31 Dec • Expand on your

DQ1

Discussion 1: Western and Eastern Medical Practices

Most people would agree that no one knows your body better than you do. Before the first symptoms fully surface, you might sense a disruption in your body’s functioning. How would you respond to the onset of a headache? If you practice Western medicine, you might take a pain reliever for the headache and relax in a dark room. If you practice Eastern medicine, you might take a steamy bath to sooth your tense neck muscles and relieve congestion that might be contributing to your headache. Or you might seek a massage to relieve the stress that might be causing the headache. It fact, it is not uncommon for individuals to sample remedies from both medical practices in order to reap the results they seek. Regardless of the medical approach you prefer, there are a wide variety of stress reducing options to improve your health and fit your lifestyle.

For this Discussion, review this week’s Learning Resources including the “Varying Philosophies of Medical Care” handout. Research complementary and alternative stress management approaches in the Walden Library and on the website for the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) (http://nccam.nih.gov/). Select a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) discussed at NCCAM. Consider how the CAM you selected might effectively reduce stress. Reflect on any contraindications that might exist with regard to its use.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 3 a brief description of the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) you selected. Then, explain how this CAM is effective in reducing stress. Finally, explain any contraindications or cautions with this type of stress management strategy. Use the current literature to support your response.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

Respond by Day 5 to at least one of your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:

• Ask a probing question.

• Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.

• Offer and support an opinion.

• Validate an idea with your own experience.

• Make a suggestion.

• Expand on your colleague’s posting.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

Click on the Reply button below to reveal the textbox for entering your message. Then click on the Submit button to post your message.

DQ2

Discussion 2: Nutritional Approach to Stress Management

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.

– Hippocrates

From the time you were old enough to use a fork, did your parents recite the nutritional purposes of various foods as you pushed them around on your plate? These dinnertime lessons were to show that food was not just for curing hunger pains. Carrots made your eyes sharper and spinach made your muscles stronger. Eat an apple every day and you could avoid a trip to the doctor. Yet, somehow as you aged, meals might have become more about what tasted good and less about what was good for you. However, food and the nutrients it can provide have more to do with fueling your body and its many systems and less to do with the preference of your taste buds. With the prevalence of pills and other medical interventions, it is easy to forget that mother nature offers a host of preventative medicines in the form of various natural foods and herbs. Consider how the management of stress can benefit from nature’s medicine.

For this Discussion, review this week’s Learning Resources including Appendices 12–15 of the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Also review the ”Nutrition, Stress, and Your Cells” handout and the “Stress and Its Impact on Nutrient Processing and Absorption” handout. Then, research nutritional approaches to stress management and select two that might be effective. Finally, consider any contraindications or cautions that might result in applying the approaches you selected.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 4 a brief description of two nutritional approaches you selected for stress management. Then explain why these approaches might be effective. Finally, explain any contraindications or cautions to using these two approaches and explain why. Be specific.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

Respond by Day 6 to at least one of your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:

• Ask a probing question.

• Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.

• Offer and support an opinion.

• Validate an idea with your own experience.

• Make a suggestion.

• Expand on your colleague’s posting.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

Click on the Reply button below to reveal the textbox for entering your message. Then click on the Submit button to post your message.