What is the difference between alternative medicine and holistic health

The core difference between the two is not at all "whether non-mainstream medical methods are used", but rather concepts that belong to two different dimensions - alternative therapy is a general term for a type of intervention method with the core purpose of "replacing conventional evidence-based medical treatment", while holistic health is a health management concept that treats people as complete individuals and takes into account the multi-dimensional state of physiology, psychology and society. The latter is compatible with various effective intervention methods, but the former often uses the latter as a cover for marketing.

Many people confuse the two because there are too many practitioners of alternative therapies on the market who always talk about "overall adjustment" and "curing the root cause" and use information gaps to harvest users who are dissatisfied with conventional medical treatment. To take the most common example, when faced with a user who has been diagnosed with grade 2 breast nodules, if a practitioner comes up and denies the hospital's follow-up plan, saying "if you wait any longer, you will develop cancer," and asks you to stop all the endocrine-regulating drugs prescribed by the doctor, and only buy his knot-removing essential oil and get his annual chest clearing card. This is the standard alternative therapy logic. The core is to use his non-verified plan to completely replace the conventional diagnosis and treatment path that has been proven to be effective. However, if we follow a formal overall health approach, we will first remind you to follow your doctor’s instructions for follow-up B-ultrasounds and monitor nodule changes on time, and then slowly help you sort out your long-term emotional stress state, work and rest diet patterns, and even help you figure out whether long-term internal friction in intimate relationships has caused the nodules to repeatedly grow in size. The plan may include formal moxibustion and mindfulness meditation to help you relieve chest pain and anxiety, but it will never let you skip regular medical examinations.

Controversy over alternative therapies in the academic community continues. Supporters will present some data on the improvement of chronic pain and mood disorders using traditional herbal medicine and mind-body therapies, believing that such methods can make up for the shortcomings of conventional medical treatment. Opponents point to many cases of alternative therapies that lack evidence-based support and delay the treatment of severe patients. For example, there was news about breast cancer patients who gave up chemotherapy to do so-called "natural therapies" and ultimately missed the best treatment period. They believe that such methods are completely pseudoscience. In fact, if we really want to speak objectively, as long as the premise of "replacing" conventional medical treatment is discarded, many so-called alternative therapies can completely become a supplementary link in the overall health plan. For example, people who have been troubled by irritable bowel syndrome for many years have no organic problems after a colonoscopy, but they always feel side effects when taking antispasmodic drugs. With the consent of a gastroenterologist, they can try a low FODMAP diet combined with traditional Chinese medicine moxibustion, and they can achieve a better quality of life than simply taking medicine. The intervention at this time has nothing to do with "alternative therapies".

Don't be too wary when you encounter promotions under the banner of "holistic health". Just ask: "Do I need to stop the conventional medicines I am taking now? Do I still need to follow the doctor's advice and go to the hospital for review?" If the other party asks you to stop all medicines and says that the hospital's examinations are "excessive medical treatment," then you can basically turn around and leave. After all, true holistic health will never regard denying conventional medical treatment as its premise.