare should look like. They are choosing integrative health care over conventional medical care. Consumers want care that combines complementary, holistic, natural, and preventive medicine.
The positive motivation for change comes from feelings of being:
- Misunderstood or unheard by one’s physician
- Prescribed medicines that did not relieve or cure pain and illness
- Sicker due to the toxic side effects of some medications
- Unempowered guinea pigs who accept whatever care is given and
- Discounted and voiceless to the point of experiencing discrimination based on age, race, color, or economic status
Credit: UW Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (UW DFMCH)
Research indicates that choosing Integrative Health Care improves your health. According to the CDC, 30% of Americans use some form of integrative medicine that includes holistic, preventive, alternative, and complementary health care. The Common Health and Wellness Vocabulary defines them as follows:
Holistic Health Care & Wellness: treating the whole person, body, mind, and social self.
Preventive health care: aims to prevent diseases or injuries rather than curing them or treating their symptoms. It includes regular exercise and a balanced diet.
Integrative Medicine: A healing approach that considers the whole person and their lifestyle needs. Integrative medicine combines conventional and alternative therapies to support health.”
Complementary medicine: includes massage, meditation, biofeedback, tai chi, reiki, music therapy, guided imagery, and dietary supplements. Complementary medicine is used along with traditional Western Medicine.
Integrative medicine links to the CDC’s Healthy People 2020 health promotion focus. It aims towards
1) “Attaining high-quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death;
2) Achieving health equity, eliminating disparities, and improving the health of all groups;
3) Creating social and physical environments that promote good health for all; and
4) Promote quality of life, healthy development, and healthy lifestyle behaviors across the life span.”
Three Greater Cleveland Community members discuss their turn to Integrative Health Care:
In her reach to better health, Lucilla Garza said, “I wanted to be more of a participant in my Cancer Care. It was frustrating to be told that chemotherapy was all that I needed. Still, I wanted a doable exercise plan, palatable nutrition, a stress management plan, and contact with others walking the same path,” Lucilla said. “Integrative Health Programming let me achieve my goals. Now, I am recovering and gaining strength!”
Marilyn Porter says, “It is all about how your doctor makes you feel. “I battled with my Doc in refusing to take a Statin for high cholesterol. Then, I saw an ad for the hospital’s new Integrative Medical Center. That was a game-changer. My Integrative medical specialist developed an exercise regimen and changed how I eat. Within six months, my levels were healthy and have remained stable.”
Clinton DeWilde struggled with a lifetime of being overweight. Integrative medicine has given him the tools for weight loss and diabetes management. Clinton is now fit enough to have his double knee replacement. “It’s given me enough willpower to keep moving forward,” he says.
Porter, Garza, and DeWilde know they are central to their medical care and outcomes. Their comments also align with the findings of the Mayo Clinic Guide to Integrative Health Care (2023). This large body of research on alternative approaches to patient care suggests that it is a valid option for improving chronic pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and overall wellness.
Take the Plunge
Most of us get annual physicals. Meanwhile, the daily work of good eating, exercise, and stress management activities takes work to get results. The desire for ongoing better self-care and recovery from a severe illness means scaling up. Naturopathic Doctor Erica Steele (2023) recommends making a gradual transition by:
1. Telling your doctor about wanting to participate actively in your health care.
2. Stressing your interest in learning new skills in relaxation, stress management, fitness, and nutrition.”
3. Jointly reviewing your medical records before making changes
4. Collaborative working between yourself and the health care professionals.
5. “Habit stack,” by adding one new skill at a time.
6. An integration of holistic, complementary, and integrative approaches; and
7. Letting the programming be your motivational springboard.
Northeast Ohio’s two best integrative healthcare resources include:
- Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine, 216-448-4325. Programming addresses patients’ physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs. Services include education, practices, and evidence-based therapies, including acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, and holistic psychotherapy for complex conditions.
- University Hospitals Connor Whole Health 216-260-9164. Offers integrative medicine services that promote attaining optimal health. Essential services include Mindfulness and Meditation, Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Integrative Medicine Consultation, Integrative Oncology, Massage Therapy, Music Therapy, and Research.
Also, check out these new healthcare books and audibles:
- Mayo Clinic Guide to Integrative Medicine, by Brent A. Bauer, M.D.
- The Dr. Sebi Self-Healing Bible: [13 in 1] The Most Updated Herbalist’s Guide to Dr. Sebi Plant-Based Alkaline Diet and Non-Toxic Lifestyle to Restore the Body to Optimal Health and Wellness Paperback – December 7, 2022, by Zachary Morris
- Biofield through Integrative Medicine and Health
Guide to Healing the Human Biofield through Integrative Medicine and Health by Erin Hanson – Audiobook – Audible.com Cole
Integrative Medicine is here to stay. It is time to take a more active and creative role in your health care!
References
Healthy People – Healthy People 2020 (cdc.gov)
21 Healthy Habits For Your Physical And Mental Health (nafc.org)
Cleveland Clinic Center For Integrative Medicine in Lyndhurst, OH (webmd.com)
Our Team | UH Connor Whole Health | University Hospitals | Cleveland, OH | University Hospitals (uhhospitals.org)
Erica Steele DNP, NDHow to Add Holistic Healthcare into Your Healing | Psychology Today
