Integrative Health Day, Celebrate it Everyday!
By Nicole Saliba and Shermine Wardé
Edited by Sarah Hayek
Reading Time:
2 minutes
A conventional approach is a system in which healthcare professionals treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation or surgery.
On the other hand a complementary approach can be:
- Nutritional (e.g., special diets, dietary supplements, herbs, probiotics, and microbial-based therapies).
- Psychological (e.g., meditation, music therapies, relaxation therapies).
- Physical (e.g., acupuncture, massage, spinal manipulation).
- Combinations such as psychological and physical (e.g., yoga, tai chi, dance therapies) or psychological and nutritional (e.g., mindful eating)
Integrative health brings conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way with an emphasis on treating the whole person rather than one organ system.
It is based on 4 principles:
- Holistic perspective: The person being treated is regarded as an integrated combination of multiple dimensions, including the physical body, the mind, the spiritual element of one’s beliefs, and context (social/relationships, environment).
- Personalized care: Treatment is specifically tailored to address the patient’s unique constitution and needs.
- Patient centeredness: Patient is directly involved in the decision making process regarding their care and treatment options.
- Focus on wellness: Emphasis or focus is placed on enhancing and supporting health and well-being and preventing disease.
Integrative Health Day, Celebrate it Everyday!
January 23 is International Integrative Health Day and we encourage you to take a moment to consider how you can incorporate self-care and holistic healing into your daily routine!
- Eat a healthy meal with friends and loved ones
- Spend some time in nature, give yourself a break, reconnect with the world. It will improve your mood.
- Write a gratitude list: think about all the things you are grateful for having. It’s a good stress management method too.
- Practice mindfulness and deep breathing techniques, focus on the present moment, and let go of any anxious thoughts, find your deep inner peace.
- Exercise: it leads to a better quality of life and helps you cope with stress, strengthening your self-esteem.
- Educate yourself : learn more about integrative health by reading interesting articles, listening to a podcast…
Integrative medicine leads to positive outcomes and a maximized well-being:
- Symptoms improvement
- Better appetite.
- Improved cognitive functions
- Increased patients’s satisfaction
- Peace of mind.
- Relief from pain, nausea or fatigue.
- Restful sleep.
There are potential drawbacks to integrative medicine:
- Complex care plans: the need for significant care by providers leading to many appointments to keep up with therapies.
- Conflicting recommendations: different approaches have different philosophies which may lead to disagreements between different providers.
- Complications: some complementary therapies have side effects. They may also interact with conventional treatments being dangerous in some cases.
- Costs: increased hospital costs
- Low caregiver knowledge : ideological differences or poor education on the topic
All in all, the positive impact outweighs the negative one and integrative medicine should be considered in the treatment when appropriate.
