Stroke Alternative Treatments: Diet, Supplements, and More

When Does 'Complementary And Alternative' Medicine Become 'Integrative'?

As I was preparing for a recent MS Ireland Unspeakable Bits webcast — this one about the uses of medical cannabis for MS — I tucked back into a reference book I've been using since the early days of my diagnosis, back in 2001.

The first edition of Allen C. Bowling, MD, PhD's book Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Multiple Sclerosis was published that same year. I upgraded to the second edition (2007, Demos Medical Publishing) as soon as it came out. It's been on the multiple sclerosis resource shelf of my study ever since.

It's a dog-eared old thing by now, but it is ever helpful when someone asks about something they are thinking about trying for MS or its symptoms.

As I continued my research for that webcast, using the search words "complementary and alternative," I kept coming on another term I hadn't seen used around the internet before: integrative.

RELATED: What Are Alternative, Complementary, and Integrative Health Approaches?

What Can CAM or Integrative Medicine Do for MS?

Mind you, I mayn't have been looking for a while, but I don't know that I've seen the term "integrative" used very much when it comes to what is known collectively as Western Medicine.

In fact, when I searched for the term on well-known MS and other health sites, I found very little.

And then I went to search around the National Institute of Health (NIH) website to see what they might have to say on the topic. And didn't I find not just a description, but also a whole NIH-sponsored center for the study of such things, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

This one was news to me. They even have a page dedicated to integrative health and multiple sclerosis.

No one is suggesting that CAM or integrative medicine is going to cure MS (well, no one on these sites, nor on this page). But many people with MS will find comfort in the fact that research is being done (albeit slowly) and that, while some things have not been proven to work, many of the integrative measures we take can be safe and have not necessarily been disproven (yet).

RELATED: Natural Remedy Dos and Don'ts for Multiple Sclerosis

How Far Have We Come With Integrative Medicine?

Both CAM and integrative health have their limitations and shortcomings, as an article on holistic health in the Western Journal of Medicine describes. But most things in life fall short of the hoped-for outcome a good deal of the time.

I find it interesting that the above article talking about the advantages and shortcomings of a holistic health approach was published in 1982.

The author concludes the article with the thought: "It is certainly time to create model holistic programs in a variety of communities and in conventional medical settings, to assess whether a combination of health promotion and public education of Western and alternative approaches can meet people's health needs more effectively and less expensively than the present system."

Sure, wouldn't we still like to see that happen over 30 years since the paper's author thought it was a good idea?

Wishing you and your family the best of health.

Cheers,

Trevis

My book Chef Interrupted is available on Amazon. Follow me on the Life With MS Facebook page, and read more on Life With Multiple Sclerosis.

Twins Eyeing Complementary Pieces At Deadline

MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey knows this won't be a popular sentiment, but he said he never really felt urgency to make impact additions to his offense, even as it struggled mightily to end the first half.

That's because Falvey never considered this roster as having the "significant gaps" like he thought of last year's roster.

Minnesota's offense has reinforced that belief with this hot start to open the second half, including a four-run first inning against Mariners starter George Kirby on Tuesday night, but there's certainly need for finishing touches to this roster, as evidenced by how a thin Twins bullpen allowed seven runs in the final two innings to erase a four-run lead in a 9-7 loss at Target Field.

With the likes of Jorge Polanco, Caleb Thielbar, Brock Stewart and Royce Lewis still due back to this roster, Falvey said on Tuesday that he feels some gaps could soon be filled from within. So, as the club's attention turns fully to next Tuesday's Trade Deadline, Minnesota is focused on improving, but with more complementary pieces than a big splash.

"I don't think that we'll match any of that kind of addition [from those four players], and I don't think we're trying to, quite frankly," Falvey said. "Those are really impactful players. We want to find ways to upgrade our team, but as we look at our group, you think about the bench that we have and those guys coming."

The message, then, is this: It's certainly not best to dream about the Shohei Ohtanis of the world, and perhaps not even about the Paul Goldschmidts of the world.

Still, the Twins are firmly planning to add, and Falvey indicated that the majority of the team's trade conversations are centered around a "complementary bat" and relief help for a bullpen that has too heavily relied on Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax -- with a lot of hope put on immediate success from Stewart and Thielbar -- though the market is still in flux.

Falvey said Minnesota is still trying to sort through teams that are drifting into the "sell" category, with the sense that most activity will take place in the final 72 hours before the Deadline.

"If you can find a complementary bat that balances you out, whether that's [from the] right side when you have some guys that are left-handed in some position, or it's the left side when you think you're a little more right-handed, we'll keep an eye on that," Falvey said.

Though the Twins may not necessarily be prioritizing a bigger move, there's also an awareness that they have an excess of left-handed corner bats with Max Kepler, Joey Gallo, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner. That's an area that's going to be in demand at this Deadline.

Falvey indicated that Minnesota has already fielded plenty of interest in that group in the early stages of the Deadline discussions.

Falvey doesn't believe the Twins can have too much depth at any position. It's tough to blame him, given the club's injury fortunes over the last several years, but he also pointed to the offseason swap with the Marlins of Luis Arraez for Pablo López and prospects as a trade in which Minnesota got what it felt was a good price when dealing from an area of relative excess.

"Less that we are focused on selling from [that depth], but other teams look at you and say, 'OK, you have some good players we like that are left-handed and play corners,'" Falvey said. "Because there are other teams that don't have any of that, and they're dying to get some. … We have a high bar for all of those guys, though."

And whatever happens at the Deadline, the Twins also know, as they've said all along, that their direction will be dictated largely by the performance of the core players already in their clubhouse -- Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, Kepler and the like -- and that's where the surge will have to continue.

"Some of our premium guys who are supposed to be the core of our offense were not performing up to their expectations," Falvey said. "We needed that to happen. We're not trading for a replacement to any of those types of players.

"Our view is, if those guys can perform the way we expect them to, and the other guys do what they're supposed to be doing in a complementary way, we'll be in a better spot."

Kuwait Parliament Holds Complementary Session To Address Agenda

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUWAIT, July 26 (KUNA) -- National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al-Sadoun started on Wednesday, the Parliament's complementary session to look into the day's agenda.The Parliament will continue discussing the Amiri Decree in the first regular session of the 17th legislative term (2023-2027).MPs kicked off today's agenda by asking for dedicating two hours to discuss the "strategic alternative," control of the increase in product prices, as well as the criteria in appointments of senior positions.Other topics on the table include forming interim committees regarding solutions for problems suffered by the population in Sabah Al-Ahmad, Al-Wafra, Ali Sabah Al-Salem and Al-Khairan, as well as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. (end)jy.Fn.Ahm

MENAFN26072023000071011013ID1106694626

Legal Disclaimer:MENAFN provides the information "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.

---