When people hear certain words, preconceived notions and opinions come to mind. At one time when people heard the word, chiropractor, for the most part, quackery came to mind.  Today however there are more and more respected chiropractors than ever before.  Chiropractors put in more class room time and field time than do medical doctors and are emerging as a doctor who can help ailments which are not simply musculoskeletal but may have to do with an illness such as the cold or flu.

Words such as holistic or alternative health are also words which have preconceived notions of many.  However as time goes by and more and more see the side effects of many drugs on the market, people are turning more and more to nutrition to keep themselves healthy.

It has been only within the past one hundred and fifty years that drugs and surgery became more and more accepted.  Before that, our ancestors used foods to heal and cure the sick.  Often times it is the most simple and basic things in life which prove to be the greatest solutions to our problems.

The word, holistic, simply means to work with the body.  Vitamin D for example is created by our bodies.  It is essential in order to assimilate an array of other essential vitamins and minerals to keep our bodies functioning properly.  A lack of sunlight often leads to illness.  In most northern states, cold and flu season occurs from October to March.  This happens to correlate to a time of the year when most spend the majority of time indoors and the sun is behind clouds for most or all of the day.  Vitamin D though is a holistic remedy which we use each and every day without thought. 

Natural medicine though should not be used in the same way drugs are used.  If someone has the symptoms of a stuffy nose, sore throat, fever, and a bruise on their leg, one might prescribe an array of herbs such as capsicum (cayenne pepper), peroxide gargle, red raspberry leaf, and arnica.  The key is not to treat each symptom as is often the norm.  The key is to ask, why do I have a stuffy nose, sore throat, fever and bruise on my leg.  Though it could be something more complex, the first thing I would think is that someone has an allergy which is in the nose and throat which the body is attempting to rid itself of.  The fever was created by your body in order to burn off the toxic substance which is causing the allergy.  The bruise most likely occurred by bumping into an object such as a chair.  Instead of taking the array of supplements, one could simply flush their nose and throat with warm salt water with a little peroxide mixed into it, drink plenty of water, and they will be fine within the day.  Instead of looking at the illness as symptom based look at it as a detective and figure out the underlying cause.  Once you rid the cause all the other symptoms will disappear and you will have treated yourself in a natural and holistic manner.