2000BC: Here eat this root.
1000AD: That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
1850AD: That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
1940AD: That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
1985AD: That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.
2000AD: That antibiotic doesn't work anymore. Here, eat this root.

What goes around, comes around. In today's era of health-consciousness and increasing medical costs and devastating diseases, natural healing and alternative therapies have become in vogue. Last year alone, over 40% of health care funds were spent on some form of alternative or natural healing. So what is natural healing and how can it help?

Natural healing has actually been around far longer than conventional medicine. In fact, in the rest of the world, natural healing is considered the "traditional medicine." For example, Ayurveda (a form of natural, holistic healing still practiced today throughout much of India) is believed to be the oldest system of healing on the planet. And, Traditional Chinese Medicine (an ancient form of Chinese herbal medicine) stretches back more than 5,000 years! By contrast, our current form of conventional medicine is approximately 200 years old. So, is there something we can learn from these ancient healing systems? Most health experts now agree there is. The greatest difference between conventional medicine and natural healing has to do with how the human body is approached. Conventional medicine tends to take a mechanistic approach, looking at the body as a group of systems governed by mechanical and chemical laws. Disease is approached separately from the individual and treated consistently regardless of the individual. Natural healing, on the other hand, looks at the entire picture - the person and their individual constitution (temperament, lifestyle, body, energetics) and the disease, focusing on the underlying cause for the disease, which usually has to do with a problem within the body that created an environment where the disease could flourish. Natural healing seeks to support the body's innate healing ability so disease is eliminated by the body and the body is strengthened so disease cannot reoccur.

One of natural healing's greatest benefits is that with this approach, it can help prevent many diseases and disabilities from taking hold. Thus, natural healing seeks to give you the information and tools to support your body to do what it does naturally . . heal itself. It recognizes that a person holds the ultimate power over their health. Dr. Andrew Weil (the best-selling author of Spontaneous Healing) describes natural healing as, "discovering and enhancing your body's natural ability to maintain and heal itself."

Does that mean we should replace our conventional medical system totally with natural healing? Absolutely not. Even though we lament about our health system, we still have one of the best in the world. Natural healing works very well when partnered with our scientific and medical know-how and technology. More and more medical doctors are recognizing this and supporting their patients' use of natural health practitioners. In this way the best of both systems are brought together to provide an individual with optimum care and choices. For example, many cancer treatments now involve both a medical doctor (MD) and naturopathic doctor (ND). That's why natural healing is now being called complementary or supportive care or therapy. It can support and complement conventional medical care and can also answer those things that conventional medicine cannot.

Given this approach, one of the best things we can do to is to become aware and take charge of our health. Natural healing is successful when we are willing to take responsibility for our bodies. In an ideal situation, we would know when we were out of balance and seek a qualified practitioner to help us regain our balance, where-ever that imbalance occurred. Becoming aware of our own personal wellness is the first major step because many of us may not know what being in balance or harmony feels like.

The following five keys to optimum health (listed in priority order) will help you rediscover that place of balance and harmony for yourself.

1. Mental Attitude - We are what we think. What we think is what we experience in life. It's been said that 10% of our experience of life is what happens to us and 90% is how we react to this. Optimists enjoy positive experiences; pessimists attract the very things they complain about. So it goes with our health. This is the number one thing we can do to make the most improvement in our health - foster a positive mental attitude. Many people start and end the day with gratitude, even when they've had a lousy day. Do whatever works for you: Listen to positive, inspirational tapes; read books about other people who have beat the odds and succeeded; enhance your spirituality; seek a qualified therapist or spiritual counselor; attend workshops and retreats. Manage what you watch or listen to. Try not watching or reading the news and see how it improves your health!

2. Skeletal structure - Look for and remove blockages in your body. It's helpful to regularly use the services of a competent practitioner in chiropractric, massage, yoga, ReiKi (a Japanese form of energy healing touch like acupressure), acupuncture, or other body/energy work. Natural healing looks at the energetics of a person (whether they are innately cold or hot, damp or dry), as well as the energy pathways within the body (something that western science couldn't prove existed so, until lately, had pooh-poohed). Any blockages of these energy pathways prevents healing from taking place and affects the function of the body. The same goes for elimination of toxins from the body. A large percentage of us do not eliminate enough wastes and toxins from our bodies. As these toxins accumulate, they create a wonderful environment for diseases and microorganisms to flourish. Before any real healing can take place, blockages and toxins must be dealt with and removed.

3. Nutrition - We are what we eat. We become what we put into ourselves, both bad and good. To foster optimum health, we must pay attention to what we feed ourselves. Americans have been called the most overfed, undernourished people in the world. A large percentage of our diseases are directly linked to what we eat and drink. Not only should we increase our intake of good, healthy substances, but we should also reduce or eliminate our intake of unhealthy substances (toxins such as smoking, alcohol, refined sugars, artificial ingredients, and processed foods). Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables (organic if at all possible). Drink at least 8 glasses of filtered water per day and, because our foods are no longer as nourishing when we get them at the grocery store, take daily vitamin (especially antioxidant) and mineral supplements. Consider consulting an herbalist to determine if certain herbs might be useful. Many herbalists will use a system like Ayurveda or Traditional Chinese Medicine to determine which herbs are appropriate for an individual. Herbs are nutritious to the body (like food); thus they have little or no side effects. They can help tonify our body to work better. Also, many herbs are adaptogens, which means they have the ingenious ability to provide whatever action is needed to help our body achieve harmony and balance.

4. Exercise - No doubt about it, we were created to be active. One just needs to look at the design of the human body (arms and legs) to see that it was intended for locomotion; otherwise we'd be shaped like slugs. Exercise is one of the best and simplest lifestyle changes that can produce the most dramatic results. Regular, moderate, weight-bearing exercise (walking and using hand weights) seems to be the best for long-lasting health, vigor, and prevention of disease or disability.

5. Heredity - There's not a lot that we can do about this, but it's important to know what kind of constitution we've inherited and to live our life accordingly. For example, if adult onset diabetes is in your family, then it's possible to prevent that from developing in yourself through diet, exercise, vitamins/minerals, and herbs. Likewise, if we have a family history of cancer, then we must be ever more diligent with a cancer-prevention lifestyle (diet, exercise, avoid exposure to known carcinogens, stop smoking, anti-oxidant vitamins, minerals, and herbs). The same with heart disease or depression. Know your family history and then learn how to prevent these things from occurring within yourself and your immediate family.

Miraculous as it may seem it is possible to grow healthier as we grow older. People who've achieved optimum health testify to this. It does take change, however. Insanity is defined as trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Many of us do this with our health without even realizing it. All it takes is a small change, and we can be on our way to optimum health and well being, naturally, as we grow older.