From the desk of Dr Sam Shohet
BDS MGDS RCS(Eng) LiAc MBAcC ICAK
A HEALH SERVICE FOR ALL
THE DILEMMA
Can someone please tell me why we have a health service that no-one can access easily, long waiting lists to see a doctor, even longer waiting lists to see a specialist, still longer waiting lists to get tests done and a lifetime’s wait for an operation? And what about the astronomical cost to the taxpayer just to run such an inefficient service?
It is said that had the health service been a corporate body or a company, it would have gone into liquidation or bankruptcy many decades ago. Let’s face it we all know that you can’t run a system where the very people who deliver the services, the doctors, dentists, nurses, ancillary personnel and staff are unhappy and the customer and user of the services, the patient, is also unhappy. The only people who seem to be quite content with this state of affairs are those who actually manage the service. But, eventually, they surely are users also?
THE DEMAND
The truth is that the demand on medicine in general and our health service in particular has increased so rapidly during the last decade yet, it has not kept pace with the great advances in understanding and knowledge about health and disease. So much so that our health delivery system has been left in a type of time warp where any of these advances cannot be reaped or enjoyed for many years, by which time they will have become almost useless.
This inevitably leads to a state of “catch up” where we are forever patching things up. This is not only costly but also difficult if not impossible to change and serves only to make everything, especially waiting times, worse.
THE NEW PARADIGM IN MEDICINE
Today’s great advances in Medicine are being made in recognising that the role of genes cuts across many diseases and conditions. That is to say that even if there were such a thing as a single gene or a group of genes for one disease, it appears that they either affect other genes and therefore other diseases, or could themselves be affected by the genes which give rise to these other diseases also!
For example, the set of genes that predisposes us to ageing may also promote all the diseases related to age such as Type 2 Diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, arthritis, heart disease and so on. This means that we no longer need to look or treat these diseases as separate entities but as one since each disease or condition is the outcome or result of the same problem manifesting or showing itself in different people.
So the interrelationship of a set of genes with diet - carbohydrates, proteins, fats, grains, fruits, vegetables and so on, lifestyle – exercise, recreational and medicinal drugs, smoking, drinking and so on, environment – radiation including electro smog with microwaves from mobile phones and masts, wireless connections, geopathic stress from the Earth’s electrical fields and so on, toxic metals - dental fillings, cookware, appliances and so on, chemicals – pesticides and herbicides in our food, water, air, cleaning materials and so on, infection – bacteria, viruses, moulds and parasites, all of which mutate and become untreatable, and not forgetting emotions – anger, frustration, job dissatisfaction, fear for the future and especially poverty which is perhaps the biggest emotional trigger; would result in, say, diabetes in one person, cancer in another person, Alzheimer’s or arthritis in yet another and so on..
THE DRUG INDUSTRY
For many decades drugs have been developed with the express belief that each disease or condition could be treated by one drug which acted only on that disease or condition. This belief has been shown time and again to be just that: a belief. After decades of research and many hundreds of patented drugs the belief never became a reality since there is no such thing as a single disease or condition existing on its own. It was just a convenient way of grouping together a set of symptoms or signs and giving them a convenient recognisable label. A label that made it unnecessary to repeat the signs and symptoms when discussing a problem especially as many of these signs and symptoms were usually also found in many other conditions and diseases.
As a matter of fact drugs were mainly developed to treat emergencies and to save lives and, to this day, they have no equal. Unfortunately it is when they are used to treat chronic conditions that their unpleasant and sometimes fatal side-effects far outweigh their benefits.
BIOCHEMISTRY OF ILLNESS
It is perhaps fitting to repeat that the way we all function is through a series of biochemical reactions. These chemical reactions are driven mostly by enzymes and enzymes require tools to function. These tools are vitamins and minerals and we get these from our food. Since our food no longer contains the necessary amounts of vitamins and minerals, there are not enough of these to go round in order to power every one of the hundreds of enzymes carrying out thousands of chemical reactions in our body. So rather than shut down completely, our body goes into priority mode and allows only the essentials of breathing, absorption of food and water, getting rid of waste as well as utilising sunlight for energy and manufacture of vitamin D to go on. This leaves other functions unattended which results in the appearance of signs and symptoms that we interpret as disease and usually treat with drugs.
THE NEW DRUG REVOLUTION
Realising that the future of medicine lay in substances which altered the expression of genes rather that affecting or masking their outcome, many companies are now in a race to produce what are called targeted therapies or designer drugs – the production of drugs specifically designed to help a unique person or a group of people with similar genetic variations which causes them to react in an adverse manner.
But surely we already know how we can effect this naturally and without resorting to the time consuming, costly and wasteful pharmaceutical route. We already know that diet, lifestyle, environment and emotions interact with our genes to produce an outcome so why do we need drugs when we can simply manipulate these to give us what we want?
THE SIMPLE SOLUTION
Gene Testing
What we need in order to turn the whole of Medicine on its head is a test or tests to establish the genetic markers that would place an individual at risk of Alzheimer’s, diabetes or cancer and so on. Armed with this information we can then go on to determine what changes to diet, lifestyle, environment etc. are likely to make the risk worse and also what alterations are required to ensure a more favourable outcome.
The reality is that the genetic tests are already here and have been in use for years to identify a number of core enzymes known to be at the very root of major conditions.
Health Practitioners
The personnel to put all this into action have also been around for a long time, dealing holistically and naturally with health problems. They are of course the veritable and dedicated army of alternative and complementary health professionals from naturopaths, acupuncturists, chiropractors and osteopaths to homeopaths, herbalists, nutritionists and kinesiologists.
They are all well qualified and versed in therapies that are tailored for the individual patient, and these professionals should be used as the first line in treatment of all patients until medical schools can produce the all-round practitioners educated and qualified in all the therapies and skills necessary to help the patient.
Once again I need to remind you that there is no substitute to conventional medicine in an emergency where life or limb is to be saved.
LIMITATIONS
Nothing should be regarded as conventional or alternative, there should only be one medicine. A medicine geared to help the sick and the suffering and to ensure the health and wellbeing of humankind.
But surely there must be a downside?
Belief and Fear
Perhaps the only limitations holding us back are belief and fear.
Belief is a very powerful tool that can be both positive and negative at the same time. If we believe that there is no other way to progress and that the only way forward is more of the same thing and that we can simply spend our way out of the present situation, then we are doomed to a life of health mediocrity. If, on the other hand, we can cultivate the belief that there is another way and if we can be brave enough and confident enough to commit to going forward, accepting that there might be a need for some adjustments on the way, then we shall surely reap the great rewards on offer.
As for fear, the other great obstacle to change and improvement, well to my mind, that has no place in a progressive and enlightened society seeking the benefit for all and, in turn, for self.
CONCLUSION
It’s that simple. So what’s the problem?
I don’t know. What is the problem?!
With warm regards,
Sam Shohet