We are only six years in and the 2020’s have been an enlightening decade. It was in 2020 when the stark difference between the modern medical and the holistic health approaches became undeniable. As lights shined bright on a medical system many knew and trusted, it exposed a disturbing structure hidden by a polished facade. The industry many once believed was built to support optimal health and wellness, was designed to put profits and shareholders ahead of patients.
My research over the past 20 years has taken me far and wide and I was a bit surprised when I learned the history of modern medicine. I, like many others, believed modern medicine was an accumulation of medicine, health and healing through the ages. Essentially, taking all of the best aspects of healing and evolving them into an advanced science.
Well, that’s not quite what happened.
In the early 20th century there were four main schools of medicine in the United States. Allopathy (what we know today as conventional medicine), Homeopathy, Naturopathy and Osteopathy. Allopathy at the time was struggling because the treatments were considered toxic and becoming known as ineffective and even dangerous. Treatments of the era incorporating bloodletting, mercury, lead and arsenic were quite common.
However, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, who gained substantial wealth in the oil industry, struggled as increasing regulations proved bad for profits. Carnegie and Rockefeller decided to turn their focus to the declining Allopathic modality. Their new Allopathic approach proved profitable with convenient patentable medicines to address symptoms and their subsequent side effects. This approach of addressing and suppressing symptoms was appealing to a population working long hours in poor conditions as the culture’s appetite for convenience increased.
It was a 1910 publication known as the Flexner Report that forever changed the medical trajectory. The report evaluated the state of medical training in America. Over the next several years this report was used as the basis to shut down the majority of medical schools which were not part of the new Allopathic science based clinical model. Many traditional healing and lifestyle modalities which had been used successfully for centuries proved to be too expensive or even impossible to isolate and test. In the new clinical model, only medicines and modalities that could be easily isolated and quickly tested in a laboratory or clinical study were deemed scientific and safe. Everything else was pushed aside into the realm of quackery. Yet, before the Flexner Report, natural healing modalities were flourishing with approximately 100 homeopathy hospitals in the U.S. successfully treating an array of acute conditions and chronic diseases. By 1930 almost all homeopathic hospitals were closed.
Since the 1910 Flexner Report, holistic healing modalities have taken a backseat in the United States, but holistic traditions have recorded great success in healing for centuries. It has been well recorded for several hundred years that acute infections (cold, flu, fever, bacterial infections, etc.) must be allowed to run their course to effectively alleviate the body’s imbalance. This means supporting acute occurrences and recognizing the process as detoxification, where the body rids itself of unwanted pathogens, toxins and dead cells. If this process is not allowed to run its full course, by using “anti” medications like antibiotics and antihistamines, the body cannot properly heal and rectify the situation. When a suppressive “anti” treatment is used it can drive a pathogen, metal or chemical deeper into the body. The condition is not resolved, rather it has transformed into a new condition and a new set of symptoms that inflame (inflammation) tissues as the body must work harder to rectify the situation. The use of NSAIDs and other medications to reduce inflammation once again blocks the body’s attempt to eliminate and heal the imbalance. Holistic health practitioners have witnessed and recorded through centuries of observation, that our bodies are fully capable of healing when allowed to do so without “anti” interference. We have a complex and intelligent immune system that knows exactly how to heal when given the proper support and ample opportunity.
“The terrain is everything, the germ is nothing.” This was the basis of Antoine Bechamps and Claude Bernard’s extensive work and statement made by Louis Pasteur after decades of research on Germ Theory. The holistic approach to healing is often associated with Terrain Theory which differs greatly from the modern medical approach based on Germ Theory. Germ Theory puts the invader (germ) as the primary cause of disease. Terrain Theory focuses on the body’s natural ability to heal and flourish with the proper support.
Modern science confirms what terrain theorists believed two centuries ago, humans are composed of trillions of bacteria and fungus which are able to change and adapt to their environment. In fact, you and I contain more microorganisms than our own cells. These organisms are the “good guys” which play an important role in our internal terrain and our health. When these organisms are allowed to do their job, by helping us digest our food, clear heavy metals and mitigate toxins, they are actually very effective. However, this process can produce symptoms as the body communicates imbalance. Symptom communication means the body is struggling to maintain balance as it resolves an issue or isolates and expels waste. But this does not mean the symptoms are bad. Our immune system has a very important job monitoring internal conditions day in and day out. When it mounts a big attack and goes into a “healing crisis”. Yes, it slows us down and makes us feel bad, and it can last awhile. The problem is, in our modern culture we don’t like to slow down and wait for a big healing response. We have been taught that it’s okay to reach for the convenient pill or injection to quickly relieve symptoms. However, with proper rest, hydration and nourishment most conditions will resolve on their own. When interventions are necessary it is better to use homeopathy where “like cures like” and whole herbs and super foods that support the natural process and help the body achieve a healed outcome.
Unfortunately, illness and disease due to toxic exposures from the chemicals in our air, water, food, personal, cleaning and building products and medical interventions are becoming increasingly prevalent. The steady increase in chronic diseases we are seeing today can occur when acute illnesses like colds and flus are ineffective at removing the invasive toxin. A chronic imbalanced state can build overtime, deteriorating internal defenses when the body’s natural process (symptoms) are blocked or suppressed. Supporting the body means allowing it to build up proper defences then drain and detoxify returning the body to a balanced state. When years or decades of suppression are present, the process to eliminate the build up of toxins can be lengthy and requires a skilled approach. A quick-fix detox off the internet can deplete the body of vital nutrients needed to heal and repair.
When it comes to healing the body and restoring vitality. The fact remains, the modern Allopathic medicine system we know today is only about 150 years old and primarily focuses on the treatment of disease through pharmacology (synthetic medicine) and surgery. The emphasis is on control and palliation (to ease symptoms, without curing). While modern medicine has made important advancements in emergency care and management, like broken bones, car accidents and heart attacks. Their approach to disease and pathology is an area that lacks a holistic understanding of lifestyle choices and the body’s innate ability to heal and recover when given the proper support. While Allopathy is the primary medical modality in America due to insurance coverage and restrictions, most other countries support a variety of modalities which allows citizens diversity in health and medical choice. The current American medical system unfortunately has left a costly record with a high rate of iatrogenic deaths (caused by the treatment or intervention) and a failure to reverse chronic disease while we spend more than the rest of the world on healthcare.
While I respect and support the collaboration of modern medicine and traditional healing. The functional and integrative approaches we are seeing a rise in today where prescription medications are replaced with supplements, peptides and nutraceuticals is concerning. Simplifying holistic healthcare into the “pill for an ill” approach made popular by the allopathic system won’t move the needle as far as we need to restore vitality. This one-for-another approach is like a red fox painting its fur white trying to convince us a red is bad, but white is good. A large portion of supplements and injectables are synthetically produced in pharmaceutical labs and factories. We often are led to believe we are taking a natural herb, vitamin, mineral or peptide when in fact the chemical components of the plant, mineral or peptide have been altered or manufactured. While I do believe there are times when all available interventions are useful and necessary including prescription medications. I feel our dependence on their convenience is leading us down a treacherous path of chronic disease with little understanding of how we found ourselves in this dire situation. Many of the folks I talk to and work with are confused about what they should be eating, how much sleep they need, or what is a normal bowel movement. I can’t even describe the amount of confusion when it comes to the healing powers of nature, light and frequency. Folks, the sun is your friend, its natural rays are healing because you are a delicate composition of light, energy and frequency.
Your future is up to you. Will your pendulum swing to a holistic lifestyle where you are sovereign and in charge of your well-being? Or will you leave your power to the whim of the fox?
Resources:
Williams, Radical Medicine – Cutting-Edge Natural Therapies That Treat the Root Causes of Disease. Healing Arts Press. 2011.
Ullman, A Condensed History of Homeopathy https://homeopathic.com/a-condensed-history-of-homeopathy/
Loannidis, Why Most Published Research Findings Are False, PMID: 16060722
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1182327
Midwestern Doctor, What Can The Smallpox Vaccines Teach Us About COVID Vax Injuries?
https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/what-can-the-smallpox-vaccines-teach
