Symptoms Are Your Friends

Symptoms Are Your Friends

With so many viruses going around and the threats of even more dangerous ones coming; I decided that it was time to talk about symptoms and their purpose in our health. Many of us view symptoms as our enemies when in fact they are our friends. Many of you have been to my health seminars where I discuss this topic, but for those of you who may never hear me personally; I decided to make an attempt to put my seminar into print for my newsletter readers.

Symptoms are the body's way of telling us that there is something wrong. I call them the "warning signals" or "flashing red lights" of the body and it is in our best interest to "listen" to them instead of running to the medicine chest, the pharmacy or the doctor every time we don't feel well! We must look at the symptom and determine what it is telling us. Symptoms are valuable indicators of the wrong that we are doing. When we suppress the symptoms with drugs, we actually work against the body's natural defenses.

Medically speaking a symptom is defined as "a sign or indication of a disease or illness." It is thought that if the symptom is treated, then the disease or illness has been cured. NOTHING is further from the truth! To my knowledge, there is not a single pharmaceutical that "cures" a disease...they merely treat symptoms. (Think about it, pain killers, tranquilizers, heart medication, diuretics, H2 blockers, chemotherapy; none of them really cure anything)!

Symptoms are viewed differently from my Naturopathic healing perspective. They are viewed as indicators that there is an abnormal condition within the body which is producing a state of "dis-ease". A manifested symptom is the body's effort to eliminate toxins from the body so that it can return it to a state of health. A symptom is merely the body's effort at staying alive while coping with any damage that has been done or is being done to the body. Symptoms are the body's attempt to restore health and maintain life. This being said, now wouldn't it make sense to deal with the wrong being done instead of suppressing the symptom through drugs or other means?

How many of us have ever had a fever? Most people, thanks to the lucrative world of Big Pharma, immediately try lowering a fever when it appears. This increase in temperature is an automatic response to dealing with a foreign invader (i.e.. virus)! This is the body's way of killing that "bug." What happens when we take Tylenol (or some other toxic drug) to lower the fever?
[By the way, Acetaminophen overdoses result in about 450 deaths annually (only about 100 of those are intentional) and poison control centers receive more than 100,000 calls annually resulting from overdoses of acetaminophen. Additionally, this "fever-reducing" drug causes 56,000 emergency room visits, 2,600 hospitalizations and a number of liver transplants. Although acute liver failure is rare, acetaminophen accounts for almost 50 percent of cases, more than is caused by prescription drugs. Annals of Internal Medicine, December 16, 2003 ].

Anyway; we stop the body's attempt at killing the invader and the invader gets to live on in our body and create havoc if we suppress the fever (symptom). If, instead of lowering the fever, we go to bed and rest (doesn't that sound novel?), drink lots of fluids, and make sure our bowels are moving to ensure the colon's elimination of the toxins, we actually encourage the body in its attempt to eliminate the invader. Hence, health is restored more quickly, the immune system becomes stronger, we prevent more toxicity by not putting drugs in the body, and we allow the body to do its job. We have not interfered with the body and the way I believe God created our bodies to optimally function.

I do believe there are times when we need to intervene with a fever - perhaps when the immune system is so weakened by our consistent wrong doings to it or when it reaches 104 or 105 degrees - but not before. I would still consider other methods first in that case, than drugs - i.e... cool baths or sponging with tepid/cool water. People get so panicky with a fever. Enzymes in the body do not begin to be destroyed until 107 degrees so don't get too upset when your child has a temperature of 102 or 103 degrees. This means the body is trying very hard to do its job. Of course, with a fever you need to make sure lots of fluids are taken in to prevent dehydration. If a child refuses to drink you can get liquid in them by giving them juice enemas and rubbing them with a wet cloth (the skin will absorb some of the liquid).

A fever is just one example of the body doing its job of protecting us and returning us to health. How many of you have ever had a runny nose, cough, skin eruptions, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, etc? These are all ways your body is trying to rid itself of toxins via one of the modes of elimination that God created within our body systems. I encourage you to "listen" to your body next time you experience one of these, to try to determine what you have done to deserve the symptom, and to simply cooperate with the body in eliminating the dis-ease and returning back to a state of health and vitality. Instead of being in a hurry to get back to work, why not call in sick, go to bed, drink plenty of freshly squeezed juice (take additional Juice Plus+ to facilitate immune enhancement and detoxification), fast all food to give the body more energy for healing, and be patient while your body does its job? Let's take time to take care of our health, and therefore reap the benefits of a healthy immune system that can fight off cancer and all other diseases that are so rampant in America .

www.facebook.com/drwade
www.256backpainhelp.com
www.wadechiropractic.com