Beginners Guide to Holistic Health

You may have heard of holistic health, as it is a lifestyle approach that is becoming more popular. Interestingly, the majority of holistic health practices are traditional and ancient medicine that have been around for centuries.

What Is Holistic Health?

Holistic health takes a whole-person approach to health and healing that includes body, mind, and soul as well as environmental qualities of everyday living. A holistic approach reminds you that the whole is made up of many interdependent parts. In the case of the individual, when one part is out of balance or neglected, it affects the other parts.

Holistic health puts the majority of health in the hands of the individual, through mindful and informed choices, self-study, education, and a way of life that is in harmony with nature. Holistic health practitioners and modalities are constructed to support the individual in a whole-person healthy way of living.

Health and healing take personal choice, observation, and commitment—learning to tune into your experience and learn what works, what exacerbates symptoms, and what nourishes your whole being.

Learning the basics of holistic health may help you navigate your health and healing with mindfulness and inspiration to strongly guide you on your quest. Keep reading for a beginners guide to holistic health!

Benefits of Holistic Health

There are many benefits to integrating holistic health practices into your daily life:

Treating the common cold
Decreasing inflammation in the body
Alleviating daily stress
Adding in supplements, foods, or daily practices that are helpful additions to accelerate feeling your best

For example, zinc and elderberry, two natural remedies, have been shown to shorten the duration of the common cold. Turmeric, a well-known root, has been shown to lower systemic inflammation and symptoms in patients with arthritis. Acupuncture has been shown to be an effective treatment for chronic pain. Aromatherapy has been shown to support healthy sleep and reduce levels of anxiety of cardiac stent insertion patients in an ICU.

There are a wide variety of holistic health treatments and protocols from many traditions around the world. Finding a modality that works for you and that works with any other medical treatment or medication you are taking is surely worth looking into.

Many folks choose to add in holistic living practices along with more conventional treatments—this is known as complementary or integrative medicine. In many cases, some of the more ancient holistic health practices have even been incorporated into standard medical care.

Some holistic health modalities require a trained practitioner, while others can be self-taught mind-body practices to explore on your own—such as meditation or yoga. Here are a few holistic healthcare modalities for you to explore.

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Functional Medicine

Functional medicine is a science-based approach that targets identifying and managing the root cause of disease. Each symptom and diagnosis may be one of many contributing factors to an individual’s overall health and wellness.

Functional medicine practitioners often compile scientific testing—such as blood work—to identify and prioritize a treatment plan. Over the course of working with a functional medicine practitioner, you will often be given dietary and lifestyle recommendations in the form of healthy eating, professional supplement regimens, sleep support, stress management, exercise protocols, hormonal health strategies, and mind-body practices.

For example, one study looked at a functional medicine approach to improving stress, energy, fatigue, digestive issues, and quality of life in middle-aged women for 28 weeks. The study confirmed improvements in areas of stress, fatigue, and quality-of-life capacities. This study discussed that functional medicine is a powerful and practical approach to a variety of health concerns—from stress-management to gastrointestinal distress.

Ayurveda

Ayurveda is the ancient medicine that comes from India and is considered one of the oldest medicines in the world. Over many thousands of years, Ayurveda has evolved and is now widespread in countries all around the world. Ayurveda is considered a complementary medicine looking at the whole person through many lenses of health.

Ayurveda is known for its ability to treat many conditions such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and asthma. Ayurveda is a medical system that includes physical, psychological, philosophical, ethical, and spiritual health. Ayurveda supports the many self-healing aspects of the body through a body, mind, and soul approach as well as the use of herbal remedies to treat specific ailments and conditions.

While there is still a lot of research needed to scientifically prove many aspects of Ayurveda as a holistic healing approach, a lot of progress has been made in the deeper understanding of how Ayurveda works and its effectiveness with many of today’s most common health issues.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture originated in China more than 3,000 years ago as part of traditional Chinese medicine that is and was practiced there. Acupuncture is based on the complex body of meridians—energy highways of the body—where qi (or energy) should flow. The meridians are often spoken of as pathways or channels throughout the body that access different systems of the body carrying blood and bodily fluids around the body.

According to one study: “Although the meridians have not been identified reliably as actual anatomical structures, they appear to serve as a road map to identify the location of various acupoints. Research has shown that acupoints overlie major neuronal bundles.”

Acupuncture primarily uses needles, suction cups, and pressure points at specific meridian locations on the body to activate and strengthen the meridians leading to more health and vitality. While more research is needed, there have been many positive results with acupuncture being an effective treatment for certain health issues such as pain and headaches.

Nutritional Medicine

Nutritional medicine is a holistic health modality that emphasizes the importance of food and nutrition in your overall health and wellness. Like the well-known quote by Hippocrates says: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” nutritional therapies emphasize food as medicine.

Nutritional medicine practitioners also look specifically at the individual and design an eating plan to match exactly what it is that is uniquely suited to the current health status and bio-individuality of the patient—the unique and specific nutritional needs based on many important factors and variables, including climate, genetic lineage, environmental stressors, and daily life rhythms.

Research in this field is growing and primarily shows that food is integral to the health of the individual. Notably, nutrition is a relatively inexpensive approach and complement to the prevention and treatment of many common health issues such as diabetes and many of the associated conditions (weight gain, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure).

Chiropractic

The most well-known chiropractic treatment is when a chiropractor does spinal manipulation, also known as a chiropractic adjustment. With controlled pressure moving and releasing the joints, a chiropractor most often uses joint manipulation, soft tissue manipulation, physical rehabilitation or home care and activity support to reduce pain and inflammation, improve nerve function, and/or relieve built-up pressure on joints.

Chiropractic can be intimidating at first, as there is a level of vulnerability that happens with physical adjustments, but a good chiropractic adjustment can feel like quite a relief.

Research shows that the most common reasons for seeking chiropractic care are low back pain, neck pain, and extremity problems. Chiropractors often include other aspects of health such as diet, supplements, home movement therapies, and stress management.

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy (often called essential oil therapy) is a holistic health modality that uses natural plant extracts in the form of oils to elevate health and well-being. Aromatherapy uses a wide variety of aromatic essential oils medicinally (topically, internally, and aromatically) to improve body, mind, and spirit health. Aromatherapy is said to enhance both physical and emotional health.

For example, oregano oil is often used internally to boost immunity, while chamomile oil is used topically to reduce stress. There are a plethora of different plant-based essential oils to explore and match up with the many different aspects of your health and well-being.

Meditation

By simply sitting quietly, slowing down your breath, and creating a one-pointed focus such as a mantra or an affirmation, you can achieve a deep state of inner tranquility that impacts many aspects of your being.

Once you learn the basics, meditation is a holistic health practice that you can practice on your own, in the comfort of your own home, and on your own schedule.

There are many types and styles of meditation—including spiritual, internal or external focused, and progressive muscular relaxation—that originate from a variety of cultures around the world. Finding a style that fits your needs is a good place to start.

While more research is needed, various studies do confirm that meditation is a wonderful way to engage in a mind-body approach to healing. Research shows that meditation may positively affect health issues such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular health, and inflammation.

Many beginners enjoy guided meditation at first to learn the basics and get comfortable with meditation. You may also enjoy seeking out a meditation teacher or group in your community or online.

Yoga

Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices that originated in ancient India 3,000 years ago. Yoga includes a heavy focus on the mind-body connection through intentional movement and postures as well as breath work and focused attention.

Yoga can also include a scholarly component, such as the famous text called The Yoga Sutras describing the philosophy of yoga, originally translated from one of the well-known sages from India, Patanjali.

Multiple studies have confirmed that yoga can be useful as both a prevention and treatment for many of today’s most common health issues such as blood glucose levels, musculoskeletal ailments, and a healthy cardiovascular system. Yoga has also been confirmed to support health, including lowering the level of anxiety, boosting positive emotions, and increasing mental focus.

If you are new to yoga, be sure to start slow, and learn the foundational elements so that you can build on them over time. Most yoga studios host beginner or foundation classes to get you started.

3 Healthy Holistic Diet Habits You Can Start Now

1. No Fast Food

The top functional and holistic practitioners in the world can’t stress this enough. Fast food outlets chemically alter their foods to include many inflammatory and toxic ingredients. Animal proteins, for example, are filled with hormone-rich chemicals that also contain nitrates, pesticides, preservatives, and high sodium.

If you eat fast food, there is a good chance your brain is addicted to Trans fats, sodium, gluten, and sugar – all which are causing neurological inflammation and altering your brain chemistry. Remember you will go through withdrawal and feel worse prior to you feeling better. If you want to go to restaurants, choose the healthier ones.

2. Increase Your Water Intake

It is estimated more than 75% of individuals are chronically dehydrated — assume you’re one of them. Dehydration can cause chronic fatigue, headaches toxicity, digestive concerns, early aging, toxic load, and increased body and brain inflammation.

Many of these symptoms then go on to pose more serious health risks. Appropriate water intake is an important holistic diet habit. Every cell in the body needs to be properly hydrated to function properly and flush toxins. If you live in a hot environment, drink caffeine, or consume alcohol, you may require a lot more hydration. Make sure your water is purified.

3. Eliminate All Sodas

This may be a true challenge if you’re a passionate soda drinker. Even the ‘healthier’ sodas made with natural cane sugar are packed with sugar, and sugar intake is a major cause of degenerative illness, weight problems, brain degeneration, and type 2 diabetes. Sugar-free sodas or diets are no better and in many cases worse as they are packed with cancer-causing artificial sweeteners.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, sodas dehydrate you too. Regular and Diet sodas are very toxic to the body and the brain and if you understood what happens to the biochemistry of the body every time you consume these you would run the other way.

Holistic diet does not allow any type of soda. Find something else to quench your thirst. Some suggestions are fresh squeezed lemonade sweetened with Stevia or natural iced tea, mineral water or coconut water, or even fruit and herbal infused waters you can make at home.

There are also some ‘sodas’ found at organic health food stores and online that are sweetened with Stevia (a natural plant-derived sweetener) and no calories and they do not include artificially derived ingredients.

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Gentle way to take a first step in your transformation and begin nourishing and detoxifying your body. This pack contains Purium’s 4 main products to bring your body the daily foundational nutrition it needs. We suggest taking 1 serving of each product every day; no pressure to modify your existing diet.