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Alternative Medicine as a Healing Method
The article below is taken from studycorgi.com aiming to help IELTS candidates boost their vocabulary and have enough ideas for them to fully cover any topic in Speaking and Writing. The useful ideas are written in Bold, collocations are shown in red with relevant terms being underlined, followed by their definitions coming along.
Alternative Medicine as a Healing Method
Since all people desire to be healthy, medicine is one of the most demanded services sectors. Over the past centuries, there have been many different ways of healing; some of them are common and accepted by everyone; others are rather controversial. Not all people agree with alternative medicine’s power of healing, and their main concern is that its interactions are potentially dangerous or useless. In fact, complementary and alternative medicine do represent a healing method for various sicknesses as its basic principle is balance, and it works as supportive, primary, and sole treatment.
Reasons for Using Alternative Medicine:
There are several types of alternative medicine that vary dramatically. Some of them are acupuncture, chiropractic care, Reiki, which is an energy therapy, and homeopathy. Despite the fact that complementary therapy has a number of drawbacks, and many people do not believe in its power, there are those who find it rather useful and helpful and practice it instead of traditional therapy.
The major reasons for using alternative medicine are as follows:
- It is not expensive
Alternative medicine is not as expensive as most of the modern therapies and treatments. The reason for this is that its medications involve using only natural ingredients that may usually be found in a person’s garden, kitchen, or from his or her surroundings.
- It prevents disease
Complementary medicine may work as a supportive, primary, and sole treatment. It helps people stay fit and reduce the risks of various severe diseases. That is why people have to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
- It provides healthier and stronger body and mind
A number of benefits of using alternative medicine come from its power of making one’s body, mind, and even soul stronger and healthier with the least medical and chemical interventions. Complementary therapy focuses on helping to find the root cause of the pain and heal it instead of merely getting rid of its symptoms.
- It is safe
Since alternative medicine is considered natural, it is a good and riskless way for most patients to heal their chronic conditions. There are people who do not like chemical interventions in their body and try to avoid them as much as possible by using complementary treatments. Complementary therapists can offer a great deal of personal attention and place greater emphasis on one-on-one treatment.
ON-TOPIC ITEMS:
- Healing: noun [ U ] UK /ˈhiː.lɪŋ/ US /ˈhiː.lɪŋ/
the process of becoming well again, especially after a cut or other injury, or of making someone well again
- Controversial: adjective UK /ˌkɒn.trəˈvɜː.ʃəl/ US /ˌkɑːn.trəˈvɝː.ʃəl/
causing disagreement or discussion
- Interactions: noun [ C or U ] UK /ˌɪn.təˈræk.ʃən/ US /ˌɪn.t̬ɚˈræk.ʃən/
an occasion when two or more people or things communicate with or react to each other
- Complementary medicine: noun [ U ] UK /kɒm.plɪˌmen.tər.i ˈmed.ɪ.sən/
US /kɑːm.plɪˌmen.t̬ɚ.i ˈmed.ɪ.sən/
a wide range of treatments for medical conditions that people use instead of or in addition to ordinary medicine
- Acupuncture: noun [ U ] UK /ˈæk.jə.pʌŋk.tʃər/ US /ˈæk.jə.pʌŋk.tʃɚ/
a treatment for pain or illness in which thin needles are positioned just under the surface of the skin at special points around the body
- Chiropractic: noun [ U ] UK /ˌkaɪə.rəʊˈpræk.tɪk/ US /ˌkaɪə.roʊˈpræk.tɪk/
a way of treating diseases that involves pressing a person’s joints
- Homeopathy: noun [ U ] UK /ˌhəʊ.miˈɒp.ə.θi/ US /ˌhoʊ.miˈɑː.pə.θi/
a system of treating diseases in which sick people are given very small amounts of natural substances that, in healthy people, would produce the same effects as the diseases produce
- Diseases: noun [ C or U ] UK /dɪˈziːz/ US /dɪˈziːz/
(an) illness of people, animals, plants, etc., caused by infection or a failure of health rather than by an accident
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug: noun UK /nɒnstɛˈrɔɪdəl æntiɪnˈflæməˌtɔri drʌɡ /
US / ˌnɑnstɛrˈɔɪdəl æntaɪɪnˈflæməˌtɔri drʌɡ /
a drug that works in a different way than a steroid to reduce pain, redness, swelling, and fever in the body
- Intervention: noun [ C or U ] UK /ɪn.təˈven.ʃən/ US /ˌɪn.t̬ɚˈven.ʃən/
the act or fact of becoming involved intentionally in a difficult situation
- Symptoms: noun [ C ] UK /ˈsɪmp.təm/ US /ˈsɪmp.təm/
any feeling of illness or physical or mental change that is caused by a particular disease
- Therapists: noun [ C ] UK /ˈθer.ə.pɪst/ US /ˈθer.ə.pɪst/
someone whose job is to treat a particular type of mental or physical illness or disability, usually with a particular type of therapy
Reasons for Not Using Alternative Medicine:
Undoubtedly, people who are against unconventional therapy have their own rather meaningful reasons and concerns.
The major reasons for not using alternative medicine are as follows.
- It takes time to work
The first disadvantage of complementary medicine is that it usually takes time to start working. In other words, it may take several hours or days before alternative treatments show any positive effects; it does not heal instantly. Sometimes people can wait that much time but in other cases, for example, if a person suffers from splitting headache or stomach-ache, he or she needs some medicine that helps immediately. This is the reason why complementary therapy is not recommended for emergency situations.
- It requires changes in lifestyle
Another disadvantage is that, typically, this way of healing requires major lifestyle changes. If people really want to adopt alternative medicine as the method of gaining and maintaining optimum health, they need to commit their energy, time, and usually even finances. As for lifestyle transformations, they include different diet, giving up painkillers, and adopting a different mindset when it is about facing and dealing with various problems and stressful situations in life. This is considered as a disadvantage because it may be rather difficult to make one’s habits completely different.
- It may interact with compulsory medication
The third reason for being against complementary medicine is probably the main one. Such therapy may interact with a person’s particular compulsory medication in the wrong way. For instance, some herbal remedies can have an effect on or interact with prescription drugs. Moreover, there is a possibility that some kinds of natural therapies may have contra-indications for a person’s health status.
- There are a few researches on it
Another concern is limited scientific research and lack of skillful and experienced practitioners. Compared to traditional therapy, evidence for the safety of alternative healing methods remains limited, and it leaves many questions unanswered.
ON-TOPIC ITEMS:
- Unconventional: adjective UK /ˌʌn.kənˈven.ʃən.əl/ US /ˌʌn.kənˈven.ʃən.əl/
different from what is usual or from the way most people do things
- Splitting: adjective UK /ˈsplɪt.ɪŋ/ US /ˈsplɪt̬.ɪŋ/
very strong, severe, or painful
- Adopt: verb [ T ] UK /əˈdɒpt/ US /əˈdɑːpt/
to accept or start to use something new
- Optimum: adjective UK /ˈɒp.tɪ.məm/ US /ˈɑːp.tə.məm/
best; most likely to bring success or advantage
- Diet: noun UK /ˈdaɪ.ət/ US /ˈdaɪ.ət/
t the food and drink usually eaten or drunk by a person
- Prescription drugs: noun [ C ] UK /prɪˈskrɪp.ʃən ˌdrʌɡ/ US /prɪˈskrɪp.ʃən ˌdrʌɡ/
a drug that can only be bought if a doctor orders it for you
- Contra-indications: noun [ C ] UK /ˌkɒn.trəˌɪn.dɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ US /ˌkɑːn.trəˌɪn.dəˈkeɪ.ʃən/
a sign that someone should not continue with a particular medicine or treatment because it is or might be harmful
- Practitioners: noun [ C ] UK /prækˈtɪʃ.ən.ər/ US /prækˈtɪʃ.ən.ɚ/
someone involved in a skilled job or activity
Selected and Edited by: Mahdis Ramezanpour
Javidan Language Centre
www.rashtielts.ir