ADVERTISING: Advertorial — Freedom of health

On this Independence Day week, I want to talk about our health freedoms. We are fortunate to live in a country where we still have the freedom to choose what we do with our health, our bodies, our children’s bodies. That freedom is far reaching.

We have the freedom to choose or deny a particular kind of care. If we don’t like the choices presented to us when we have a health challenge, we have the freedom to choose another practitioner that may offer something different, and another and another until we can come to a mutual understanding and agreement of how that treatment will be. In this article, I am referring to things like choosing medications and health related procedures that have risks of side effects, not elective procedures. I would caution here, to not run around and try to find someone who simply agrees with you, but to do your research. Know what you are talking about. Be knowledgeable about differing routes of care, do not just take someone’s word for it or do it because someone is coercing you to. Do it based on knowledge, individually chosen on your own accord. Fortunately, we have the freedom to do the research. Be sure to evaluate the pros and cons of all decisions, and remember, you may have to be able to defend it if confronted by someone of opposing views. Knowledge is power, and our right.

We still have the freedom to choose what we do with our own bodies, in our own homes, in our workplace and anywhere else. Those freedoms, particularly related to medications and procedures, are teetering, and we need to hold fast to them, because no one else has the right to infringe their beliefs on you in ways that may, for good or bad, affect your health. Just as you can’t infringe your beliefs to eat healthy when someone isn’t interested in that, they have the right to make decisions that can be of detriment to their health. It may not make sense to you, but it is their right, their freedom to choose.

There will always be controversy. To one person, a choice may be a “no-brainer,” while to the other person it may be a crazy choice, especially when it comes to their freedom to choose. Some people are very adamant in their beliefs when it comes to health care choices and will defend it even to the point of verbal violence. While others vehemently oppose those same things. Many teeter, with one foot in one camp and another foot in the other. They “understand,” based on hearsay usually, both sides, and are unable to decide for themselves. That is why researching both views are vitally important. There are some decisions just too important to leave to hearsay.

As our freedom to make decisions that will affect our health are on the brink of being lost, we have to be responsible on a deeper level for the decisions we make. But especially, it is truly important to hang on to those freedoms!

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Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with over four decades of experience. Carling is a “Health Detective.” She looks beyond your symptom picture and investigates WHY you are experiencing your symptoms in the first place.

Carling is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d’Alene clinic. Visit Carling’s website at www.vitalhealthcda.com to learn more about Carling, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles.

Carling can be reached at 208-765-1994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.