Headaches, chest pains, anxiety, nausea and thoughts of suicide are often the very reasons people take prescription and over-the- counter medicine. Yet these same symptoms usually occur again through side effects. The dangers of Western medicine have not been presented in a fair light and neither have the benefits of holistic healing.

While Western medicine is thought to be nothing but beneficial, it actually hospitalizes 142,000 Americans annually from antibiotic side effects. The potential side effects are far-reaching. Modern medicines such as minocycline and accutane are supposed to cure acne; however, they can actually cause birth defects. Some holistic treatments involve vitamin supplements and chiropractic adjustments to strengthen the immune and nervous system. If the immune system is strong, it can prevent disease from weakening the body. A strong central nervous system makes the whole body work as one strong unit. The idea is not to keep you on pills, half-miserably muddling through the day but to ensure your body has the balance it needs to operate naturally.

When artificially engineered pills are taken daily, they evoke a negative response from our bodies because our organs are not made to process lab-made chemicals. They are made to digest the types of foods humans ate before food processors and margarine.

We cannot afford to blindly follow Western medicine without accepting its negative aspects, and we cannot label the old ways of healing as archaic and useless. In order to move forward as a culture, Western society must be open minded to both old and new methods of healing.