The Magic Bullet
Discussion of this topic has been long overdue. It might seem odd, but many of us can take the previous “magic bullet’ concept we inherited from the medical profession and transfer it to our “natural” approach to health. The “magic bullet concept, of course, is thinking that there is a single product or magic bullet pill that will take care of all our health needs. Thinking that we can replace a drug with a single natural product defeats our quest for genuine health. How does this work? Let me explain.
We have all heard about such things as homeopathic medicine, herbs, and other natural-system “medicine,” but are we making the same mistake with natural “medicine” as we have in the past with conventional medicine? Definitely, YES.
You see, when you really think about it, you will have to agree that to counter colds, sicknesses, etc., with even natural remedies is STILL treating the symptoms. This may irritate some people but the truth is that many of us have been making the same mistake of believing that our sickness or problem will be corrected by applying some magic potent or taking a magic bullet elixir.
Herbal preparations, like their counterparts, drugs, do a similar kind of thing to the body. That is, they cause a reaction of some kind in the body that is hopefully related to helping the body deal with the health problem. This type of natural support can be very good, AS LONG AS YOU ADDRESS THE CAUSE AS BEST AS YOU CAN.
The same basic physiology is occurring in the body whether you use a drug or use natural remedies. The body responds to the substances it receives, reacting in a particular way depending on the substance used. For instance, you can take aspirin for your headache, or you can take willow bark, or valerian root. Your headache is NOT the result of a deficiency of any of these three substances. However, all three can “make the headache go away.”
The same goes for virtually any other health problem out there. Regardless of whether you use a “natural” remedy or a simple drug, you are STILL TREATING SYMPTOMS. This brings us to the main point of this article. Unless you are addressing the actual CAUSE of the health problem, you aren’t fooling the body. In fact, you could be doing long-term damage by playing the same “make the symptoms go away” game we have been playing all our lives.
Except in the event of an actual, direct genetic cause, (which is STILL connected to diet), Nutrition is the #1 cause for health problems. You won’t correct heart disease with an herb or homeopathic preparation. You can certainly facilitate the body’s healing process with natural supports, but you have to focus on WHY the health problem is there in the first place, or you miss the whole point of the natural system.
I realize this won’t be popular with some people but it is true nonetheless. We have to get away from the idea that we can simply apply a few basic preparations and correct a lifetimes worth of wrong living. Natural substances are definitely the best secondary health care strategy, but the primary focus must be on nutrition. That is where the system begins to break down and that is where we have to begin to build properly in order to get to the real cause of health degeneration.
Remember, your health is NOT nearly as complicated as it may seem. The knowledge of the use of herbs and homeopathic and other natural health care procedures is great, but you don’t HAVE to be a health professional to understand your own personal health care requirements. Professionals are great for support and advice as to how you can facilitate your progress, but unless they help you focus on the best nutrition you can find, and help you to learn more to help yourself, you are really on your own.
Understandably, many health professionals might disagree with me on this, but then again, they make their living “practicing” on YOU. In my opinion, ANY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER THAT DOES NOT ADDRESS YOUR NUTRITIONAL STATE IS NEGLECTING HIS DUTY, PERIOD. If they have no knowledge of nutrition or the research behind it, then they should REFER you to someone who does this kind of work, or tell you how to obtain this kind of information for yourself.
The whole point of being healthy is to NOT be dependent on a lot of outside helps. Of course, there are aspects of human physiology that require “maintenance” such as how the body continually benefits from massage after a day of hard work. One massage a month won’t take care of normal physiological reactions to the work, but to be treating ALL of our symptoms that should be eliminated by removing the cause is not healthy.
Remember the bottom line. Get to the root cause of your health problems. In 95% of the cases, nutritional support with the basic elements your body needs will make dramatic improvements in your health over time. This is something YOU can do without the need for complicated details. Give yourself some credit. Eating is second nature, and applying natural principles which the natural system outlines doesn’t have to intimidate you. Just get the basic facts and the rest will follow!
Back to Natural Philosophy Page!