This chapter contains an in-depth explanation of several branches of holistic medicine, including acupuncture, Ayurveda, naturopathy, homeopathy, chiropractic, network spinal analysis and massage. I also discuss the very real facts about the ways in which various branches and practitioners of holistic medicine have been suppressed and harassed by the conventional medical establishment and our government, and then ignored by the media. This persecution helps to keep the mainstream public ignorant and skeptical of the very real benefits that holistic medicine has to offer.
Please keep in mind that the information contained in this chapter concerns the prevention and/or treatment of chronic conditions (heart disease, cancer, hypoglycemia, acne, the flu, etc.), not acute injuries (e.g. car accidents, burns, heat exhaustion, frostbite, etc.). Broad generalizations are made throughout this chapter to emphasize points, so please remember that there are always exceptions to my statements. Although I present challenging viewpoints in this chapter, I believe it is in our best interest to wisely use the best of both systems for optimum diagnosis, treatment and healing. And though I’m tough on the modern medical model, implicating its underlying financial motives, I’d like to acknowledge the many dedicated doctors, nurses, technicians and emergency personnel who are true healers working within an established system that is entrenched in a not altogether healthy “feedback loop.”
Allopathic Medicine—Symptom/Disease Management
The allopathic medical philosophy taught at most medical schools, and practiced by the majority of medical doctors, relies on the concept of identifying diseases or symptoms, and then prescribing drugs to manage or combat those conditions. It is a system that considers the disease or symptom to be the actual problem, as opposed to addressing the underlying causes that produced the disease or symptom in the first place. A wide variety of tests, procedures and equipment specially designed to identify diseases and symptoms have been developed, which on one level is great, because these tests could be used to help figure out underlying causes. Yet, on another level they are very limiting, since they are rarely used for such purposes. Typically, once a diagnosis is determined, the tests are plunked into the patient’s file as conclusive evidence of his or her condition.
Live Naturally: Improve Your Health Today
This model considers bacteria, viruses, fungi, molds and other foreign invaders to be some of the main causes of our illnesses; therefore, antibiotics, and/or drugs are prescribed to fight them. In fact, the standard treatment procedure is often the use of drugs to “manage” or “fight,” or in many cases to resort to surgery to cut out the problem. Unfortunately, drugs often harm the body with what we term side effects. Words and names are powerful concepts in our consciousness. The language of modern allopathic medicine is filled with images of war: the war on cancer, for example. Verbs like control, combat, fight and irradiate connote strife. Invaders must be conquered. Yet when it comes to drugs, language is more euphemistic. If we said that the drugs are poisoning us rather than giving us side effects, we might not be so apt to use them on a long-term basis. For example, look through any mainstream magazine, find an ad for a popular drug, and then flip the page to read the extensive list of side effects—that’s what happens when the body is poisoned over time with drugs.
Since the allopathic medical model (notice I said “model,” and not “doctor”) isn’t concerned with getting to the root causes of symptoms and diseases (e.g. the cause of the symptom), it is a highly profitable venture due to repeat clients. The long-term use of drugs ensures that people never quite get better, and slowly deteriorate due to poor immune function and the side effects of the drugs. As time goes by, more problems are “discovered,” so more drugs are prescribed. At some point the conditions can become so severe that the only option available is surgery, which provides more financial windfall. This well-tuned, multi-billion dollar industry is comprised of medical doctors, technicians, hospitals, pharmaceutical empires, government agencies like the FDA, and private organizations such as The American Medical Association, American Dental Association, American Cancer Society, etc. This entire interlocking disease management system is designed to provide repeat customers for a very long time—the longer and the more sick we are, the more money to make—a perfect business model!
Medical doctors are trained to believe that the system of medicine they are taught is the only valid one (developed by the AMA and its universities), and that natural medicine is more or less just quackery. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) supports this disease/symptom management industry and works to legally banish, suppress, slander or harass those who use successful natural treatments (particularly cancer cures). They imprison doctors who perform them (see the next section), because such treatments and cures undermine the finances of the allopathic medical conglomerate. Prevention is barely in their vocabulary.
To review, the allopathic medical model of diagnosing and treating most chronic conditions relies on procedures and techniques that usually don’t address the core issues of why the disease or symptom appeared in the first place. It uses synthetic drugs and surgery to conquer and control the situation—this is called disease/symptom management. For acute care, where trauma is involved (such as with a car accident), temporary management of bodily systems is helpful and can even be required for the body to be stabilized (although using natural remedies would also be beneficial). However, long-term use of drugs for chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, asthma, etc.) only manages symptoms, doesn’t address the root cause(s) and usually toxifies the body. The toxic effects of medical drugs kill over 100,000 people a year.[i] Natural therapies are very safe in comparison, are often more effective, and can even help cure the underlying problem.
Natural Medicine Leads to Real Cures
In contrast, the philosophy of natural medicine holds that a weakened immune system (and/or along with other weakened bodily systems) is the reason foreign invaders can thrive, producing symptoms and diseases.
Most of us are taught that we need to go to medical doctors when we get sick. What we aren’t taught is that the real doctor is already within us as the innate wisdom of the body. This is the difference between conventional allopathic systems and natural holistic medicine systems. The philosophy of natural medicine is that, given the right conditions, the body will heal itself. Whereas the allopathic model tries to control defective body systems through drug intervention, or kill foreign invaders with antibiotics, natural medicine rarely includes toxic agents. Instead, herbs, homeopathic remedies and other non-invasive therapies are used. These techniques harmoniously help facilitate the repair and strengthening of bodily systems (especially the immune system, which can then properly fight foreign invaders), or help to destroy offending pathogens without toxic side effects. The goal of natural medicine is to figure out why systems have weakened and then repair them, which results in healing.
In natural medicine, prevention is always considered the first priority. Therefore, much attention is placed on educating the patient about proper diet and other lifestyle choices that affect health, such as discussed in this book. An ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure, and more. Speaking of cures, only the body cures. Not drugs, not diet, not herbs, or anything else. It is the innate wisdom of the body and the unblocked flow of life force energy that moves through the body that produces healing (cure). However, that doesn’t mean we can’t help the body heal, which is the focus of this book.
Since our bodies do have the innate wisdom to heal themselves, the task of the natural doctor is to figure out how, why and where the body’s ecology/energy is out of harmony, and then offer ways to bring it back into harmony through non-toxic means. Healing will almost always occur when bodily systems are brought back into harmony with each other and pathogens are dealt with properly (via toxic-free methods).
For example, consider an ear infection, which is very common in children. The allopathic model recommends treatment with antibiotics. That’s treating the symptom. The infection may go away, but the underlying cause of the infection—a weakened immune system and the reason behind the weak immune system—is still there. Furthermore, antibiotics not only kill offending bacteria in the ear, but often kill immune building bacteria in the gut, creating a downward spiral of reoccurring ear infections and antibiotic treatment. This can ultimately lead to the invasive procedure of intubation (which can and often does lead to ADD/ADHD by seriously compromising the vestibular system housed in the inner ear—see www.handle.org for more information).
On the other hand, natural medical philosophy will question why the immune system has dropped to such a degree that an ear infection took hold in the first place. The underlying cause of the weakened immune system could be a milk allergy (or any allergy, for that matter), poor nutrition, or any number of things, which the natural doctor seeks to discover and then correct—strengthening the immune system as she treats the symptoms of the infection. Treatment of the ear infection itself may include the use of non-toxic herbal formulas, such as garlic and mullein (also found at natural food stores), to destroy harmful bacteria. This helps to stop the current ear infection and the other treatment helps to strengthen the immune system so future occurrences of ear infections become very unlikely—in effect, “curing” the infection.
As you can see, natural healing philosophy embraces quite a number of concepts, which is why you find the word holistic used so frequently. This is because the root cause of a symptom or disease is often a combination of factors and optimum health is regained when multiple treatment protocols are followed. By following the natural living lifestyle as outlined in this book, you are also following natural healing philosophy because they are inter-linked. First and foremost, holistic/natural ideology is about prevention. If disease does occur, then using remedies that work in harmony with nature—and therefore the body—to rebuild and strengthen weak systems (again, particularly the immune system) and organs is wise.
As a business model, this philosophy offers the natural physician modest financial reward, the satisfaction that clients have regained their health and, often, long-term relationships with clients. From the allopathic perspective, natural medicine represents an intrusion on their business of making money off perpetually sick people, so there is often suppression of natural medicine through the established allopathic medical profession. Of course, that’s not all. When people adopt the natural living lifestyle, they stop eating the majority of products found in conventional grocery stores, causing even more business woes for multi-national corporations. Thus, it’s in the best interest of big business, hospitals, medical doctors, pharmaceutical empires, the media and allopathic medical organizations to suppress, discredit and even outlaw or severely regulate natural medicine as much as possible.
>>> Go To Part 2: Suppression of Natural Medicine
[i] The Medical Mafia, Guylaine Lanctot, M.D., p. 35.
