The Alternative Path to Health, a monthly health care journal, began publishing in January 2001 according to its publisher, Fred Holder. Holder said, "We have designed it to bring the reader an eclectic look at health from a mind-body-spirit viewpoint. Striving to offer something for everyone, we present positive, stimulating and useful information that our readers can apply to their daily lives."
The topics within the pages of The Alternative Path to Health range from diet and nutrition, to herbs and aromatherapy, to mind-body medicine and even holistic pet care. The premier issue has been placed on the publication's Web site, www.fholder.com/AlternativePath, so that readers can get a sample of the content.
Why start another health publication? Holder said, "I've been publishing special interest publications for over 25 years. I have always wished that I could help more people, but special interest groups are limited in size. Health, however, is a topic of interest to every person in the world; hence there is no limit to the number of people we can help with a publication such as The Alternative Path to Health."
Holder has been a firm believer in alternative ways of maintaining health for many years. "I have felt that conventional medicine has mostly been geared to response treatment, kicking in when we become ill," he said. "Although I recognize that we do, at times, need conventional medicine, I've felt that the side effects of prescription drugs are often worse than the disease they are supposed to cure." Holder added that, additionally, the intrusive practices often used for diagnosis are not only expensive, but in many cases unnecessary.
Typically, conventional medical doctors schedule a patient every 15 minutes or less. The nurse talks to the patient and writes down what the patient thinks is wrong. Then, the doctor hurries in, gives the patient a quick once-over, writes a prescription, and goes to the next patient. Or, he may recommend a surgeon for exploratory surgery or a lab for tests, x-rays or other expensive procedures to help diagnose the problem. All of this costs a great deal of money. "In starting this publication," Holder explained, "I plan to introduce our readers to alternative and less expensive ways to remain healthy. That is the goal for every issue!"
To make this publication work, a technically competent editor with a good background in alternative health care was needed. Holder said, "We've selected Patty Harder for that job. She edited the Holistic Health News for over four years and is very familiar with alternative health care techniques. She is also a licensed massage practitioner and practices what she writes about."
