NEW MEDICINE:
GUIDING LIGHTS OF THE FUTURE
This is a powerful time in Medicine! A few game changers are coming to the frontline to radically SHIFT the possibilities for how healthy we are, how long we live, and how we do it.
GUIDING LIGHT #1:
MINI MIGHTY MICROBES
They are super tiny; 100,000 may fit on a pinhead. They were the first life, over 3.5 Billion years ago. Microbes (bacteria) created our oxygen-rich atmosphere, and they have outlived all 5 major extinctions on our planet. Without them we couldn’t breathe or digest our food. And, as a group, they have been misunderstood by many for a long time.
“It’s more difficult to convince someone they’ve been fooled, than to fool them in the first place” – Mark Twain
Our War with Bacteria
Our war, which has been waged in the Western World for 100 years, is now beginning to be seen by many as a war with ourselves. Yes, Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis, practicing in Vienna in the mid-1800’s, had a theory which was verified by experiments of Louis Pasteur, did eventually save lives by convincing MD’s to wash their hands between surgeries, cadavers and birthing rooms (although he was fired by the medical establishment and died in a mental institution, widely regarded as a madman). No one today argues that medical professionals who directly contact the patients should wash their hands between patients. However, all bacteria aren’t the bad guys. Our all-out fear of and war with bacteria is a serious overreaction.
Science has confirmed that we are physically made up of 10% Human DNA and 90% Microbes (bacteria, yeast and fungi). Of course, there are harmful bacteria. For the last century, bacteria have been more and more in the bulls-eye of humans, but in the last 5+ years there have been big shifts. We are beginning to understand that, as with humans, the vast majority of them have what science now considers to be ‘good purposes’.
The New View of Microbes
Although many MD’s are still in the dark, there is a significant number who have been keeping up with modern science and their own observance of patient responses to treatment. These doctors are less hasty to prescribe antibiotics (which means “anti-life”) because they understand that harmful health conditions such as allergies and asthma–and even a setup for cancer–can be created by killing off the good guys along the bad guys in our guts. It makes me smile broadly when I hear someone say their MD has suggested strong immune-boosting substances such as powerful garlic and ginger…or oregano oil. What these leader-of-the-pack-doctors are doing is, in effect, coming home to the planet which is already filled with natural antidotes. This is the world Naturopaths, Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine Doctors have used since they began. The latter two traditions date back thousands of years.
HELPFUL SIDE NOTE: We have a cheap & sure-fire recipe for knocking out many viruses. It’s a garlic foot compress. Email Deb for the recipe at deb@LotusBlossomClinic.com.
HE DRANK CHOLERA AND LAUNCHED THE YOGURT CRAZE
In 1908, a Russian named Ilya Metchnikoff, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine. He was a contemporary of Louis Pasteur’s, and in fact worked with Pasteur in his Paris labs on vaccine projects. In his research, Metchnikoff discovered the key to the innate immune system, an army of white blood cells called ‘macrophages’ which gobble up microbes and viruses which are not supposed to be there. And that’s not all he did. He discovered Probiotics, the bacteria that are life-supportive and, in fact, necessary for us to live.
It was the 1892 cholera epidemic in France, and as part of his research on immunology, Metchnikoff and two of his interns drank Cholera. He and the other intern were NOT sickened. To his horror, the third volunteer nearly died. From this, he went to the lab and began experiments on his new theory that the types of bacteria in the gut were likely making the difference.
From Wikipedia (A controversial source for certain topics! See recent post on Lotus Blossom Clinic’s Facebook Page.)
“Mechnikoff developed a theory that aging is caused by toxic bacteria in the gut and that lactic acid could prolong life. Based on this theory, he drank sour milk every day. He wrote The Prolongation of Life: Optimistic Studies, in which he espoused the potential life-lengthening properties of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus).[21][22] He attributed the longevity of Bulgarian peasants to their yogurt consumption.”
Note: Not all yogurt is created equal. In fact, the vast majority of what’s on supermarket shelves has more sugar and less probiotic (due to Pasteurization—and now you know who created THAT process). In addition, cow milk simply has too much estrogen. Therefore, most of today’s yogurt is really NOT good for you. There are some yogurts which we eat frequently….the main ones being Redwood Hills’ Goat Yogurt and Kefir products, found in health food stores.
What’s up Now, Doc?
Since Metchnikoff’s time (he died in 1916), his theories have come to prominence and been thoroughly studied. Probiotics have been used therapeutically to modulate immunity, lower cholesterol, treat rheumatoid arthritis, prevent cancer, improve lactose intolerance, and prevent or reduce the effects of atopic dermatitis, Crohn’s disease, diarrhea, and constipation as well as candidiasis and urinary tract infections (UTI).
Other Gut “Happenings” in the News:
- Today’s groundbreaking research is isolating the specific bacteria needed to help with more human health issues.
- In some desperate cases, hospitals perform Fecal Transplants from one person to another. (Some bacteria don’t live outside their natural world).
- Homegrown, make-your-own-probiotic-foods-on-your-counter (for pennies) is coming back into practice. Your grandmother would likely be smiling! One of our favorite websites is Donna Schwenks’ CulturedFoodLife.com where you will find how-to videos, probiotic cultures and more. (Check out our healthy store….we carry some of Donna’s products.)
Supporting the Troops
Other gut-supportive behaviors are beginning to be identified. Some of them are STOP THAT! The sugars, especially the processed and man-made chemicals, feed the bad guys too much. And even mainstream media is now reporting this: Science has acknowledged wheat contains toxic proteins which cause inflammation, allergies and more. That was on Yahoo News.
Well, guess what, the GMO version of wheat also contains Roundup’s primary poison, which kills plants. But, the “experts” from the GMO industry keep saying, “Humans are not plants.” Wrong, Mr. GMO! We have plant-like creatures in our intestines, and when we kill off much of our good bacteria with poison, other harmful bacteria, fungus and yeast take up residence. We start to slowly become less healthy….and eventually acquire illnesses, allergies, digestive troubles and worse.
Get Gutsy
Make sure you have some probiotics in your life every day, be they food or supplements. We carry highly effective, well-studied Metagenics products which include targeted probiotics for replenishing the gut (post antibiotics), treating intestinal issues, allergies & asthma, children’s probiotics and more.
Want better health, more energy and glowing skin? Want it super affordable? Mix it up. Do more than take capsules. Eat non-pasteurized goat yogurt, homemade foods like pickles and sauerkraut (it’s so much better than that white, sour limp stuff in the stores!), learn to make (or buy) other probiotic drinks. Attend our classes http://www.lotusblossomclinic.com/events/ where you will learn the value and how to make these foods and drinks. Call us and set up a food consultation. We’ll get you started in a direction that works for you!
GUIDING LIGHT #2:
THE HUGE IMPACT OF DNA RESEARCH
The second Trending Area which is actively changing Medicine is the wild world of DNA Research and Bio-engineering. Yes, some of the outcomes will be good, and some….well, it can get tricky when you mess with Mother Nature. Just as the world has changed forever with technology, in a relatively SHORT period in our human history, expect a much greater SHIFT in our experience and our world from genetic bio-engineering. I expect to be happily surprised and sometimes sadly shocked at what will transpire.
We recently discovered a fascinating series on human evolution. It’s called “Your Inner Fish”, and it literally digs into our evolutionary history to discover what makes us human. View the series here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XfuXLF-cJk&list=PLTvOsuU Neil Shubin is a scientist and professor at the University of California at Berkeley who links his interests in Biology and Paleontology in this captivating series on YouTube. He delights in surprising us with unexpected twists and turns. Trust me, it is anything but a boring science show!
What do chickens, fish, and humans have in common?
We learned so much from the Human Genome Project, which, on one level, was a failure. It was expected that we would find 80,000+ genes in humans. What did the scientists find? 23,000. There exists a worm with more than that! We have the same set of genes with many creatures, but because of the “switches” that turn on and off gene expression (which was not studied in the 13-year long Human Genome Project), some of us get wings, some get fins, and we get arms.
The same formation seen in the of embryos of a fish and a human, a component which develops into the gills of a fish, becomes the human ocular bone (hearing) and lower jaw. Pretty wild, isn’t it? The change agent is the switches, when they turn “on” and how long they stay “on” during the fetal development process. Can you see some opportunities in this to effect human (and other creatures) look, abilities, and health? We could start a list!
GUIDING LIGHT #3:
BELIEF IS INCREDIBLY POWERFUL
New Science has concluded that only about 1% of our DNA is stronger than the effects of our lifestyle…and our beliefs. Kelly Brogan, M.D. (now publishing online under GreenMed Info), puts it this way: “I cannot achieve meaningful outcomes with patients who do not fundamentally believe that their bodies can heal.” And fortunately, many of us have moved beyond handing our lives over to someone in a white coat without asking questions and researching on our own. (But be careful about researching health issues on Wikipedia & WebMD, which appear to be changing into advertising and educational tools for the aim of Big Pharma and Big Agra.) Suffice it to say: More and more of us do not believe a pill or a shot will solve every illness. And in fact, many of those treatments may be harmful.
GUIDING LIGHT #4:
VIRUSES AS A TOOL IN HUMAN HANDS
As you may know, antibiotics are becoming less and less effective. Thousands of people die every year from SuperBugs which Western Drugs can’t touch. Pharmaceuticals are falling behind as they focus their efforts on drugs that will make more money, such as those which “need” to be taken for a lifetime. And, of course, the bacteria are evolving all the time. Our overuse of these drugs is making them ineffective when we really need them. So, what’s next?
There are many natural ways to combat bacteria and viruses. We’ve written about some of these before, including nature’s antibiotic, Oregano, and foods such as Garlic and Coconut Oil. (Yes, coconut oil. )
On the creative science side, viruses are being studied and used for:
- Bacteriophage Therapy – for their bacterial killing powers
- In Medicine – as carriers that take the required material for treatment of a disease to target cells
- In Nanotechnology – as a mechanism in genetic engineering
- As Weapons and biological warfare – you know this is being studied somewhere.
- In Agriculture – in the creation of GMO’s in our food supply
- For Cancer Prevention and Control
- In Vaccines – this is nothing new
- In enzyme Pro-drug therapy
- In Biological Pest Control
I won’t comment fully on our views of each of these areas. Suffice it to say, we believe some are better than others for the health of humans and our other living things on Earth. We won’t eat the food when Mother Nature didn’t create it. (I’ve written several articles on THAT topic.) And, yet, millions of lives could be saved by one of these advances. I could personally have a positive health outcome someday because one of these advances saves my life or a loved one’s life….or extends it with a high level of quality. The future is filled with possibilities and probabilities. We’ll all stay tuned…
….AND IN THE MEANTIME, Take Care of your Gut and Stay In Tune with your Body and your Beliefs. . You have a lot of power over your health, and you can do this on your own. People in possibly all cultures have used these two Game Changer strategies over the centuries. Utilize the help from your friendly Natural and Integrative Western M.D. and D.O. health practitioners.
Previous Articles in this Series:
- #1 The People: Knowledge, connection, and salesmanship behind the New Thing.
- #2 The Stickiness Factor: What makes the New Thing memorable and desirable?
- #3 The Context: Infrastructure and circumstances of the time that support the New Thing.
For Your Health,
Dr. David and Deb Martín and Staff
(239) 277-1399
Serving the Greater Fort Myers area, including Cape Coral, Estero, Lehigh, Bonita Springs & Naples