Homeopathy – Five Things to Know before You ‘Go There’Written by Marjorie Geiser, RD, NSCA-CPT
With natural health care so popular, an area that has shown incredible growth is that of homeopathic medicine. But, although you can find homeopathic remedies on health food store shelves, are you really clear on what a homeopathic specialist is and what these medicines can do? This article will address five things to know before you choose a homeopathic specialist or buy those homeopathic medicines off shelf.What are they? Homeopathic remedies are medicines made by homeopathic pharmacies in accordance with processes described in Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of United States and are regulated by FDA. These are not considered supplements. The remedies could be made from plants, minerals, animals or even from chemical drugs, such as penicillin or streptomycin. These substances are then carefully diluted, called potentization, until very little of original substance remains. Because these are very dilute, small doses of medications, and they are available over counter, many people feel they are safe. However, for serious health problems, a person should seek advice of a knowledgeable healthcare professional. If they choose, it could be from one familiar with homeopathic medicine. Are they effective? The fact that very little of original substance remains, question comes up how can they even be effective. According to homeopaths, this is based on similarities. When a similarity exists, a person is thought to have a hypersensitivity to that substance. Thus, while remedy contains very little, in practical sense, of original material, it still contains essence of substance, or its energy. It’s thought to work by creating a resonance within body that catalyzes it to begin a healing process. How this works and if it’s effective is very controversial among traditional medical practitioners. To determine if a particular homeopathic drug is effective, experiments, called drug provings, are conducted. In these experiments, researchers administer continual doses of substance to a healthy individual until a reaction to substance is achieved. Once it is known what symptoms a substance causes, then it’s known what symptoms and illnesses it will cure. There have been several systematic reviews of placebo-controlled trails on homeopathy that have reported that its effects seem to be more than just placebo. One observational study found that patients were very satisfied with homeopathic treatments and that both they and their physicians noticed significant improvement. There is also evidence from randomized, controlled trials that homeopathy may be effective for treatment of otitis media in children, muscle soreness after running, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Again, though, I would like to emphasize that it would be wise to consult with a specialist before self-medicating, especially when it comes to children. Who practices homeopathy? The practice of homeopathy is incorporated into medical care by a broad range of healthcare practitioners. Medical doctors (MD’s) and doctors of osteopathy (DO’s) may elect to study homeopathy as a post-graduate specialty. Naturopathic doctors (ND’s) study homeopathy as part of their naturopathic school training. Naturopathic medicine is a distinct profession of primary healthcare that emphasizes prevention and promotion of optimal health. The scope of practice includes all aspects of family and primary care, from pediatrics to geriatrics, and all natural medicine modalities, including homeopathic medicine.
| | More Than Facial Exercise...Facialbuilding!Written by Deborah Crowley
How did you get started in FlexEffect?I began teaching Facial Exercise in 1976. At that time, Isometrics were only form of facial training known to public. A year later, still teaching Facial Isometrics, I became interested in weightlifting and soon after stepped into competitive bodybuilding. This move called for a marked reduction in body fat. Consequently, this loss of fat had an aging effect on my face. As a Facial Trainer this was not an acceptable trade-off! I had no intention of giving up bodybuilding, but determined to remedy my dilemma. On a hunch that resistance training could add fullness to my face in same way it did to my body, I decided to convert each Isometric exercise into an exercise using resistance. This was beginning of 'Facial Resistance Training' Est.1979 Knowing what it took to increase muscle density (fullness), I knew resistance training would be far more aggressive than facial training I had been doing. This took a lot of nerve on my part since I, too, had been duped into thinking any handling of face could prove detrimental. When I described my new training technique, which I later dubbed ‘FlexEffect’ as ‘an extension of bodybuilding’ or ‘facialbuilding’, fellow trainers thought I was out of my mind. Frankly, I wasn’t so sure they weren’t on to something. Much to my relief, my hunch paid off. A very short time proved facial muscles to be every bit as responsive to resistance training as rest of body. My face was still thin, but with extra lift and firmness, I went from gaunt to a healthier more athletic look. Who would benefit? Everyone. A better question would be: who would get most out of it? The answer to this question is person who starts early, before signs of aging set in. For them, time stands still. However, majority of testimonials reporting excellent results are not from early birds; they are from late starters -- men and women ages 45, 50 and up. Would you say FlexEffect is better than a surgical face-lift? FlexEffect is not a magic bullet. There are those with such sun damage and advanced facial aging that they may never be able to achieve all they hope for in training. But that doesn’t mean they can’t get all benefits that only training can offer. Cosmetic surgery can alleviate lines and sag but it cannot replace fullness of face. In most cases surgery flattens face, which is why so many women have cheek implants inserted at time of their surgery. The exact opposite is true of facialbuilding. FlexEffect does a beautiful job replacing fullness, considered to be most youthful feature of face. Those who start facialbuilding while their face is still firm could expect to erase need for surgery indefinitely. Many late starters with an excessive amount of sun damage and sag may still find they get enough return from their training to forego a major facelift.
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