Similarly, Hippocratic tradition constitutes detailed clinical observation and an attempt to cultivate techniques of healing that work in concert with the forces of nature, restoring to the body its natural harmony of function. The Hippocratic physician cared not about the disease but about the patient as the a whole, striving "to know what man is in relation to food, drink, occupation and which effect each of these has on the other." Dietetics was the cornerstone of Hippocratic therapy. The Hippocratic approach dominated Western medicine for almost two thousand years.
The disease process is not caused by the microbe alone. In the case of tuberculosis, people who are infected with the bacteria do not always develop the disease. When the immune system is strong, the bacteria is imprisoned by the white blood cells. The tubercle is not a product of the bacteria, but a defense thrown up by the host. When immunity falters, the bacteria escape. Impairment of the host's immunity is as important for the development of tuberculosis as is the microbe itself.
The physician's task was to support the body's natural healing processes. Signs of sickness is not the manifestation of the disease but the manifestation of the body's attempt to heal itself.
Medicine was about disease, not about health or longevity, and the physician's task was to discover, in life, through physical signs, what organic lesions were present in the patient's body.
Rudolf Virchow, Germany's "Pope of Pathology", established the cell as the ultimate unit of sturcture and function in the body and initiated the movement that traced sickness to cellular dysfunction. However, Virchow resisted the temptation to localize disease within the cell and believes that the social conditions under which patients lived to be more important determinants of health than the tissue changes he saw through the microscope,
Louis Pasteur, the father of microbiology, demonstrated that the conditions of life, not the microbe alone, are the cause of disease with his chicken experiment. Both chickens were injected with the deadly anthrax bacteria. One bird exposed to cold temperature before infection (died), another kept at warm temperature (lived).
Functional Medicine aims to restore the balance between the sick person and his environment. It is not merely suppression of disease. Functional medicine strives to improve the physiological, emotional, cognitive and/or physical function of individuals, sick or well. Restoration or enhancement of health is the aim. The principles that guide the restoration of health are different from the principles that guide the suppression of disease.
Disease suppression therapies have a role to play in medical care, but their importance has been exaggerated.
The 4 Pillars for the Restoration of Health:
1) RELATIONSHIP: social support is linked to health and mortality. Satisfying relationship may buffer the impact of stress, lowering the levels of chemical mediators, decreasing the strain on mind and body. The rewards of friendship may include an increase in self esteem and with it a boost to perceived self-efficacy. A high level of self-efficacy improves an individual's ability to cope with symptoms, adopt healthful habits, and cooperate with medical treatment.
2) DIET and regulation of the daily cycle of rest and exercise.
3) ENVIRONMENTAL hygiene: a major determinant of health and sickness.
4) DETOXIFICATION: The supply of enviromental toxins, chemical and microbial, appears endless.
The human body has many natural defenses against environmental toxicity. These include:-
- The constant shedding of the skin and the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, which slowly dispels environmental toxins from the body.
- The activity of protective immune response that limit the attachment of toxins to the surfaces of the lungs or the gastrointestinal tract.
- Enzymes systems in the liver that destroy toxins and prepare them for excretion in the bile or the urine.
- Enzymes that repair damaged cells and promote healing.
Traditional approaches to detoxification are fasting, purging, and herbal remedies to "cleanse" the intestinal tract.
Elie Metchnikoff (Noble Prize winner for Medicine in 1908) was the first modern scientist to study the notion of intestinal toxicity. He theorized that intestinal bacteria cause senility and degenerative disease by producing toxic chemicals called ptomaines, which are absorbed into the body. He advocated yogurt with "friendly" bacteria called Lactobacilli, would inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria.
Toxins that enter the body from the intestinal tract are directly transported to the liver, which is the chief site for detoxifying enzymes in the body. Strategies for supporting and directing liver detoxification will offer great potential as innovative treatments.
To maintain or regain your own health, understand and actively support the Four Pillars of Healing:
- Nurture relationships with others. Commit some time each day to give your undivided attention to a friend or family member.
- Involve yourself in a group activity that is meaningful to you and enjoyable.
- Eat regular meals with people you care about. Avoid snacks or meals in front of the television. Especially avoid the salty high-fat snack food.
- Exercise regularly with at least moderate intensity for thirty minutes a day or more. Brisk walking is a good start. Do it with a friend.
- Get enough sleep at night so that you can awaken without an alarm clock.
- Reserve 15 minutes or more for quiet, focused relaxation every day.
- Become aware of the environmental hazards in your community and your job.
- Keep to a minimum your use of alcohol and drugs, including medical drugs.
- Consume a nutritious diet that is rich in "detox" vegetables like broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, avocado, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage, and in nuts and seeds. Add sea vegetables and green onions as condiments.
(Adapted from Leo Galland's "The Four Pillars of Healing")
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