There is a major shift happening all around us in the wellness world. Many of us who have suffered from a mystery illness, aches, and pains have put our trust in treatments and medications that are designed to mute the symptoms. The standard of care has been to eliminate the signs that something is off balance, so we can move on with our lives and ignore the issue.

Some might say that listening to the body is a waste of time when there are pills to mask every symptom under the sun. As a clinical pharmacist, I’ve seen that world - and it’s not pretty. Even the “top-shelf” prescriptions and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs have massive down-sides and lists of side-effects long enough to make your head spin (sometimes literally). Not only that, the ingredients in these pills leech essential minerals and vitamins from your body!

The Massive Side-Effects of Today’s “Top-Shelf” Meds

Check out this top 10 list of prescription and OTC drugs and their most shocking side-effects so you can ...

If you are unsure about working with an alternative practitioner, you are not alone. Many people are sceptical of anything that is unfamiliar and it is natural for us to be wary of what we don’t understand.

However, more and more people are looking for an integrative approach to their health and healing, one that combines scientific based medicine with more holistic methods.

What is a holistic practitioner?

First, let’s understand what defines a ‘holistic practitioner’. They go by many names; non-traditional practitioner, holistic healer, alternative or complementary therapist. And they may use many different modalities, from herbalism to kinesiology, from pranic healing to chakra balancing. The common thread is their overall approach to health and healing. Holistic practitioners look at health in a holistic way; they see the mind, body and spirit as an integrative whole.

Mainstream medicine tends to see the body as a collection of separate systems, with specialists looking a...