THERE has been a shift of opinion towards naturopathic and homeopathic therapies of late, where they are viewed more positively and have gained wider acceptance from the public.

One practitioner notes that this was a result of the Sars outbreak a few years ago, when there was no drug or cure to be found, and one had to rely on one's own immune system.

But when is the best time to go for a system of treatment that is based on natural or herbal remedies and also traditional, such as traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, and when should one head for a general practitioner for some quick-acting pills in alopathic, otherwise known as 'Western', medicine?

'Well, there's a large gap between the way it happens and the way it's supposed to happen,' says Dr Sundardas DA, naturopathic physician and clinical director of Natural Therapies Research Centre.

'We should normally consider naturopathy first, not as the second or last resort. But 80 per cent of the time patients come to us when western' medicine doesn't work.'

Preventive

As the approach within so-called 'alternative' and 'complementary' medicine is preventive, Dr Sundardas, 42, says that a good time to see a practitioner is when your quality of health drops.

Explaining the fundamental difference between naturopathy and alopathy modalities, he says that in the former, the belief is that the patient has the innate ability to heal himself or herself. The therapist is there to facilitate.

In alopathy, however, the body is a machine to be worked on, so if it's broken, fix it - to put it bluntly. 'In this paradigm, if 10 people have a cold, you give them the same medicine rather than come up with individualistic variations.'

If someone with a cold came to see Dr Sundardas, for instance, he would distinguish the different body temperaments and examine if the cold symptoms are caused by a virus, or the patient has developed respitory mould, or is stressed and overworked. 'Id distinguish between the different causes and give different treatments accordingly.'

All diseases have an individuality component, he says. For eczema, for instance, one could look for food sensitivities, mineral deficiencies, heavy metal toxicity or whether it's a stress response. 'A lot of diseases have their roots in the digestive system,' says the specialist in allergies and musculoskeletal pain. The common perception is that complementary medication takes longer, but Dr Sundardas does not think that is always the case.

Dr Ajith Damodaran, a family physician who has a positive view of naturopathic medicine, points out that naturopathy also has physiology and biochemistry behind it. 'There is a science behind it, so what makes it complementary'?'

Naturopaths and homeopaths, for instance, go about solving problems in a systematic manner as well. They take the patient's history, do an examination and investigate to determine objective signs and clinical features.

'Then they have a hypothesis, and they then introduce an intervention based on the hypothesis and look for results to find out whether they are on the right track. Or adjustments are made along the way.

'All health practitioners do the same kind of logical problem-solving,' he notes.

In a sense, not everything outside of medical school is 'alternative', he thinks. To illustrate how views can change, he points out: 'In the old days, there was a dichotomy between the mind and the body but now people realise it's a seamless connection, so increasingly there's a lot of science behind it, how the mind affects the immune system and so on.'

As for evidence-based research, Dr Ajith points out that if you look hard enough, there are a lot of people doing small research projects to elucidate the work they're doing. And not many doctors necessarily read up on other materials beyond a handful of top medical journals.

He cautions, however, of complementary practitioners who apply the 'Western' model to treat - where they treat the disease rather than the individual. 'True ayurvedic therapists, for example, will look at your body type and constitution before offering a remedy.' Hospitals here are also increasingly acknowledging the role of treatments like acupuncture within the hospital setting. 'However, again, this is using acupuncture in alopathic style - to treat a symptom - while acupuncture is much more than that.'

The average person on the street could do much for his own health by taking an interest in it and reading about health issues to learn more, says Dr Ajith. 'Our health can be improved by a lot without very sophisticated knowledge,' he points out. 'Most people will benefit if they had basic knowledge about health and nutrition.'

Obviously, however, in an emergency, when there is a life-threatening situation, or an infectious disease, or in a case which needs a medical procedure, one should head straight for a doctor in a hospital or clinic.

Is there a general disillusionment with alopathic medicine as well, which is why people are now more receptive to alternative treatments? Dr Sundardas believes so. Dr Ajith feels the different modalities are getting more integrated now. Holistic is the way medicine should be all the time.