When we develop an illness we might try dietary changes – organic, non-processed foods, herbs, and possibly supplements. These attempts are often random guesses, not directed to specific nutrient or dietary needs. Our dietary needs for optimal healthiness are poorly studied and poorly understood. Guesswork is often the best an individual can do to avoid the drug paradigm with its associated side effects. When there is no diagnosis or no clearly successful treatment, a doctor might even say “try this prescription, and see if it helps“.
Don’t get me wrong. When we have an illness that is best treated by drugs – I’m all for them. But when we have an illness that is best treated by healthicines – a drug does little, and can even make it worse. All drugs have side effects. Why?
Drug medicines generally work against the illness. A bacterial infection (an excessive growth of bacteria) – might be cured by an antibiotic. For a fracture, medicine works to reduce the excess pain and possibly inflammation until it heals. With the common cold, medicines work to reduce the symptoms of the cold, health and healing does the cure. “There is no (drug) cure for the common cold”
Most medicines can only help us to live with the illness by reducing symptoms. Most medicines make no attempt and no claim to cure. A few can cure some infectious diseases by killing bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. But, in most cases, the message that comes with a medicine is “learn to live with your disease” (learn to die with your disease).
Healthicines are used to improve healthiness. Illnesses cured by health cannot be cured by medicines: the common cold, nutritional deficiencies, poisoning, for example. When drugs reduce symptoms of a disease caused by unhealthiness, they only make it worse in the long term, by making it tolerable, by letting the cause persist.
Often, the medical view, the medical approach, takes us in the wrong direction. The medical view is a very sharp tool, designed to diagnose and treat illness. The healthiness view is a broad view, appropriate to improve healthiness.
Drugs do not improve healthiness – they work by changing the illness. Sometimes, in an effort to facilitate healing, other times to just minimize signs and symptoms. Anti-biotic attempt to kill dangerous bacteria, leaving health to heal and complete the cure. Of course, antibiotics can also kill helpful body cells and healthy bacteria, resulting in a shift in health, or even new illness. And if the infection is caused by unhealthiness – by unhealthy exposure to harmful bacteria, an antibiotic might cure the specific instance, but not the chronic infection.
Because drugs move disease sideways, not towards healthiness, all drugs have side effects. Drugs move illness and sometimes healthiness sideways, sometimes even backwards – not towards healthiness. There is hope that the new state of illness is less severe, or sufficiently different, or perhaps more diffused, that health can recover and heal more easily. Healthiness is often damaged by drugs.
What are healthicines? Healthicine is the art and science of creating and improving healthiness. Healthicines are actions, not things, that improve healthiness. Healthicines can be used to treat unhealthiness.
As shown in the diagram, healthicines move us towards healthiness. When we are suffering from scurvy, consuming Vitamin C, as a medicine, will address the balance, but not the cause. Vitamin C supplements cannot cure scurvy, because cured is when no more medicines are necessary. To cure, it is necessary to health the diet, such that no supplements are needed. When a drug treats the symptoms, but it does not address the cause. The result can be a more serious illness as the cause persists and even grows.
When we are suffering from arthritis – exercise and nutrition are appropriate healthicines. Drugs that make the arthritis pain bearable can only be beneficial if combined with techniques to lubricate the joint and promote healing. Otherwise, drugs will simply lead to a more severe illness – with less pain.
Some illnesses are well treated by drugs. Some illnesses are best treated by healthicines. Some are best treated by a combination of healthicines and drugs. What is the true percentage? We don’t know. We don’t study treatments by healthicines – there’s no drug profit in it.
How many illnesses are caused by nutritional deficiencies or imbalances? We don’t know.
Illness is caused by an imbalance or inability to balance. Caused by a deficiency or an excess so severe that it results in a medical condition. An unhealthiness can be a minor health imbalance, or severe enough to be diagnosed as an disease. There are many different deficiencies or excesses that can cause illness. Deficiencies and excesses in nutrients can result in illnesses from scurvy (Vitamin C) to obesity (sugar). Deficiencies and excesses of exercise can result in flaccid muscles or torn ligaments. Deficiencies or excesses in our immune system can result in more serious colds and flu to autoimmune diseases. Deficiencies or excesses of community involvement can result in depression, anxiety, or mania.
We know that many illnesses are caused by severe single nutrient deficiencies. We know, for example, that scurvy is caused by a severe deficiency of Vitamin C. But we have very little understanding of what illnesses might be caused by a long term, minor deficiency of Vitamin C. I suspect our doctors will diagnose them as ‘old age’.
What diseases might be caused by combinations of nutritional deficiencies? Can we name one? I can’t think of one. And I find that very, very strange. There are over 100 known essential nutrients for human healthiness. Given huge variations in diet over the planet, through different cultural groups and over time with individuals – there is huge potential for many combinations of nutrient deficiency. Can we name a single illness that is caused by a minor long term deficiency of TWO essential nutrients?
What might be the result of a prolonged deficiency of Vitamin A, a prolonged minor deficiency of omega 3, and a long term minor deficiency of Vitamin C?
What is the cause of age-related macular degeneration? It is almost certainly the result of long term nutritional deficiencies or excesses. What about other degenerative diseases? Drug companies are busy searching for medicines, but few are studying or searching for healthicines. None are searching for cures – despite the lip service. Cured is not in many medical dictionaries, not defined for any non-infectious disease. Note: Every cure is a single case, an anecdote, not a statistic. Drug researchers often ignore single cases of cure – because cured is not defined for most diseases.
Given the number of essential nutrients – over 100, the number of combinations of two nutrient deficiencies that might occur together is over 10,000. Many nutritional deficiencies are uncommon in Western societies. But many are common. According to the USDA’s Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals – 60 percent of males do not meet the RDA minimum for Vitamin A; 64 percent do not meet the RDA minimum for Vitamin E; over 50 percent do not meet the RDA minimum for Vitamin B6, and so on….
We don’t know what illnesses, or what symptoms might be caused by these, and other deficiencies. Illnesses that cannot be cured with drugs. They can only be cured by healthicines. By ensuring that people meet their nutritional needs.
I’ve have noticed the recent flurries of press regarding Vitamin D. It seems Vitamin D prevents many illnesses – and most of us are not consuming enough Vitamin D. But the press treats Vitamin D as if it was a medicine. It is not – it is an essential nutrient, Vitamin D is a healthicine.
When we consume a medicine to solve a healthicine problem – the problem can often get worse. We cannot treat a Vitamin D deficiency by taking a different drug. We can only cure it by getting enough sunshine, or enough Vitamin D in our diet. Healthicines.
Drugs kill many people every year. Healthiness? Not. How do you want to die?
Today, ‘healthicine‘ is not a word. Medicine is the science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Medicines are drugs that we take to treat disease, drugs that rarely cure. What’s the difference between a treatment and a cure?
The entire focus of our so-called ‘health systems‘ is on medicines. We need to study healthicines more thoroughly if we are to attain optimal health.
All drugs have side effects because they are designed to move diseases sideways. If they worked to improve healthiness – they would not be drugs, they would be healthicines.
Why don’t we know what unhealthinesses are best treated by healthicines? Healthicines do not have side effects. Because they address unhealthiness – they have health effects.
Everyone has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of healthiness. The right to information about healthicines and medicines. The right to choose. Choice is best facilitated by information.
to your health, tracy
Author: The Elements of Cure
Note: This post is an update of one published on the site PersonalHealthFreedom in November 2010.
