The World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.1 Most Americans base their health on how they look or feel, referring to good health as a lack of disease. However, following this map has led the majority of the US population down an unhealthy road. Today, more Americans are starting to understand wellness care. The medical community and even insurance companies are now recognizing the value of a truly healthy population.
Heart disease and cancer, two of the top three killers in the US today, show few symptoms until it is too late. “The first manifestation of a heart problem often times is sudden death,”2 states Alan Gertler, M.D., associate professor of medicine in the University of Alabama’s Division of Cardiovascular Diseases. Jerry Balentine, DO, states that “Cancer gives most people no symptoms or signs that exclusively indicate the disease. Unfortunately, every complaint or symptom of cancer can be explained by a harmless condition as well.”3
A shift in thinking must occur. Through science, we know that the brain is the master control center in the body; it is in control of every cell in our body and dictates all function.4 The brain communicates with these cells through the nervous system (spinal cord and nerves) and therein lies an innate map to lead us on down a healthy road. This innate intelligence is the reason each of us started out as 2 cells that grew into roughly 70 trillion cells in about 280 days, without any outside intervention.
Throughout our lives, this innate map is often detoured by poor habits. It takes conscious effort to maintain a healthy diet, physical activity or exercise, and proper posture and spinal function. Imagine putting diesel fuel in a car that requires regular or premium unleaded gasoline. We would expect the performance to diminish. This is the same as the human body. Most Americans will seek medication for lacking performance, believing it will fix the problem when in fact it typically only relieves the symptoms.
Thomas Edison stated in 1903, “The Doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and the cause and prevention of disease.”5 The profession of Chiropractic does just that. It treats the spine and related joints that make up the frame of our body, and actively teaches the need for proper nutrition and activity as the basic building blocks of good health.
You can seek a health plan that is congruent with your body’s innate ability to care for itself, before disease sets in and limits your options. Chiropractors may be an intuitive part of your plan–for physical and mental wellness–to live a more harmonious life that provides for optimal well-being.
Eric Davenport is a Doctor of Chiropractic at Gonstead Chiropractic and can be reached at 760.863.0435
References: 1) Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19-22 June, 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948; 2) First sign of coronary heart disease in men could be death – healthnews.net Feb. 8, 2012 (source University of Alabama at Birmingham); 3) Balentine, Jerry, DO, FACEP; Davis, Charles Patrick, MD, PhD; CANCER SYPMTOMS www.emedicinehealth.com ; 4) Guyton, Arther C., Textbook of Medical Physiology. Tenth Edition, WB Saunders Co., 2000; 5) Edison, Thomas; the Newark Advocate; Jan. 03, 1903
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