Local Heroes...

Did you ever know a kid who counted seasons by super-awesome holidays? In other words, Easter baskets (Spring!); fireworks (Summer!); candy (Fall!); presents (Winter!). Yeah, well, that was so not me. I was incessant hay fever (Spring!); blistering sunburns (Summer!); dangerous ragweed season (Fall!)….you get the picture. I was your basic varietal allergen magnet running around in dungarees (yes, dungarees) and ribbon barrettes.

Basically, being a sneezy kid made me, shall we say, a tad thoughtful when it comes to medicine. And I’ve recently begun to wonder – is it possible to incorporate a green philosophy when choosing a doctor? What is green medicine, exactly? Doctors and hospitals use tons of energy and disinfectant chemicals (BAD). But since these practices also save lives, (GOOD), what is the happy medium? Can we really be eco-friendly when picking our treatments?

After my head exploded, I decided to look for answers by consulting acupuncturist Michael Yang, L.Ac., founder of the Los Angeles-based Pacific Medical Group. (And to all Angelinos who have questions about alternative medicine – this is the guy who will give you the answers.) Mike quickly informed me that there are two approaches to green medicine. One is that facilities themselves must take the initiative to be as green as possible – recycle, reuse, and keep waste to a minimum. But Mike took it a step farther by pointing out that the cornerstones of health are nutrition, exercise and mental health. These concepts, when properly practiced, are green by definition. “Healthy nutrition is organic, seasonal and local - that's green. Exercise is best outdoors and people need to be physically active beyond exercise hour. No need to buy fancy equipment and build more (carbon-foot printing) gyms. When patients are encouraged to think globally, that promotes a healthy feeling of community which in turn generates green activities.” And that, my friends, is green medicine.

But how does western medicine green up? Luckily, it seems that the idea of eco-friendly hospitals is catching on. Duke Medicine recently upped their commitment to becoming as green as possible. As their web site promotes, “In recent years, Duke has taken steps to green its operations, in everything from large-scale construction projects to everyday housekeeping services, bucking the conventional wisdom that being green means sacrificing quality or cost-efficiency.”

It seems like green medicine is on the road to evolving into a real force. Naturally! After all, Ralph Waldo Emerson says “Nature suffers nothing to remain in her kingdoms that cannot help itself.” Oops, sorry, my head just exploded again.