True Meaning of Natural Medicine

At work, I consult with patients on what natural healing means and how it works to improve their health. At leisure, I talk with people in diverse professions to promote their awareness for natural health. During my recent trip to New York, I discussed this popular subject with Ann, a friend from the good old SIPA (the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University) days. Having acquired critical acumen in top-tier health organizations, Ann asked an array of intriguing questions about natural medicine. We enjoyed our dialogue so much that we even extended the discussion via email in the following weeks. In this blog, I selected part of our email communication to present with you the meaning of natural health in modern society.

“Thomas Edison foresaw the medical development in this way: ‘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.’

What you, I and other SIPA friends have in common is the ultimate drive to make a difference in the world through social, political, financial and educational means. We know that we cannot recreate a NEW world with ideal peace and equality. Then what can we do? Knowing the conflicts in the EXISTING world, we participate in tasks that hopefully can make a positive influence on it and change it for better over the long term. Regardless of how turbulent the world is (pollution, poverty, ethnic conflicts, economic downturn, etc. you name it), we, as do-good-agents, enter this imperfect arena to minimize its conflicts and enhance its valuable heritage. Of course, this is the almighty goal and requires many SIPA graduates to reach it. Fortunately, we are getting closer and closer to it every year. This point of view is based on the assumption that human's moral nature prefers a peaceful world.

By the same token, natural healthcare acknowledges the uncontrollable variables that affect people's health. Polluted environment is bad for respiratory system, growth hormones in poultry and dairy products interfere with body's normal hormonal metabolism, severe winter weather dehydrates skin (I’m curious about Sara Palin's secret to healthy skin is in Alaska), radiation from TV and computer weakens eyesight, stress increases risk for weight gain and chronic disorders ... ... These are just some examples of EXTERNAL factors that have negative impact on our health. Can we remove all of them in order to stay healthy? It'd be idealistic to see them gone in our lifetime. Then what can we do to preserve our natural body? Here comes Darwin's Survival of the Fittest theory. "The fittest" in human health are those who are able to maintain good health despite of the severity of external environment. Can we achieve this? The answer is the conceptual foundation (this term is definitely better applied here than elsewhere) of natural healthcare: empower the body to naturally stay at its ‘Fittest’. This is based on the assumption that our body is able to heal itself naturally. Healthcare innovation makes more sense if it shifts its focus to the body's INTERNAL environment and INTRINSIC ability, instead of applying foreign substances to regulate the already-damaged mechanism.

I can type out pages of my perspectives into natural medicine, but I don't want to bore you with more lengthy texts. Just think about this scenario. Ms. Veggie has been on an organic vegetarian diet for a while. She does so because her digestive system is sensitive. Her stomach easily gets upset when she tries new food. Her doctor told her that staying away from meat helps ease her stomach. Recently, she got addicted to cupcakes. "One cupcake a day, bid smile all day" has been her daily snack this whole month. Yesterday she read somewhere about enriching cupcake flavor with a bottle of milk. She usually drinks milk in the morning. As a healthy calorie-watcher, she postpones her milk consumption till 3PM when she usually eats a freshly baked cupcake. Milk (organic of course) and cupcake together taste better, but an hour later, Ms. Veggie's stomach started making funny movements. By the end of the day, she already used a roll of toilet paper. If she came to see a natural doctor, she’d be treated to improve digestion function, rather than being ordered to discontinue the cupcake-milk combo.

The bottom line of natural healthcare is to strengthen the body's innate physiological functions. If the body is healthy and strong, it can identify good nutrients and bad substances, absorb the useful and eliminate the waste. If it is sick and weak, it cannot recognize good or bad, improper absorption and elimination of wrong elements can occur (it doesn't matter what type of food intake is). In this case, it'd be really hard to treat the conditions by altering diet, don't even think about curing its root cause. In practice, the general concept mentioned above guides natural treatment plans, which must be carefully customized to meet each individual's body constitution, prior health condition, emotions, stress, religion, lifestyles and so on.”

By now you know a bit more about Moogger way of natural health concept. But be aware that not all natural health practitioners follow the same ideology, just like regional variations in western medical practices. You don't have to agree with me, but I'm happy that you’ve taken time to learn about a new health concept. Of course, your feedback and comments are always welcome to help expand Moogger’s knowledge from dissimilar minds.