Chiropractic and medicine disagree on what constitutes health, disease, the meaning of symptoms, and the goal of care. These are philosophical differences that go back over 2,500 years. "But chiropractic is only about 100 years old. How could we have a conflict with medicine for 2,500 years?" I hear you say. Good question.
The answer is that our philosophical roots go way back, as does medicine. In fact two conflicting philosophies of healing - similar to that of chiropractic and medicine - can be found from the earliest writings of Hippocrates (5th century B.C.) to the present day. The camps were referred to as the Vitalists and the Mechanists. Generally speaking, medical doctors or allopaths are Mechanists, while chiropractors, classical homeopaths, acupuncturists, traditional osteopaths and others are Vitalists.
Let’s look at how vitalists and mechanists view things: Mechanists assume the body operates like a machine whose whole is equal to the sum of its parts. "Study the body," they say, "study its cells, and its chemistry using disciples such as physics, mechanics and mathematics and the workings of the whole will be revealed."
Vitalists disagree: "Living creatures are fundamentally different from non-living creatures", they say. "The laws of physics, chemistry, mechanics, and mathematics cannot give us a complete knowledge or understanding of biological systems because the whole body is greater than the sum of its parts." Vitalists learn how the body works by studying the living body, not isolated chemicals in a test tube or by making up theories.
This philosophical difference is profound, it colors everything –
Mechanists say: "The body is a dumb machine; symptoms are always bad and must be destroyed. Fevers must be lowered, inflammations must be cooled, itching or eruptions must be suppressed, pain must be eliminated - symptoms are bad in and of themselves and must be destroyed."
Vitalists say: "The body is intelligent and reacts to the environment. Symptoms are its response to environmental stress, a sign that the body is fighting to return to it’s homeostatic balance. Symptoms must be permitted to express themselves so the body may cleanse and heal and return to normal balance."
Mechanists: "The most important thing is to diagnose the disease the patient has and then fight it. The patient’s resistance to disease is not very important."
Vitalists: "More important than diagnosing and treating disease, the individual’s innate power of resistance needs to be strengthened so it may heal."
Mechanists: Everyone who has a certain disease has the same disease as anyone who has that disease."
Vitalists: people are chemically, emotionally, and structurally unique. When caring for a sick person, we should try to learn why that one person is sick in his or her own unique way, and we should not generalize to other people. 100 people with cancer are, if you look closely enough are really expressing 100 unique conditions that have some things in common but many things unique to their situation. The more their care is tailored to their unique needs, the more successful the results.
Mechanists: "We will ultimately know exactly how the body works, what makes it sick and how to make it healthy.
Vitalists: "The body is essentially unknowable. It has billions of parts, each doing its own thing at a fantastic rate. The body is constantly reacting to its environment and changing moment by moment. How can anyone know what is happening at any one time to all those parts? And doesn’t the very act of observing alter our results?
Mechanists believe they can know the body and figure out what it needs in advance. Their procedures are often invented. Vitalists sit in awe of the body’s functions and state that the only way we can find out how healing works is see how living bodies react. Their procedures are discovered.
Which philosophy do you wish to live and promote for the health of future generations?
Speak up and educate others,
Dr. Craig
The answer is that our philosophical roots go way back, as does medicine. In fact two conflicting philosophies of healing - similar to that of chiropractic and medicine - can be found from the earliest writings of Hippocrates (5th century B.C.) to the present day. The camps were referred to as the Vitalists and the Mechanists. Generally speaking, medical doctors or allopaths are Mechanists, while chiropractors, classical homeopaths, acupuncturists, traditional osteopaths and others are Vitalists.
Let’s look at how vitalists and mechanists view things: Mechanists assume the body operates like a machine whose whole is equal to the sum of its parts. "Study the body," they say, "study its cells, and its chemistry using disciples such as physics, mechanics and mathematics and the workings of the whole will be revealed."
Vitalists disagree: "Living creatures are fundamentally different from non-living creatures", they say. "The laws of physics, chemistry, mechanics, and mathematics cannot give us a complete knowledge or understanding of biological systems because the whole body is greater than the sum of its parts." Vitalists learn how the body works by studying the living body, not isolated chemicals in a test tube or by making up theories.
This philosophical difference is profound, it colors everything –
Mechanists say: "The body is a dumb machine; symptoms are always bad and must be destroyed. Fevers must be lowered, inflammations must be cooled, itching or eruptions must be suppressed, pain must be eliminated - symptoms are bad in and of themselves and must be destroyed."
Vitalists say: "The body is intelligent and reacts to the environment. Symptoms are its response to environmental stress, a sign that the body is fighting to return to it’s homeostatic balance. Symptoms must be permitted to express themselves so the body may cleanse and heal and return to normal balance."
Mechanists: "The most important thing is to diagnose the disease the patient has and then fight it. The patient’s resistance to disease is not very important."
Vitalists: "More important than diagnosing and treating disease, the individual’s innate power of resistance needs to be strengthened so it may heal."
Mechanists: Everyone who has a certain disease has the same disease as anyone who has that disease."
Vitalists: people are chemically, emotionally, and structurally unique. When caring for a sick person, we should try to learn why that one person is sick in his or her own unique way, and we should not generalize to other people. 100 people with cancer are, if you look closely enough are really expressing 100 unique conditions that have some things in common but many things unique to their situation. The more their care is tailored to their unique needs, the more successful the results.
Mechanists: "We will ultimately know exactly how the body works, what makes it sick and how to make it healthy.
Vitalists: "The body is essentially unknowable. It has billions of parts, each doing its own thing at a fantastic rate. The body is constantly reacting to its environment and changing moment by moment. How can anyone know what is happening at any one time to all those parts? And doesn’t the very act of observing alter our results?
Mechanists believe they can know the body and figure out what it needs in advance. Their procedures are often invented. Vitalists sit in awe of the body’s functions and state that the only way we can find out how healing works is see how living bodies react. Their procedures are discovered.
Which philosophy do you wish to live and promote for the health of future generations?
Speak up and educate others,
Dr. Craig
Maximized Health “tip of the week”
The idea that sunscreen prevents cancer is a myth
It's a myth promoted between the cancer industry and the sunscreen industry. The sunscreen industry makes money by selling lotion products that actually contain cancer-causing chemicals. It then donates a portion of that money to the cancer industry through non-profit groups like the American Cancer Society which, in turn, run heart-breaking public service ads urging people to use sunscreen to "prevent cancer."
The scientific evidence, however, shows quite clearly that sunscreen actually promotes cancer by blocking the body's absorption of ultraviolet radiation, which produces vitamin D in the skin. Vitamin D, as recent studies have shown, prevents up to 77% of ALL cancers in women (breast cancer, colon cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, brain tumors, multiple myeloma... you name it). Meanwhile, the toxic chemical ingredients used in most sunscreen products are actually carcinogenic and have never been safety tested or safety approved by the FDA. They get absorbed right through the skin (a porous organ that absorbs most substances it comes into contact with) and enter the bloodstream.
The benefits of sunscreen are a myth. Proponents say sunscreen prevents sunburn, but in fact, the real cause of sunburn is not merely UV exposure: It is a lack of antioxidant nutrition. Start eating and supplementing your body with antioxidants and you'll build up an internal sunscreen that will help protect your skin from sunburn from the inside out. Sunburn is actually caused by nutritional deficiencies that leave the skin vulnerable to DNA mutations from radiation, but if you boost your nutrition and protect your nervous system with plant-based nutrients, you'll be more naturally resistant to sunburn. The same nutrients, by the way, also protect the optic nerve and eyes from radiation damage. That's why the consumption of berries and carrots, for example, has historically been associated with healthy eye function. (The same nutrients that protect the eyes also protect the skin.)
If sunscreen is so bad for humans, you might ask, then why do so many doctors recommend using it? This might be hard for you to believe, but it wasn't too long ago that doctors routinely recommended smoking cigarettes, too. The Journal of the American Medical Association, in fact, ran numerous ads promoting Camels as "recommended by more doctors than any other cigarette!" Doctors talked up the "benefits" of smoking cigarettes, urging people to start smoking in order to improve brain function or even -- get this -- make their teeth stronger!
The truth is doctors are easily influenced by commercial interests and can be readily convinced to recommend practically any product, no matter how toxic, unhealthy or deadly to consumers. Just look at how many doctors wrote prescriptions for Vioxx, for example, after being visited by a Vioxx drug rep pushing it as a "miracle drug" for joint pain.
TOPIC SUMMARY AND COURSE OF ACTION:
- Get small doses of sun without sunscreen (no burning) so that your body can produce Vitamin D (10 minutes or so is sufficient - not a difficult thing to accomplish here in Colorado)
- Make sure you have enough antioxidant rich foods to prevent burning and skin damage. Build up your "internal" sun damage defense system.
- Reduce Omega 6 (bad fats) and increase Omega 3 (good fats) = The high excess of omega-6 fats in most people's diet puts them at a much higher risk of developing skin cancer when they get sunburned.
- Find an ALL NATURAL INGREDIENT sunscreen, they do exist and they are free of cancer causing chemicals (example, go to www.gocarribeanblue.com)
- Learn more on your own, and teach your friends and family how to live wisely!
