Back to Your Roots…

Does this sound familiar? You are sick. You call to schedule an appointment with the doctor. The receptionist asks, "What do you need to be seen for today?" You answer. You arrive at the appointment and are taken to an examination room by a nurse. She asks you the same question and scribbles down your symptoms. She listens to your heart, takes your blood pressure, checks for a fever…the drill is pretty much the same, no? The doctor comes in and also asks about your symptoms: When did they begin? How long have you had them? Are there any other symptoms? The goal: Treat the symptoms and the problem will go away, right?

Not quite.

For the last 5 years, we treated pneumonia in our home with the same mafia assortment of antibiotics, steroids, breathing treatments, inhalers… And, somehow, the pneumonia would come back again and again very persistently. My daughter was, simply put, a very good hostess for the virus. What I learned when I switched to alternative methods was the difference between symptomatic relief and systematic treatment. Allow me to explain.

Imagine you are a tree. You have soil, roots, a trunk, and branches full of twigs and leaves. When you see a doctor and are treated for an ailment, it is like pulling off the diseased leaves. This is symptomatic relief. However, have you ever asked yourself what caused the leaves to go bad in the first place? Pruning the tree only suppresses the symptoms while the root of what caused the ailment remains. And if you don't listen when your body tries to get your attention the first time, it creates bigger symptoms…the kind that require major overhaul.

In alternative medicine, the belief is best summed up by an 18th century herbalist, Samuel Thomson, when he said, "Remove the cause and the effect will cease."

Germs and disease cannot thrive in a healthy tree or body. When we systematically treated my daughter's immune system and lungs with herbal aids, we changed her bio terrain. And, despite the many viruses going around kindergarten this year, we were pneumonia-free!

Make the kind of choices today that create a healthier internal environment and you WILL stay healthy. Start with the easy stuff: Get your sleep, drink plenty of water, take deep breaths, and release anger and stress. Your body will thank you for it!