Medical vs. Holistic

Holistic care seeks to turn on the natural healing ability--not by adding something to the system--but by removing anything that might interfere with normal function, trusting that the body would know what to do if nothing were interfering with it. Standard medical care, on the other hand, seeks to treat a symptom by adding something from the outside – a medication, a surgery or procedure.

For example, if a patient has high blood pressure, a standard medical approach is using a drug that lowers blood pressure. This may serve to lower the blood pressure but ignores the underlying cause that is actually making the blood pressure high and runs the risk of side effects complicating the person’s recovery. Whether it’s a nutritional issue, faulty control by the nerve system, or a manifestation of stress, the medication could decrease the blood pressure, leaving the problem causing the symptom of high blood pressure unaddressed.