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***Ask Dr. Z - Alternative/Functional Medicine - Healing Comes From Within
By Dr. Z - Dr. Peter Zeischegg MS, DC, DACNB, the Official Guide To Alternative Medicine
Feb 28, 2008
Ask Dr. Z - Alternative/Functional Medicine - Healing comes from Within
One of my favorite quotes:
"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease." Thomas A. Edison
Content:
The Problem with Symptoms
Allopathic Medicine
Chronic Illness
Alternative Medicine: No Drugs - No Surgery
Alternative Medicine - There are No Magic Pills
Alternative Medicine - The only Question is WHY
Alternative Medicine - Illness and Premature Aging - a Call for Change!
Alternative Medicine - Medicine of the Future
The Problem with Symptoms
Many people don't feel good, but don't really know why. They complain of "unexplained" symptoms such as chronic fatigue, over-weight, depression, memory loss, fibromyalgia, food cravings, headaches, muscle and joint pain, arthritis, intractable back pain, heartburn, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, mood swings, rashes, itching, allergies, attention deficit, dyslexia, hearing and vision loss, balance problems, high blood pressure, insomnia, ...the list goes on.
Standard medical tests show little or nothing. Many of my patients have reported over the years that their MD's either ignore these symptoms or give vague explanations such as:
- It is because of your age
- You just have to live with it
- It's all in your head
- It is stress
- It is genetic
- It is...
What this really means: nobody knows how to determine the cause for all these symptoms.
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Allopathic Medicine
Over the
past decades traditional western allopathic medicine has come up with
an extraordinary number of pharmaceutical drugs in order to fight an extraordinary number of diseases. It seemed in the past, and it still appears that way today, that if we only could come up with the right chemical compound we could eventually conquer and eliminate any disease under the sun. This quest for the "Silver Bullet" continues.
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Chronic Illness
Somehow, we seem to have missed the mark. With the amount of medication consumed in the US one would assume that we are the healthiest people on the planet. However, we have more chronic diseases than ever. Even though our life span has been increased, our quality of life has not. Healthy aging eludes many of us. Diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, cancer, autoimmune disorders, allergies, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, depression abound.
With the advent of antibiotics we were convinced that we finally had won our battle against the bacteria. Initially it seemed that way. Now we realize that by administering antibiotics freely and generously we have created "superbugs" that are antibiotic-resistant. Other unfortunate side effects of antibiotic therapy have emerged: immune system suppression and destruction of the normal, "friendly" bacterial flora in our intestines, which is essential for our well-being.
As a consequence, we attempt to create ever more powerful and toxic drugs, that are quite dangerous for human use.
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Alternative/Functional Medicine: No Drugs - No surgery
- Alternative/Functional Medicine - a different paradigm
- The power to heal lies within YOU
- YOUR Alternative Medicine practitioner - YOUR coach, your teacher
- YOU must take full responsibility
- YOU must be willing to CHANGE
Alternative Medicine - There are No Magic Pills
Who we are is the sum total of
- our genetic strengths and weaknesses
- our upbringing
- our education
- our environment
- the quality of our food
- the quality of our water
- the quality of the air we breathe
- the quality of our thoughts, our emotions, our relationships to one another
- our capacity to give and receive love and affection
- the amount of bad impressions we take in from horrible TV shows
- the amount of ever increasing violence we are exposed to in the movies and/or in real life
- the functioning of our nervous system, our organs, our organ systems...
- this list goes on and on
All this, and more, forms this interdependent web that makes for our existence. To look at one symptom such as hypertension and pretend that it can simply be remedied by some pharmaceutical intervention does not make sense. And of course, it does not work, in the true sense of the word. Hypertension is an expression of various internal and/or external stressors that cause a malfunction of the body as a whole.
Alternative Medicine - The only Question is WHY
So the only relevant questions to ask:
- What causes the symptom?
- What causes the body to malfunction?
These are of course the most difficult question to answer.
Alternative/Functional Medicine is concerned with the functioning of the entire human being in the context of his or her life.
Genetics and life style are part of the equation. Illness and disease are not seen as independent realities that are explainable by being given a name and treated as such. Illness is rather viewed as an expression of some underlying imbalance and breakdown of normal function.
Illness is a call for change!
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Alternative Medicine - Illness and Premature Aging - a Call for Change
Biological aging is related to a noticeable decline in normal function. Function of the digestive system declines with age, so do many other glandular and hormonal functions. Aging can be accelerated by various life style choices:
- Heavy smokers seem to age faster. They have higher risk of age-related diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
- People who consume excessive amounts of alcohol also seem to age faster. They have increased risk of liver and cardiovascular problems.
- Those who consume poor quality diets that are excessive in carbohydrates (calories) and low in protein and other essential nutrients tend to age faster. They tend to suffer from obesity, diabetes, digestive stress, heart problems and frequent illness in general.
- Drug addicts age faster. You see this in their complexion, their posture, the evidence of their mental decline.
- Lack of physical activity appears to accelerate aging
- Chronic stress accelerates aging
- Environmental toxins in air and water accelerate aging.
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Alternative Medicine - Medicine of the Future
"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease." Thomas A. Edison
We can slow or even reverse our biological aging through intelligent changes in lifestyle, environment, and nutrition:
- It is estimated that making appropriate changes can positively influence more than 75 percent of our health and life expectancy after age 40!
The goal of Alternative Medicine is to optimize health through
Health is not seen as merely the absence of disease, but rather as an expression of vitality and well-being. An ever increasing number of healthcare professionals are becoming aware of the shortcomings and failures of allopathic medicine.
Alternative/Functional Medicine is slowly coming of age and is the true Medicine of the Future.
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What some of Dr. Z's clients say.
Sincerely
Peter Zeischegg, MS, DC, DACNB
Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist
13288 Banner Lava Cap Road, Suite A
Nevada City, Ca 95959
USA
(530) 265-0224
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