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or magic bullets that can attack disease from the Cellular health: a key concept underlying the new outside. The second focuses on strengthening our inner science of medicine defences so that we are less vulnerable to illness in the Over the past 40 years, the paradigm more in line with irst place. Yet it's clear that Pasteur's prejudice fits | Béchamp's position has been gaining momentum. The much more neatly into a culture in which people prefer — importance of lifestyle factors and recognition of the o shirk responsibility for their own health. body's innate wisdom concerning its own natural In the emerging new model of medicine, we are healing abilities are just now beginning to emerge into awakening to the fact that primary care should not be = mainstream thinking. Again, this approach is focused ocused merely on treating disease from the outside. In primarily on strengthening the defences of the body an ideal health care system, we would rarely get sick in rather than on fighting what has "attacked" the body and he first place because the central objective would be to created malfunction and disease. ocus on the inside—following Béchamp—so as to According to the model | have adopted in this light, maintain wellness and vitality through the scientific core of this approach prevention and a strong focus on involves four main factors and each is natural defences. This, again, is what addressed at the cellular level: call true and sustainable health care, ¢ nutritional needs of our cells; as opposed to disease care. . ¢ elimination of toxic substances; It can't be stated too often that the The complicated * genetic defects; true health care is healthy Hfestyle, high-tech As surprising and simplistic as it This includes eating a healthy diet, approach that may seem, a great deal of research getting enough exercise and sleep, 0 and clinical observation has shown avoiding stress, maintaining a healthy underlies modern that varied combinations of these four weight, avoiding toxic exposures, medicine's quest factors are always the basis for the supporting detoxification and, . cause of every disease. It is impossible perhaps most important of all, having to triumph over to fall sick if all your cells are nature ascribes a a meaningful purpose in life. functioning perfectly. Neither Pasteur nor Béchamp God-like quality to medical was entirely right or wrong. They were simply pointing to different practitioners and researchers. Modern medicine is at war with nature With this brief background on the emerging paradigm of medical science—a key facet of which is based on the factors that affect cellular metabolism—let's return o the competing worldview for a contrasting look. We've noted that the old ends of a spectrum that explains how we get sick or remain healthy. Healthy lifestyle is on one end of the spectrum, and germs and other factors that "attack" the body are on the other. It is hard to imagine that anyone today would argue against the premise that both approach to medical science is in factors usually play a role in part modelled on the metaphor causing illness. And this insight is at the root of today's of war. Its goal is to defeat illness at almost any cost, evolving concepts within the new discipline that | now acting from a position outside the human body. This call integral-health medicine, which methodically integrates | war accelerated immensely with the discovery of the insights about both the inner world and the outer — germ, which was believed to be responsible for causing environment of the patient, as each is conditioned by its —_ disease by invading our bodies. And we have remained economic, social and cultural contexts. at war with these microbes ever since Pasteur's Most laypersons are unaware that medicine has onlya — landmark discoveries. Even after the discovery and limited understanding of the causes of most chronic _ introduction into medical practice of antibiotics to kill diseases. As a result, doctors can rarely direct their these microscopic invaders, we have persisted in this mighty high-tech weapons to a definite target. This ongoing fight against nature. In fact, the war escalates shortcoming has left the door open for the new, _ every day, and so do the consequences. integrally informed model of medicine. This hybrid For its part, nature has responded to every new approach focuses on the premise that the body itself antibiotic by developing novel adaptations that create does the healing and that medicine should support this _—_ antibiotic-resistant strains of microbes. This has led to process as its top priority—but that the disinterested the emergence of the lethal bacterium known as scientific search for technologies and drugs that can methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), plus make people feel better still has a place. several other highly resistant bacteria such as the high-tech approach that underlies modern medicine's quest to triumph over God-like quality to medical researchers. 32 * NEXUS The complicated nature ascribes a practitioners and DECEMBER 2009 - JANUARY 2010 www.nexusmagazine.com