Health is a condition that undergoes constant change — an alternating state of feeling well or ill, which is subject to a variety of factors. The large-scale use of drugs is today being questioned by practitioners of alternative systems, who maintain that the age-old concept of holistic health is the key to living a long and healthy life. This resurgence of holistic healing has brought to the fore a number of alternate health care systems, (some old, some new) leaving the individual in a quandry as to which one to choose. Should he select one and stick to it for ever? Or should he be an active participant in the healing process, allowing the doctor to understand his emotional and mental make-up, so that the latter can tackle the human element too? Should he adopt self-help techniques such as Yoga, Massage, Faith-healing …?

Prevention is better than cure. If you are healthy at the moment and intend to promote health and prevent disease, you have a choice between Nature Cure and Yoga. Nature Cure lays stress on living according to the laws of nature — what to eat, how to eat, how much to eat, and getting the help of air, water, and sunshine. Yoga’s yama and niyama — the dos and don’ts — provide you with mental and moral uprightness. Asanas and pranayama make your body supple and alert. Dharana and dhyana provide mental peace.

If you are ill, the best method to arrive at a diagnosis is by Allopathy. Treatment of the disease depends upon what the disease is. Diphtheria in a child can only be treated with Allopathy. Cancer of any part of the body is best treated with surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy — all part of Allopathy. Heart attacks, coronary artery disease, acute pneumonia, meningitis, and other acute emergency situations are also best treated with Allopathy.

A standing posture in human beings provides the advantage of the free use of arms and hands, but also puts the backbone (vertebral column) at a disadvantage; it needs to be kept erect with the entire body in correct gravity with the earth. Learning the Alexander Technique and Rolfing is very helpful in this regard.

For aches and pains in the body and joints, and for a general run-down condition of the body — Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Acupuncture, Acupressure, Massage, and Homoeopathy are helpful.

For chronic abdominal complaints like dyspepsia, gas in the abdomen, frequent loose motions, diminished energy — herbal treatment through Ayurveda and Unani medicine can be tried.

Aromatherapy, besides possessing other good points, is a mood elevator with the fragrant essences it uses. Flower therapy never harms anyone. The proper choice of colour in our attire and surroundings is an important means of inducing relaxation or stimulating excitement.

These systems can be of definite help in many cases, provided they do not become a fad, or lead to the neglect of other more comprehensive approaches to health care.

However mere selection of a health care system is not enough. Since it is the mind that controls the body, if the mind is not included in the preventive aspect, the body cannot be healthy.

The very young and the very old possess a narrow range of safety in drug usage. If they can do without the internal use of drugs, it is better for them. Homoeopathy and Massage can be safely tried in most cases. The place where you live and the kind of facilities which are available there are relevant. Another pertinent consideration is the kind of health care system you can afford. A careful assessment of all these factors is necessary in order to arrive at the wisest choice.

Before making a choice at random, answer the following questions:

Are you in need of immediate care?
Are you healthy at the moment and intend to promote health and prevent disease?
Are you a child, a young person, or an aged one?
Are you living in a metropolitan city, in a town, or a village?
Are you rich, middle-class, or lower middle-class?

It is only if you have a good knowledge of all the health care systems available around you, that you can opt for the system which most fulfills your requirements at the time.

It is important to stress a relevant point here. Some health care systems, more especially Ayurveda and Unani medicine, place great importance on certain foods which should be taken or avoided in particular diseases. For example, they recommend avoidance of sour foods, heavy foods like black gram, kidney beans, colocasia, fried foods, and cold drinks in all types of arthritis and asthma.

The same systems recommend another kind of diet for the same conditions: a light dinner early in the evening and other such precautions. It is our observation that these recommendations are helpful to the patient. Allopathy also makes recommendations regarding food, though they are based mostly on the nature of the biochemical constituents, and not on their effect on the body system in general. For example, Allopathy recommends carbohydrates, proteins, fats, a number of calories, minerals, and vitamins. It also recommends the avoidance of certain constituents in the diet wherever found to be detrimental: common salt in hypertension, protein in kidney failure, spices in stomach ulcers, and so on. But whatever it has no knowledge of, it ignores. And currently, it seems to be ignoring a lot. If other systems recommend or prohibit certain foods, it labels the idea as unscientific.

‘We are what we eat’, observed Charaka, Sushruta, and Hippocrates. This fact needs to be recognised more strongly by allopaths.

A point of warning. Having decided which system you wish to make use of at the moment, make sure that you go to a qualified practitioner of that system. Systems are not faulty; it is more often unqualified practitioners of a system which bring it disrepute and harm the patient.