Why I chose to look into the alternative route.

In August, 2009 I decided to take responsibility for my own health.  I had gotten to a point where I felt terrible ALL the time!  I had migraine headaches, nausea, chronic sinus problems, and digestive issues.  My sleep was not restful.  When I awoke in the mornings, I was already tired.  I could not wait until the day was over until I could come back home and sleep.  What kind of a way to live is that??  It wasn't until I started getting these weird pains in all of my joints that I decided to do something about it.

I had been to several conventional doctors over the years.  Neurologists, ENT specialists (I even had sinus surgery!), etc. and none of them could really come up with a good solution for me.  My general practitioner even suggested that my problems were all in my head and I probably needed to take anti-depressants!  Instead of calling the shrink, I decided to try the alternative approach.

Now, I'm not one of these kooky new-agey people, but I do accept that conventional medicine may not have all the answers.  I once heard a doctor say that conventional medicine is very effective for emergency treatments, structural repairs (like setting a broken leg), and treating bacteria with anti-biotics; but it is NOT good at treating chronic ailments.  You'd better believe that I want to go to a conventional hospital if I'm ever in a car accident and blood is gushing all over the place! Absolutely!  However, for chronic sinus problems, migraines, and the general blahs, it just didn't have the answers for me.

The first thing I did was start reading every health book I could get my hands on.  Health books interest me so I read a lot of them anyway.  One day, my aunt gave me a book that really changed my outlook on eating healthily and taking care of my body.  My cousin had read it and said "this book will change your life."  ....and it absolutely did!  The book is called "The Ultramind Solution" by Dr. Mark Hyman.  The title is a bit misleading because it's not just about the mind and brain.  It's about the whole body.  His premise is that if the brain can affect the body, then taking care of your body will help the brain as well.  There is a lot of information in this book, and some of it we already know (like sugar and trans-fats are bad) but Dr. Hyman presents it in a way that makes you want to actually do the things we already know we should do.  He has written other books too (which I have read), but I find that this book has the most comprehensive information about general health and well-being.  This is the book that started me on my quest for health!