Ginseng has been a trusted medicine in the East for many centuries: now, doctors in the West are looking more closely as its uses and effects.

Many people know of herbal remedies for minor ailments, but herbs can also be used effectively to treat diseases, and research into their medicinal value is increasing.

Physiotherapy is all about mobility. A form of physical exercise, it uses manipulation and massage, plus a variety of other methods, to give relief from pain and restore movement where there has been injury or disease.

Homeopathy is based on the belief that a medicine which curses or improves a condition should contain ingredients which would also cause it. So what is the trust about this controversial ‘alternative’ medicine?

'An apple a day keeps the doctor away…’ Obviously an over-simplification, but the principle holds true: health care and preventive medicine, both public and personal, will certainly reduce the chances of illness.

Although we cannot change the outside air if it is too dry or too humid, with the aid of humidifiers, we can at least ensure that the air in our homes in just right and keeps us feeling healthy.

Being in good health is far more than just an absence of illness-it is a state in itself, affecting both the body and the mind. To be positively healthy is to feel physically and emotionally capable of enjoying life to the full.

Hydrotherapy is the form of physiotherapy where patients are immersed in warm water, which allows them to exercise without pain and thereby aids recovery from a variety of complaints.

Physiotherapy is used in a wide range of problems which come about through disease, disability or injury. Physiotherapists themselves usually gain general experience in the early stages of their career, but many later specialize in particular areas.

Hypnosis used to be a popular stage entertainment, but today it may be used by hospitals as an aid to pain relief and by psychologists as a means of relieving certain psychologically based disorders.