So something is bugging me on this lovely Sunday morning. I have a theory and I have an issue with natural medicine’s reputation.
First my theory. We have increasing incidence of so many behavioural, weird new “Western” illnesses. Toxin-related illnesses. Is this my idea or is this just fact? I think we know that life is messy now, busy, stressful. We get sick, we kill off our only defence mechanism (our gut flora) with antibiotics and then wonder why we always get sick…
Seems kids with snotty noses and a cough they just can’t shake are pretty much the norm. Seems to have a low immune system, depression or chronic fatigue is …well just accepted. Not that they shouldn’t be accepted as issues, but shouldn’t it be questioned why they are so prevalent? (all linked to gut health)
So there are toxins around, we know that. We even cook with them in our non-stick pans and add them to our water (umm…sounds slightly insane to you too right?!). But have we really stopped to think exactly what the f. we are doing?
So my theory is that we are killing ourselves with synthetics. And I don’t think this is new – I think I’m just about to explain how synthetics and toxins are the same thing. When we add something sythetic into our bodies it may address whatever issue is at hand…maybe. But then what? How can our bodies detox and remove something it doesn’t even recognise? How can our liver cope when even our food, our medicine, the stuff that’s supposed to keep us on our feet, is full of synthetic additives? And worst case, when the liver, kidneys…when every organ in our body has given up trying to figure out what the hell this molecule is, it gets shuttled off to our fat cells and surrounds it with fat, to keep the rest of our body protected…(obesity epidemic anyone?)
This is a great defence mechanism, don’t get me wrong. But we are seriously overloading it and end up with kids having meltdowns and who knows what because their bodies are under so much toxic stress.
Did you know that we give our newborn bubs a nice big dump of nourishing fatty milk…they have also detected 200 toxins in cord blood, at birth. This is before we do anything. Upon arrival we inject the child with vaccines. (Irrespective of your stance on vaccination, it is a toxic insult, containing massive doses of mercury, aluminium and loads of other additives and adjuvants. Whilst you may choose to use vaccines to try and protect your children from disease, it is totally relevant to mention in a discusson on toxic-loading our children – it is one more added assault on a very immature system.)
So then we go through life adding synthetic additives to our food, we use synthetic drugs when sick, etc etc…the toxicity of this life is extreme and I think most people have an “everything in moderation” approach, which would be fine, but we lost sight of toxins-in-moderation about 4 decades ago…
So if you’re still with me at this point I’d like to touch on another issue that I feel is related – the second-rate reputation of things that AREN’T synthetic. There are natural alternatives that really work – there’s research, it’s proven. But I still hear people, even people who use natural therapies, saying “yeah but if it get’s really bad you might need…(antibiotics/antidepressants…etc etc).
Um, ok. Let’s just recap on how the pharmaceutical industry creates a new drug. They send people off to discover natural ones, find something totally cool and amazing that they can’t patent or make money out of and so try to alter it to keep some of it’s original properties…then they patent the synthetic version, start mass producing so include a few additives and preservatives for safe measure and voila – an amazing new advance in modern medicine!
So can you PLEASE tell me why natural medicines are considered to be second best? You can’t overdose, there are no side effects (unless you have a skin sensitivity or specific allergy) and they WORK. I’m just really confused and saddened at this point.
But perhaps I shouldn’t be.
My whole world has only opened to these things recently, and now I’ve made it my job to help open this world to others, when they are ready. There are a lot who are ready, or nearly there. So perhaps I am left with hope and purpose. Rather than be saddened by where we have been, I’m excited for where we are going. If you’re getting excited at the idea of cracking up this door, give me a holler cause I am here to help – it’s an amazing, enlightening journey I’d love to share with you.
Time to go see some nature on this lovely sunny Sunday…