Why 7 Out of 10 Australians are Embracing Alternative Health Practices

Did you know that 7 out of 10 Australians used at least one form of complementary medicine in 2019? Alternative health practices are gaining ground. It's becoming clearer to more people that our current lifestyles just don't support good health.

Over 50 percent of Australians have a chronic disease, according to Complementary Medicines Australia. Conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are rapidly becoming the norm. And that's anything but normal! It's no wonder a growing number of people are looking for means for alternative health. People want to get back to more natural therapies that can treat them holistically.

What is alternative health?

"Alternative" is a very broad term. Its practices may be fairly mainstream approaches, like acupuncture and herbal medicines. Or they can be more unusual, such as energy healing. 

People have tried to distinguish alternative health with different terms. But alternative therapies, complementary medicine, holistic health and natural therapies all mean the same thing: the use of another method of healing without drugs or surgery.

This doesn't mean we have to choose between modern medicine and an alternative approach. On the contrary, alternative therapies have proven to be very complementary to modern medicine. They help speed up, or ease, the healing process.

So why limit yourself when you can have the best of both worlds?

Read: How to Get Started Using Alternative Medicine

Are you read to create a life of wellness?

A wellness lifestyle is about living with optimal health in every aspect of your life, not just the physical. It means mind-body-spirit wellness. That's because our overall health is affected by our thoughts, emotions, relationships, environment and physical well-being. Living a wellness lifestyle means taking all these factors into account holistically so that we can create our best life.

Most recently, COVID-19 made people reassess their lifestyle. The pandemic pushed people to look for a more natural approach to living. We were forced to slow down and stay at home. Good thing we saw its advantages. 

By staying home, we got the opportunity to cook more healthy meals. We grabbed the chance to plant our own garden. Our slower pace led us to swap some screen time for more family time. And we are still doing it. Many people are taking up a project or engaging in online personal development. More are out walking, exercising, breathing deeply and connecting with nature. 

Read: What is Chi? (And Why Is It Vital to Health?)

Where do you start?

Changing your lifestyle doesn't have to mean getting rid of all your material possessions and living on juice! Perhaps think about making some small changes instead. De-clutter your environment. Improve your nutrition by eating a range of colourful vegetables. Exercise more. And begin a daily mindfulness practice like meditation or yoga. 

🌿 Are you ready to Live your Best Life naturally? Visit Everything Alternative today, for quirky products, natural remedies and weird therapies.