Comparing modern and natural medicine
Modern medicine seems to be winning the war against infectious
diseases and is good at repairing the body from trauma, these
used to be the main causes of ill health and death in western
societies. The major cause of ill health and death in the 21st
century in the western world is now from degenerative diseases
such as coronary artery disease, arthritis, osteoporosis,
Alzheimer's and cancer. Modern medicine is less effective
against these degenerative diseases because it has a blinkered
approach of using drugs to suppress the symptoms and does not to
look at the bigger picture of why the disease has come about in
the first place.
Modern medicine uses drugs to stop a single step in the overall
process leading to illness which is ineffectual and has a high
risk of side effects. Many people are ill in hospitals from side
effects caused by their drug therapy for their original illness,
this is called iatrogenic illness. For example painkillers can
cause ulcerations and gastrointestinal pain, anti-ulcer drugs
can cause impotence and Viagra a treatment for impotence can
cause structural damage to the penis. As illustrated with modern
medicine you can start with one symptom and end up with a
multitude of health problems. This is most evident with the
therapies to treat cancer - chemotherapy, radiotherapy and
surgery are all debilitating, painful and disfiguring treatments
which use a multitude of drugs to combat side effects. This is a
typical approach of modern medicine in that it practices crisis
management; it waits until the diagnosis then bombards the
patient with drugs. This is all too late as by the time the
symptoms of degenerative disease appear, the damage has already
been done and drugs cannot address this. Modern medicine does
not look at the overall picture and asks itself why are people
getting these diseases in the first place and how can we prevent
them.
Degenerative diseases are the result of a mechanism within the
body being tipped off balance causing slow deterioration into
disease. For example, coronary artery disease happens when the
speed of fats being oxidized and deposited in the artery walls
is quicker than which the body can remove them. These problems
arise when the body's natural defense mechanisms are
undernourished or overloaded. Even a slight imbalance if
unchecked will lead to major problems many years down the line.
The self-destructive ways that many people now live, tip their
body's scales from self-repair to self-destruction.
Nutritional therapy recognizes that the body can self-repair
itself over a period of time by increasing vital
micro-nutrients, exercising and restricting the intake of
harmful substances such as tobacco smoke, sugar, salt and
alcohol. It recognizes that prevention is better than cure. A
lot of people who look and feel healthy are in fact 'pre-ill'
due to their self-destructive lifestyles, which in time will
lead to a degenerative illness such as cancer and coronary
artery disease. Nutritional therapy addresses the pre-ill
problem and rectifies it before it becomes clinical.
Most people in the developed world are depleted in most
micro-nutrients which will over years develop into ill health;
drugs cannot rectify this only good micro-nutrient repletion
plan can.
The main reasons for why we are depleted in micro-nutrients are:
We don't eat enough resulting in less micro-nutrients being
consumed.
We eat too much process foods that are depleted in
micro-nutrients.
The soil that animals and plant are raised on is depleted in key
minerals which are due to use of intensive farming. Bad habits
such as smoking, sunbathing and heaving drinking all deplete the
body of anti-oxidants.
As we get older we become more depleted in micro-nutrients this
is because older digestive systems are less efficient in
absorbing them.
No one person's nutritional requirements are the same, for
example a 60 year old who has been a heavy smoker all his/her
life would be different from a teenager who likes to eat junk
food. A Nutritional Therapist would analyze each individual
nutritional status and then tailor make a dietary plan
specifically for him/her.
Nutritional therapy aims at reaching optimum nutritional levels
which research shows will protect the body against degenerative
diseases. A healthy diet which is rich in vegetables, fruits,
soy, oily fish combine with moderate exercise plus cutting out
smoking and heavy drinking and adding a good supplement plan
will keep the body healthy.
In Dr Paul Clayton's book 'Health Defence' he illustrates the
complex subject of nutritional defence by visualizing a nine
piece jigsaw which once put together will form the bigger
picture of a nutritional plan which will defend against
degenerative diseases and promote good health.
This is a concise version of his nutritional jigsaw.
To protect your cells against free radicals by consuming
anti-oxidants such as Vitamin C, Vitamin D, the flavonoids Q10
and the mineral Selenium.
To consume Carotenoids such as beta carotene, lutein and
lycopene which have anti-oxidant and anti-cancer properties. To
take Flavoniods such as grapeseed extract, green tea extract and
pycnogenol which are strong anti-inflammatory and anti-aging
agents, these will also protect against heart disease, cancer,
asthma and arthritis.
To consume Omega 3 oils which are found on oily fish and certain
plants, these defend against conditions such as asthma and
arthritis.
To protect against cancer and help with the menopause take
Isoflavones (such as Genistein), they are found in Soy. To help
against heart disease and Alzheimer's take Betaine. Use
pre-biotics such as FOS and inulin to help and protect the bowel
against cancer.
Take A-Z type multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. To protect
the body's cellular structures take the co-enzyme Q10 and
glucosamine.
To conclude, modern medicine waits for something to go wrong
then tries to suppress the symptoms by using chemicals that are
alien to the body which intern normally causes more problems
with side effects. Whereas Nutritional therapy uses compounds
that the body is familiar with to repair, support and protect
the body against disease and infection.