Victoria Does CAM

Hello there! I'm Victoria, a third semester senior at Virginia Commonwealth University. This blog serves as a medium for the assignments for my Complementary & Alternative Medicine course, here at VCU. Disclaimer: This blog is created by a student for a course and is not intended to provide medical advice.

[victoriadoescamh3]

The End of Days... of UNIV 291 that is!

So, the end has come. Today is the final day of my UNIV 291 class, Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Health, Hype or Hocus Pocus?

It has been an interesting past couples of months, that’s for sure. I took this course because I needed an elective to graduate in December and I thought it would be an easy A. And it was! But not because it didn’t require any effort; it was a substantial amount of work, with the reading, exploring and researching. But the entire time, nothing felt like work. It felt like what I do on a daily basis: surf the internet and make connections between the random topics I find. Researching different CAM therapies, techniques, practices, etc. was just about as much fun as I’ve had in a class during my 4.5 years at VCU (yes, I am a SUPER senior hahaha I blame it on the requirements of a double major). 

I do have to admit, I wasn’t able to post as much as I would have liked to. In the beginning of this course I was focused on my summer Organic CHEM class and in the last couple of weeks my mom was sent to the ER, and later kept for observation. So that hindered me a bit with how much time I had to focus on this course. But seeing what others have discovered, and being able to interact with them, inspired me to keep going, and I plan on keeping that ball rolling.

Within the past year, the NCCAM (National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine) changed its title to the NCCIH (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health). Click here if you’d like to read more about the name change.

After participating in this course, I have learned that this change was very fitting. For so long, the general public has seen TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) as a sham alternative to modern medicine. But TCM and other CAM practices work best, not when used as a substitute to modern medicine, but rather alongside modern medicine. Nothing can replace proper modern medical care, but CAM can be used alongside it to lessen the negative side effects or improve the effectiveness of modern treatments.

TCM and CAM should be offered to patients as a viable option. So many of the practices we have already integrated into what is considered the “norm”, such as chiropractic care and acupuncture. But we should expand that, to include all of the incredibly beneficial CAM practices. I know that I never would have learned about such practices like moxibustion and gua sha (both of which I plan on posting about in the future, after the class has ended) if it weren’t for taking this course. 

But a lot of people are stuck in their ways, especially those that could benefit the most from these techniques. We are taught what is good and bad, and everything that is not fully understood is classified as bad. I think the best way to bring these beneficial practices to the surface is to educate new and existing health care professionals on the benefits (and risks, let’s be honest) that these practices offer; which I’ve noticed many of the students of this class have already done. I quite enjoyed the blog posts and comments from the established nurses or physician’s assistants to-be. It gave a good perspective on what needs to be done in order to integrate CAM into everyday care (or at least offering the option to patients).

I plan to keep this blog alive and going for as long as I can. I enjoyed CAM and all it has to offer and I still have some topics that I wasn’t able to discuss in this course, that I want to dive into. But for now, happy adventuring CAMers :)

[victoriadoescamh3]

Your Body & Magnet Therapy: A Tinder Love Story

You know that moment. The moment when you swipe right and the screen pops up announcing that you and [insert name here] have liked each other. Well, remember that feeling. Because that is the same feeling that your body gets when you use magnet therapy!

Magnet therapy is the use of magnets to help alleviate pain and other health issues. It’s lineage can be traced all the way back to ancient Egypt! It is said that Cleopatra had her bed made of lodestone (a natural stone with magnet properties) and wore a lodestone in her headdress to keep her young and beautiful. But the Egyptians weren’t the only ones to utilize the healing power of static magnets. Folk healers in Europe and Asia used them to cure various illnesses and even to promote new cell growth.

Here’s how it works:

Static magnets are placed on certain parts of the body. The magnetic fields encourages the blood cells to orient themselves in a singular direction, allowing them to flow more readily and better transport oxygen to the other parts of the body. This naturally aids in relieving pain, reducing inflammation and increasing joint flexibility. Here is a diagram that can help better explain this concept visually:

image source

Not only does using magnets for health help pain, it can also help those who suffer form depression and other mental illnesses, such as PTSD. The magnetic field, applied to the brain by a “cap” or wand, activates the neurons in the brain, helping to brain function.

image source

I encourage you guys to watch this short video about how magnet therapy can help people with PTSD:

‘Brain zapping’: Veterans say experimental PTSD treatment has changed their lives

I don’t know if I’d ever try magnet therapy to help with my depression but I’ll consider it an option. The scientific evidence for it is pretty impressive. What do you guys think? Would you try magnet therapy? Let me know in the comments!

If you would like more information on magnet therapy, please feel free to visit any of the links to the resources that I used, down below:

http://media.noetic.org/uploads/files/SE_Magnet_Therapy.pdf

http://www.innerself.com/Health/history_magnets.htm

http://www.magneticpulser.us/Magnetic_Therapy_History.html

[victoriadoescamh3]

Music Therapy: A Snapchat Story

Disclaimer: This was created by students for a class and is not intended to provide any medical advice.

The AMTA (American Music Therapy Association) defines music therapy as being “...the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.” *Phew* That’s sure was a mouthful! Basically, music therapy is using music to help people get better! A lot simpler huh? 

Music therapy is a legitimate health profession. NYU offers their students both M.A and a Ph. D programs in Music Therapy. Upon graduation, students have to take an exam to get MT-BC (Music therapist- Board Certified) by the CBMT (Certification Board for Music Therapists) (click on the links to find out more about both).

The earliest documentation of using music for therapy was in 1789. Columbian Magazine published an article by an anonymous source called “ Music Physically Considered”. In the years following, Edwin Atlee (1804) and Samuel Mathews (1806) both wrote dissertations on the value of using music as a therapeutic recovery method; and the foundation of the NSMT (National Society of Mucial Therapists) in 1903 by Eva Augusta Vescelius and a number of other associations for music therapy gave rise to the NAMT (National Association for Music Therapy) in NYC in 1950. The CMBT was later incorporated in 1983 to allow for proper accreditation for those looking to study music therapy. If you would like a more detailed looked at the history behind music therapy, please click here. 

While music therapy is not recommended in place of medical care, it has been proven to help patients of all ages and conditions. Music therapy has shown to help patients with depression, especially when using techniques such as painting to music. This is because when we listen to music, the auditory cortex processes what we are listening to, allowing our brains to “unload” and therefore boosting its ability to function better.

image source

Music therapy has also proven to help people with stress, including those that suffer from high blood pressure and heart problems. Listening to a small amount of relaxing music, 3 times a week showed significant increase in proper blood flow, allowing the heart to better pump the blood through the body. 

Music therapy may also be able to improve speech and communication skills, as well as concentration in children with autism. It is believed that the concentration needed to focus on the music itself, helps to strengthen concentration long term. Music therapy can also help relieve the stress and anxiety, as well as nausea and vomiting of cancer patients going through chemotherapy. 

While music therapy is still in the infancy stage of scientific research, enough evidence is present to conclude that music therapy can be beneficial to patients of all kinds.

So the next time you have a stressful day, put on the headphones, sit back and relax, and watch music therapy at work.  

If you would like more information on music therapy and its benefits, please feel free to visit any of the following sites:

http://www.everydayhealth.com/womens-health/benefits-of-music-therapy.aspx

http://blog.brainhq.com/2010/04/22/top-12-brain-based-reasons-why-music-as-therapy-works/

http://altmedicine.about.com/od/musicsoundtherapy/a/benefits_music_therapy.htm

https://gwrtc103projects.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/page/24/

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-does-music-affect-the-brain.html

[victoriadoescamh3]

Coconut Oil and Oil Pulling

Disclaimer: This was created by students for a class and is not intended to provide any medical advice. 

Coconut oil has been a staple in the diets of many people in tropical countries (India, Thailand, The Philippines) for ages. In fact, studies have shown that many people that live in such areas, may use coconut and it’s byproducts in as much as 60% of their diets. And while it may seem like a lot, studies have shown that those that do consume that much coconut are some of the healthiest people in the world. But the anti-coconut oil propaganda spread by the corn and soy oil industries in the 1980′s had kept coconut oil away from the West up until the early 2000′s, suggesting that coconut oil was bad for human consumption due to the high number of saturated fats per serving.

But coconut oil is not as bad as it once was made out to be. In fact the same saturated fats that kept Westerners away from it for so many years, is exactly the reason why it is so good for you! The saturated fats in coconut oil are MCFAs, otherwise known as medium-chain fatty acids. These MCFAs are a healthy version of the saturated fats that we have been warned against for many years. The human body metabolizes the MCFAs in the liver. This means that the saturated fats are turned directly into energy, and not stored in our fat cells.

But MCFAs are not the only wonderful part of coconut oil. Coconut oil contains lauric acid, Lauric acid is converted to the virus and bacteria fighting monolaurin by our bodies. This monolaurin, though it is unknown how, can help in dealing with diseases such as herpes, the flu and possibly even cancer and HIV!

But that’s not all. The MCFAs and lauric acid in coconut oil may help to prevent heart disease by controlling cholesterol levels and blood pressure. It also helps the body to better use insulin, therefore aiding in the management of type 2 diabetes and reducing belly fat.

I use coconut oil for the digestive benefits. Every morning, I consume 1 tbsp of coconut oil with whatever I’m eating for breakfast that day, whether it be toast or a green smoothie. I definitely notice when I don’t have my coconut oil, because I start to feel lower abdominal pain and tightness, associated with IBS. Since coconut oil is easy to digest, it regulates the digestive system, while also combating bacteria and parasites that can cause intestinal unrest.

Now, not only is coconut oil used internally, but it can also be used to add needed moisture to hair and skin, especially in the hot and humid summer we’ve been having here in RVA. It can even be combined with baking soda and minerals to create remineralizing toothpaste. And in some parts of the Philippines, it is even used as fuel for automobiles and generators!

But perhaps the most interesting use of coconut oil is in oil pulling. Oil pulling is said to be a great way to pull toxins out of the body via the mouth. Some say it can also help cure a hangover. Either way, it’s an excellent way to maintain proper oral health. In this video, I tried oil pulling for myself. It was pretty gross, I’m not going to lie; and it was difficult to keep myself from either swallowing it or spitting it out. But I was slightly impressed. My mouth felt clean and I think my teeth looked a little brighter.

If you would like more information on coconut oil, please feel free to visit one of the links down below:

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/oils/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html

http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/nutrition/nutrition+tips/10+facts+about+coconut+oil,18271

http://www.ada.org/en/science-research/science-in-the-news/the-practice-of-oil-pulling

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/articles/coconut-oil.html

http://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-eating/diet-weight-loss/food/nutrition/article/coconut-oil-all-its-cracked-be

http://www.onecountry.org/story/vanuatu-proving-ground-coconut-oil-alternative-fuel

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