Natural Therapeutics of Medicine In Islam (3/4)

VI. Colleges For Natural Therapeutics

A. Definations:

1. Allopathy "Substitutive therapy" auxotherapy; a therapeutic system in which disease is treated by producing a morbid reaction of another kind or in another part - a method of substitution."

2. Naturopathy "A system of therapeutics in which neither surgical nor medical agents are used, dependence being placed only on natural forces."

3. Naprapathy

a. "A system of therapeutic manipulation based on the theory that morbid symptoms are dependent upon strained or contracted ligaments in the spine, thorax, or pelvis."

b. From Naprapathic Philosophy Notes, Theory and Principles" A system of specific manipulative therapeutics based on the theory of interference to nerves, blood vessels and lymph channels, by pathologic soft tissue such as connective tissue or muscles with consequent secondary pathology or dysfunction resulting there from."

4. Chiropractic "Aphilosophic system of mechanical therapeutics that attribute disease to vertebral subluxations; it treats disease with manipulation of the vertebra in order to relieve pressure on the nerves at the intervertebral formation so that nerve force may flow freely from the brain to the rest of the body."

5. Homeopathy "A system of therapy developed by Samuel Hahnemann on the theory that large doses of certain drugs given to healthy persons will produce certain conditions which, when occurring spontaneously as symptoms of a disease, are relieved by the same drug in small doses."

6. Osteopathy "A school of medicine based upon the idea that the normal body when in "correct adjustment" is a vital machine capable of making its own remedies against infections and other toxic conditions. Practitioners use the diagnostic and therapeutic measures of ordinary medicine in addition to manipulative measures."

7. Folk Medicine "Treatment of ailments in the home by remedies and simple measures based upon experience and knowledge handed on from generation to generation."

8. Acupuncture "An ancient medical system of therapy using puncture by fine needles. Most recently, this has been used for anesthesia."

9. Preventive Medicine "The branch of medical science that treats by the prevention of disease."

10. Curative Medicine A special type of medicine which is designed to the restoration of health - it means; "to heal, to make well, and is a special method or course of treatment."

11. Podiatry Medical treatment, the specialty that includes the diagnosis and/or medical, surgical, mechanical, physical, and adjunctive treatment of the disease, injuries and defects of the human foot.

12. Hakim is an Arabic word. Literally, it means: a wise and a knowledgeable person. In practice it is meant a physician without a formal education or a degree. His knowledge is through personal tutoring as well as through inheritance.

The "medicine" that a Hakim practices is composed of a combination of herbal medicine, homoeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic and others.

This type of "medicine" is still practiced in most of the "Developing Nations".

B. Types of Colleges:

There are many colleges and institutes in North America dealing with natural healing. Among which are the following:

1. Naturopathic Medicine College

2. Chiropractic Colleges (eighteen colleges in North America)

3. Naprapathy College

4. Homeopathy College

C. General Information:

The General Information including the course of study for these colleges of natural therapeutics are found at the end of this article in the Appendices.

VII. Recommendations of Natural Foods

A. Natural Foods

There are four different types of vitamins sold as "natural". These are:

1. An extract of food concentrated so that the vitamin is in higher quantity than the original food - examples: Heart muscle as a source of B vitamins, liver and yeast as sources of B vitamins, rose hips and edible organ meats as sources of vitamin C.

2. Highly concentrated crystals or purified vitamins altered somewhat, but extracted from foods - examples; Vitamin E acetate from vegetable oils, from B-12 as cobalamin concentrate.

3. Synthetic vitamins for which the starting materials are natural material - examples; Ascorbic acid from corn sugar, Vitamin A from citral, derived from lemon grass.

4. If a natural base such as yeast is included, the addition of synthetic vitamins may not prevent the product from being called "natural". Many food supplements include ground up deposits of rock from the desert as sources of minerals and these are called "natural" minerals because they come from natural rock deposits.

B. Reading Labels

When reading labels, one has to be careful for the following:

1. Look for Dietary Balance

a. Are the vitamins present in proportion to their individual recommended daily intakes?

b. Do B-complex formulas include all the B-complex vitamins, and are they adjusted to recommended amounts?

c. Are ingredients listed in amounts of active components?

d. Are insignificant amounts of vitamins included for advertising purposes?

e. How much "window dressing" is used?

f. Are ingredients adjusted to "cost" rather than requirements?

2. Know your preferences for sources

3. Look for expiration dates

4. How well are they assimilated?

5. Know what you mean by "natural" "organic."

a. All vitamins are organic molecules and fall into this chemical classification.

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