Whether you're a vegetarian looking for nutritional advice and recipes, an alternative-minded person looking for a holistic approach to the healing of your mind, body and spirit, looking for a natural health college or health food store, or have an illness you'd like to learn how to treat with a combination of diet and nontoxic modalities, there is a wealth of sites on the Web from the more way-out to the almost traditional (or what some doctors are calling integrative or complementary medicine). Companies that sell supplemental health products such as herbs, vitamins and minerals; dentists who don’t use mercury fillings because of toxic effects; and even veterinarians who advocate healthy pet food and litter can all be found on the Web.

"I believe that an approach that will focus on only one aspect of this illness is going to miss the boat but a multi-dimensional approach has to work because it covers all the bases," says Glenn Rothfeld, M.D. , founder and medical director of Spectrum Medical Arts. "At my clinic, we use an Integrative medicine, alternative and complementary medicine approach. What this means practically is a medical person evaluates the person, plans a treatment that could involve medicine, diagnosis, or nutritional management, or one of the various modalities, cranio-sacral therapy, and sometimes 2-3 people work on one patient."

Dr. Joel Wallach, a veterinarian and naturopathic physician, the Dead Doctors Don't Lie and Trust Me...I'm a Doctor tapes mineral doctor, says that mineral deficiencies contribute to, or are the cause of, all illness. As a young boy, Dr. Wallach wondered why livestock would get vitamins, minerals and trace minerals added to their farm fresh feed but humans eating from the same fields were not given the same. Since animals don't have Medicare, Medicaid, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, farmers had to find the reasons for illnesses or risk losing valuable livestock. Recent findings have confirmed that the same virus that causes ulcers in animals causes ulcers in humans, and the same mineral (bismuth) contributes to healing the illness. He advocates his Pig Arthritis formula for people with chronic illnesses as well as people who just want to be healthy and prevent illness.

HerbNET and Herb.Com both offer information on herbal medicines.

Vegetarian Pages is a comprehensive site that lists Web addresses for groups from around the world and throughout the United States, from vegetarian singles groups that offer potlucks and events, to feminist or religious vegetarian groups.

Holistic dentistry or, as it is sometimes called, Biological dentistry, attempts to relate dental conditions to the rest of the body-mind-spirit. Where conventional techniques and/or materials are considered possibly responsible for toxic reactions on some level, alternatives are offered. Cavities, infections, toxic filling materials, leaking root canals and misalignment of the teeth can all have far-reaching effects on the physical and energy bodies. A holistic approach to dental problems can impact other systems such as the immune system, the cranial (cranio-sacral) mechanism, acupuncture meridians and energy flow, thereby affecting structures far distant from the mouth. Properly practiced, there is also recognition of our shared spirit-nature, says Michael C. Goldman, D.D.S. , from his Web site (part of Pathways Magazine’s Health and Wellness Resources). This site offers many useful links to Worldwide Wellness, dozens of national health and wellness sites, as well as a gold mine of information on everything from acupressure to natural food restaurants.

Natural Holistic Pet Care, a multimedia site with videos, offers Client Information About the Practice, links to the Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy and other Holistic (and related) Web sites, Recommended Reading, Holistic Pet Care Handouts, a Family Photo Album and a Products Section with information on Flint River Pet Food (free samples upon request).

The Holistic Internet Community provides a Community Resource Directory and Learning Center with articles, reviews and essays from many alternative practitioners.

AIDS/Cancer

"I had cancer...and got well by natural, simple therapies that you seldom hear about. You can do it, too!" says Dr. Lorraine Day, M.D., an internationally acclaimed orthopedic trauma surgeon, who herself developed breast cancer. Now cancer-free, she outlines numerous cancer therapies documented in the medical literature to be effective without mutilating surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Two videos, "Cancer Doesn't Scare Me Anymore!" and "You Can't Improve Upon Go," are a must for anyone battling cancer, or anyone who has a loved one with cancer. Dr. Day also posts information about AIDS cover-ups.

Dr. Rothfeld explains a study he is doing with the Myers Cocktail and patients with fibromyalgia (an illness that mostly affects women over 40 and is characterized by chronic fatigue, depression, pain all over the body, and sleep deprivation).

"The Myers Cocktail is named for the late John Myers, M.D., a Maryland physician who used intravenous injections of nutrients to treat his patients. Currently, the nutrient cocktail has been popularized by Alan Gaby, M.D., president of the American Holistic Medical Association and a physician who writes a lot about nutritional factors in medicine," explains Dr. Rothfeld.

"The idea of the Myers Cocktail is that many illnesses and conditions are associated with digestive disturbances such as bloating, maldigestion and food sensitivities and that people with such conditions may not absorb many of the nutrients needed to return them to good health. Also, many diseases cause the body to use nutrients at a faster rate, or to require higher amounts for proper healing. When nutrients are injected intravenously, the digestion is bypassed. Furthermore, the levels in the bloodstream are temporarily increased so that the nutrients are ‘coaxed’ into the cells, and frequently into the mitochondria where they are active. This temporary boost frequently ‘kick-starts’ the cells, so that energy is produced more efficiently in them.

"Many chronic conditions respond to a series of Myers Cocktails which consists of calcium, magnesium, B complex, B-6 and B-12, Vitamin C and other nutrients. In my experience, they are useful in fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and chronic depression, where patients feel an energy boost lasting days or weeks. In the case of fibromyalgia, decreased pain can be observed. I also recommend that people read Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum’s book, From Fatigue to Fantastic, both for relief from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome," he concludes.

Clayton College of Natural Health offers home study programs leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees at their Web site.

Chiropractors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, physical therapists, rolfers and other body experts offering training have found their way onto the Web, too. One very comprehensive site about acupuncture is Acupuncture.com, with consumer information, books, products on many traditional Chinese medicines including acupuncture, as well as information on Yo San University in Santa Monica, California, "Where Students Become The Medicine." Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine was founded on the tenets of Taoism and Ni family instruction, and offers a four-year program leading to the degree of Master of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine; students follow an integrated curriculum of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), including acupuncture, herbs, western science, biomedicine and Qi cultivation. Graduates gain clinical and educational training designed to meet and exceed California licensing requirements in Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The philosophy behind this form of nontoxic medicine is that no one medicine is appropriate for everyone with the same disease because each individual is different and may suffer various symptoms of a similar disease. Individual remedies are needed for individual people, including children. Dr. Hahnemann was the founder of this "Law of Similars," or like begets like. For instance, physicians who use homeopathy may prescribe a dose of arsenic to someone who has been poisoned with arsenic to assist the body in getting rid of the toxic substance. The Homeopathy Home Page offers an abundance of links and resources on the subject.

Bach Flowers

Dr. Edward Bach loved people and nature. He earned many medical degrees but was dissatisfied with the methods of treatment and procedures for testing. After spending many hours in hospital wards observing and analyzing patients, Bach discovered that "dis-ease" is the result of a conflict between the soul, mind and body, and disharmony between the soul and the personality. In other words, he believed that emotional problems manifest in the body as illness and it is the patient and physician’s job to seek within to find answers to the origin of the illness. Generations before his, people kept herb cabinets to treat family members naturally, but as allopathic medicine became the widespread practice with its toxic pharmaceutical drugs hailed as the panacea for all ills, people, in the name of so-called progress, were lured away from their "folk medicines." Bach developed 38 Flower Remedies that are nontoxic and non-habit-forming, and that cannot be overdosed. Ideally, the Flowers replace the negative state with an elevation or higher, more positive, vibration thereby not only getting rid of the illness but also creating a heightened state of health. Bach believed in treating the cause, not the effect (symptoms). For each emotional state, be it fear, loneliness, anger, jealousy, despair or uncertainty, there is a Flower remedy or combination. Check out this straightforward site featuring the different Flowers and conditions to be treated with each, as well as directions on how to use.

Publications

Some healthy-living magazines with Web sites that provide informative articles, recipes and more are Natural Life Magazine, Delicious! Magazine, and Conscious Choice: The Journal of Ecology and Natural Living.

Sue Hecht is a published professional writer/editor, poet and public relations professional currently living in Las Vegas but originally from New York. She is co-author of the Pacific Northwest and California book in the Romantic America series. She has done much research on alternative health (including working with people with AIDS for several years in Los Angeles), and has written and taught seminars internationally on various topics.