Whats the opposite of "Western Medicine"? And where do I find remedies!

Whats the opposite of "Western Medicine"? And where do I find remedies that arent Western?

I'd like to start using herbs and teas and such to cure things, but I havent the faintest clue on how to start. What are some good remedies for colds and sore throats and the like?

Websites please!

Western Medicine is also known as "allopathic medicine." It is characterized by being based on treating symptoms and also in treating "the part as the whole." In other words a problem with your liver is only in your liver and that's all that gets treated.

All other forms of medicine treat the individual. This is more in alignment with the internationally recognized definition of health from the World Health Organization which states that good health is not the mere absence of symptoms but is a balance of well being in body, mind and spirit.

With herbs, you're not just treating symptoms (though it is easy to use herbs in an allopathic way and really miss the point of their benefits), but herbs also contain nutrients and other phytochemicals that nourish and help restore balance in the body.

Some of these phytochemicals also self-modulate within the body. For example, extensive studies have show that the cocoa leaf (which when eaten whole will not cause you to get high), has phytochemicals that can treat diarrhea as well as constipation. This is because different receptors on your cells are active depending on different pathologies.

So the exact same plant can be used for opposite conditions!

The most popular form of this whole-body medicine is called "Chinese Medicine" and is, according to the World Health Organization, the most widely practiced form of medicine in the world.