The Evolution of Medicine …

Conventional Medicine versus Alternative Medicine

Louis Pasteur: circa: 1871In the late 18th century, three scientists fought it out over competing theories of disease – Louis Pasteur, the father of conventional medicine versus Claude Bernard and Antoine Bechamp, proponents of alternative medicine.

Pasteur’s side, conventional medicine, believed that germs, from outside the body, were the source of all diseases.  Their ideas set the foundation for what became the Germ Theory of Disease.

Bernard and Bechamp, the alternative medicine camp, felt disease followed imbalances inside the body and that the imbalance triggered a change in a normally symbiotic microbe, contained within the human body, which triggered the decay of tissue, organs and disease.  Their ideas formed a theory called Zymotic Disease by the proponents of alternative medicine.

The argument raged on until academics of the time interceded to settle the dispute.  Pasteur, aided by the recently invented microscobe, could show germs to the academics;  Bechamp, et al,  couldn’t, consequently, Pasteur’s Germ Theory of Disease became the foundation of conventional medicine.

The enduring competition between these two theories, conventional medicine or alternative medicine,  has been dramatized by an often repeated anecdotal death-bed statement, by a repentant Pasteur, “It is not the germ that causes disease but the terrain in which the germ is found.”

Undeterred by Pastuer’s change of heart, and building on their past success with penicillin’s ability to kill bacteria, practitioners of germ theory forged ahead and became today’s physicians;  who seek external factors that cause a diagnosed condition, use substances, machines and/or surgeries to eradicate that “disease causing factor” and pharmaceuticals to “manage” particular conditions with varying degrees of success – just as Pasteur predicted!

Perhaps it’s time to dust off the Bechamp’s theory and take a closer look.

  • Could, as Bernard and Bechamp’s work shows, the inner condition and health of the cells (sometimes described as the “terrain” in works of the time) determine whether disease would manifest or spread in the body?
  •  Could factors, like poor diet, stress, lack of rest and life style choices, be the catalysts that alter the “internal terrain” of the body that give rise to the conditions that plague the industrialized world?
  • Could that “friendly” microbe, the microzyma (named by Bechamp), change into the predator that is decaying the body, little by little – from the inside, be the culprit?
  • What if adequate sleep, relaxation, moderate lifestyle choices, mild exercise and a balanced diet is the prescription for a long life and a healthy death?

The inescapable fact is:  what we are doing medically
. . . is expensive, risky, intrusive and it doesn’t always work.

The chances of succumbing to one or more of the degenerative diseases: Heart and Cardiovascular disease, Cancer, Respiratory disease, Stroke, Diabetes, Lung disease, Kidney disease and suicide, is greater than ever before.

Plus, the number of people who’s symptoms of declining health are being “managed” with prescriptive chemicals is mind boggling.

 Odds are, a person will be a statistic sometime during their life – if he or she isn’t now.  After spending billions of dollars on the theory of conventional medicine:  searching for cures, managing disease, medical treatments with surgeries and machines, poking and prodding, enduring the heartache of declining health and financial ruin, people are worse off.

Is there a simple, affordable alternative?  Yes!

Oddly enough, the factors that affect the internal terrain of the body are simple.
They are the choices that people make – every day.

People choose:

  • Consuming edible substances, masquerading as food (Chemcuisine),
    that are fast and easy – instead of real food and balancing their diet.
  • Drinking anything & everything –  except clean water
  • Exercising too much or too little
  • Inadequate sleep
  • Lack of relaxation
  • Risky life styles
  • Make excuses for their choices.  It’s the kids’ schedule … It’s the boss … It costs too much … It’s the commute … It’s the ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_______ (fill in the blank).

And, just as perplexing, people are dumb-struck when they are forced to confront a very predictable situation – their failed health.

Perhaps, it time to try something different.

Years ago, the makers of Fram oil filters produced a television commercial that featured an oil soaked mechanic who said “Pay me now, or pay more, later.”, insinuating that investing in an oil change and a $3.00 Fram oil filter, now, is better than replacing the engine in your car – later.

Likewise, treating your body with respect, now, will pay you dividends – now and in the future.  And, in this case, your body can’t be replaced when it’s broken – it is the only one you’ll ever be issued.

Is that alternative medicine or is it just good sense?

For those of you, who are interested, read: How to Become the Master of Your Health or visit this page for a worksheet to help you start managing your internal terrain.

For the rest of you:  Good Luck.  You’ll need it.