The Problem with Only Treating Symptoms
Each year, people are exposed to thousands of toxic chemicals and pollutants in air, water, food and soil. People living today carry within their bodies a “chemical cocktail” made up of industrial chemicals, pesticides, food additives, heavy metals, general anesthetics, and the residues of conventional pharmaceuticals, as well as of legal (alcohol, tobacco, caffeine) and illegal drugs (heroin, cocaine, marijuana).
Today people are exposed to chemicals in far greater concentrations than were previous generation. For example, over 70 million Americans live in areas that exceed smog standards; most municipal drinking water contains over 700 chemicals, including excessive levels of lead. Some 3,000 chemicals (in the form of solvents, emulsifiers, and preservatives), are used in food processing and storage. These can remain in the body for years.
To make matters worse, food and product labels do not always list every ingredient. When people consume these foods, (especially meat, seafood, and poultry), they ingest all the chemicals, hormones, and pesticides that have remained as accumulated contaminants in the food chain. These pollutants lodge in the body, loading it up with poisons, and manifest in a variety of symptoms, including decreased immune function, nerve cell toxicity, hormonal dysfunction, and psychological disturbances.
Other symptoms may also arise as the body naturally attempts to eliminate this accumulated toxicity by any means necessary. Most people are born with an inherited constitutional weakness in a particular organ system. Following the path of "least resistance," the body uses these areas first to push out the toxicity in the form of inflammation or discharges. When the organs of elimination such as the liver, kidneys and intestinal tract are overburdened, secondary organs of elimination are called upon. For example in a person with psoriasis or eczema, the skin becomes that secondary organ of elimination. In the case of asthma or bronchitis it may be the lungs, or the joints in a person with arthritis. Regardless of the name of the disease, the process is essentially the same. Symptoms are just your body’s way of trying to restore balance to a system that is overburdened and needs to eliminate. It’s when we suppress these attempts to eliminate by using anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, antihistamines, etc. that we cause the body to stop reacting to the toxic burden. The body eventually stops trying to push out the toxicity and starts storing it within our cells, leading to tissue damage and eventually chronic, destructive health problems like cancer and autoimmune diseases.
The most effective medicine is one that supports the body's attempt to regain balance and health. The root of the disease process must be addressed rather than merely masking symptoms with pharmaceuticals. It is through this approach that real healing can occur.