Copyright 2005 Wayne McDonald

Staying healthy does NOT start when you get sick, when you refill your prescriptions, when you are scheduled for surgery or when your doctor says you have six months to live. Your health is an important long-term investment and it is wise to have the resources to stay educated and healthy.

Although I do not know you personally, I really do care quite deeply about your health and well being. Why? Because I know there are answers and a lot of resources at your disposal. I have been in the alternative therapy industry for over 15 years and I work with hundreds of experienced health practitioners. I have spoken to people that have overcome mild health challenges to life threatening health challenges. Unfortunately, most people turn to alternative therapies, or complementary medicine, after everything else fails.

I am not a medical doctor, but I do provide the resources so visitors to my health site can find answers to many health questions. Sometimes I receive an email and I am just stumped on how to respond because the answer is so blatantly obvious. For example, a woman inquired about a liquid dietary supplement and how fast she would feel healthy again. She explained that she was diabetic and in an average day smoked four packs of cigarettes, drank a couple of beers and ate a half-pound of bacon.

The best advice is moderation. To say that there is "one" healthy path would be a lie. I tell my clients to become "body aware" and listen to what it needs (or when it hurts). Most people have one or more of the following body complaints, but ignore the symptoms. Months or years later, people go to their doctors for pain pills or other treatments for the symptoms – I will repeat TREATMENT OF SYMPTOMS. To get results you must treat the cause, not the symptoms. The most common body complaints are lower back pain, knee or hip problems, headaches, stress and pain in the jaw, shooting pain down arms or legs, and the list goes on.

If you experience any of these symptoms, I would recommend that you log-in to the Internet and find a qualified health practitioner. Read articles, get educated, ask questions and try an acupuncturists, a massage therapists, a chiropractor, a Reiki master, a medical intuitive, etc.

Although prescriptions can serve a purpose over a short time, long time use may cause other health challenges. It is important to be aware of the small health challenges as well as the big health challenges. Some of your body aches, or symptoms, may appear mild but that is usually because you have tolerated it or ignored it for so long. Body aches can set-in and become a health challenge like arthritis. Your body is very smart at adapting and counterbalancing itself. When your body (or muscle) tenses, it then counter balances itself by tensing or relaxing another muscle. Overtime your body can become unbalanced and twisted.

I would recommend working with a health practitioner on a ongoing basis. Start with a few weekly sessions and progress to a monthly schedule. Several sessions in a row will help speed up your recovery.

Working with different alternative therapists overtime will assist you in becoming more educated and familiar with the many health benefits of complementary therapies. You'll discover new ways to treat old health challenges and you will have made a wise investment into your long-term health.


About the author:
Wayne McDonald is a licensed Life Practitioner, a Public Speaker and the founder of http://www.HolisticWebDirectory.coman on-line health directory of complementary health care professionals.