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[The Doctor Is In offers select chapters from Healing Pets with Nature’s Miracle Cures by permission of the author, Henry Pasternak, DVM.]

An Ounce of Prevention

An evolution in the healthcare system for man and animal is sweeping the globe. Science and medicine have the technology to understand and appreciate the value of integrating natural and conventional therapies. The roots of natural medicine can be traced back to the philosophy of Hippocrates, a health-oriented system of medicine that stresses main¬tenance of health and prevention of disease.

Conventional medicine is superb in acute, emergency, and traumatic situations; I often use conventional medicine initially to stabilize the patient. Then I always follow up with alternative medicine for long-term treatment.

More Cost-Effective

Holistic medicine is more cost-effective over the long term because it seeks to treat the root of the problem and not only the symptoms; it doesn't trap the patient on a merry-go-round that begins with one drug and ends up requiring others to compensate for the side effects caused by the initial drugs.

Many holistic methods work by assisting the body's own natural healing system instead of introducing strong drugs.

Best Pharmacy—The Body

The fundamental philosophy of natural medicine is that the body has the ability to heal itself given the proper opportunity. For example, some herbs seem to have organ-specific actions and by implementing these herbs for certain diseases, the body may be able to heal much faster without side effects.

Milk thistle is a good example of an herb used to treat liver disease. Certainly, bacterial infections require appropriate antibiotics; however, chronic infections can be cured much faster with good nutrition, herbs, acupuncture, homeopathic remedies, and other modalities.
[To purchase a copy of Healing Pets and Nature’s Miracle Cures log on to www.pasternakvetcenter.com.  For a private consultation with Dr. Pasternak, call 310-268-2275.]