A short time ago a concerned father brought his 7 year son into my office with a diagnosis of asthma. This young boy had a persistant cough that affected him daily. He had wheezing that occured occassionally and seemed to get worse after meals. His parents were growing increasingly frustrated because at least 5 other doctors had seen their son, all of whom prescribed oral steroids, steroid inhalers or multiple rounds of various antibiotics. None of these medications were having any noticeable impact on the boy so the parents decided it was time for a different approach.

The father had heard about me from a friend and called to achedule an appointment. The boy appeared well developed and nourished and did not have any noticeable problems in my office. His physical examination was unremarkable. But during our conversation and history intake, the topic of nutrition and eating habits came up, as it usually does.

It has been my personal and professional experience that everything we put into our mouths will ultimately have biochemical consequences, good, bad or indifferent.  His breakfast and dinner meals were varied and were reasonably healthy, but lunch, expecially during the week, raised some red flags. His dad made his lunch everyday and always, always, made his sons favorite sandwich, peanut butter and jelly on wheat bread. This is what the boy ate everyday at school during lunch time.

From a clinical perspective, the repetitive consumption of any food or drink, no matter how healthy the choices may be, ultimately and potentially render the body’s immune system vulnerable and hyperactive. We can handle some bad things for a short time and some good things for a longer time, but eventually, in some cases, the body begins to react aggressively against the offending food or drink resulting in symptoms that mimic asthma. Of course all suspected cases of  asthma should be taken seriously as the constriction of airways is a potentially serious problem that may need to be treated with medication until the underlying cause can be discovered.

There is always an underlying cause. And in all cases of asthma, the underlying cause of asthma is not a deficiency of steroid inhalers or antibiotics!

After a thorough evaluation of this boy’s condition, we elected not to prescribe any additional medications. Instead, my recommendation was to eliminate peanut butter from the boys diet for a minimum of two weeks. After two weeks a follow up visit would determine what progress, if any,  had been made.

The boy and his father returned to myoffice two weeks later. Dad just looked at me for awhile without saying anything. I began to feel a bit uncomfortable. The dad finally said, “you know doc, we have seen many doctors and tried many drugs trying to help my son, then we came to you and all you did was tell us to stop eating peanut butter!”

He went on “I thought you might be a bit crazy”. But he said they would try it anyway just to see what would happen. So I asked him how the boy had been doing the past two weeks, hoping to hear good news. The father reported that within two days of eliminating the peanut butter his sons cough went away! His wheezing went also went away. In fact, all of his symptoms completely went away. Without drugs, steroid inhalers or antibiotics.

Dad was happy that we solved his sons dilemma, but he also expressed some anger and frustration at the same time, because he had spent alot of time, effort and money trying to deal with this issue with no results.

You see, his son did not have asthma at all, he only had a strong hypersensitivity to peanut butter,  and most other nuts too.

This in only one case of hundreds I could talk about, but the bottom line is this; do your homework and ask questions of your doctor whenever the word asthma comes up. The majority of the diagnosed cases of asthma are heavily influenced  by food, drink, chemicals and other environmental factors. A comprehensive history and detailed conversation, and occasionally a blood test, is usually all that is required to identify the underlying cause of so called asthma.

Powerful medications are certainly necessary and helpful in many cases, but are not always needed or necessary. I am not against medications as I do prescribe them as necessary on a case by case basis. But as good and helpful as medications can be, it is most important to take the time required to learn what is causing a condition or illness instead of simply covering up the symptoms with drugs. We must treat the cause.

Historically, the practice of medicine has focused upon a single concept or theory of practice. These concepts and theories have evolved throughout time. During each generation, those who were in positions of power and wealth have typically controlled and manipulated the type of medicine that was considered appropriate, efficacious and of course, the most profitable.

For the past 75 years or so, and especially since the advent of penicillin, a medical system based solely upon the germ theory of disease has been the dominant medical model. The idea has been that a germ, a virus, bacteria, parasite or fungus is the root cause of disease. Therefore, all that is needed to combat disease is to develop a weapon against the germ. Hence the development of antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, antiparasitics, etc. This approach is merely an extension of the war like mentality that has plaqued humans for generations. Have an enemy, find a way to eradicate or kill it.

This approach has clearly been effective, as countless lives have been saved from almost certain doom. However, this approach had initially failed to take into consideration that germs have their own innate intelligence and have a strong will to survive in the face of adversity. These germs have learned to change and alter their form to become resistant to our germ fighting weapons.

Today, antibiotic resistance is posing a serious threat even within the ivory towers of the medical establishment. As a result, our weapons against many germs are worthless and we are losing the war. This form of medicine is called conventional or orthodox medicine.

In order to succeed against the proverbial enemy, the germ, we must learn to cohabitate with them instead of creating stronger drugs that will ultimately generate greater resistance. This can be accomplished by integrating several forms of medical theory into a single cohesive medical model.

By integrating conventional medicine with the best of naturopathic and homoepathic medical models, we can learn to harmoniously coexist with the germs while creating an internal health environment that is condusive toward health promotion and disease resistance.

Health improvement is one simple concept that seems to elude the majority of people involved in disease care. If similar amounts of money were devoted to improving the health of our population as is currently devoted to treating disease and illness, people in general would be happier, healthier and much more resistant to illness and disease.

Natural therapies generally include treatments and therapies that are typically derived from vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, plants, water and oxygen to name a few. The majority of natural therapies are used because they tend to work with the body’s normal chemistry, physiology and anatomy. This is opposite of how most synthetic drugs work, which typically block or alter normal chemistry and physiology.

Natural therapies stimulate the body’s innate healing response by providing the body with those substances it needs to function at an optimal level.

The United States of America ranks number one in the world in healthcare costs, yet ranks 77th in the world in the overall health of it’s population!

A  human body that is healthy and resistant to illness and disease must be built upon a foundation of solid nutrition.

The answer to this question depends upon who you ask. If you ask a young intern trained in conventional medicine, he or she will typically respond with an adamant yes. However, if you ask a young intern trained in naturopathic and/or homeopathic medicine, he or she may answer “not always” or “depends upon the case”.

Regardless of the inevitable disagreement between the medical camps, there is no denying this simple fact: disease and illness are not caused by a lack of medication! Drugs are clearly helpful and even life saving in many circumstances but they rarely, if ever address the root causes of illness and disease. The underlying cause of most disease processes is toxicity and/or deficiencies and imbalances in the materials thatallow our bodies to function. These materials include, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, fatty acids, amino acids, oxygen, water, just to name a few.

Once we provide the body with those substances it requires and remove from it those things it does not need, the body will naturally begin to return toward a state of health and well being.

Many large corporations provide wellness programs for all levels of their workforce. They do so because experience and statistics clearly reveal that those people who participate in wellness programs have improved overall health with fewer risk factors for disease. Additionally, employers benefit from increased productivity, less sick leave and  improved employee loyalty and morale.

Wellness programs are no longer a luxury for only large companies with hundreds of employees. A wellness program can have equal and even greater benefits for small businesses as well. Many small business owners want to provide health and wellness benefits for their staff but often assume that the costs would outweigh the benefits. However, with health insurance premiums outpacing the rate of inflation every year while providing fewer benefits, many employers are simply unable or unwilling to budget for healthcare. And given current economic conditions, many employees cannot afford the high cost of healthcare for themselves and their families.

One solution to this dilemma is to consider offering wellness programs in place of or in addition to traditional health insurance plans. Insurance is expensive and is only used occasionally when someone gets sick. While these plans can be important for emergency situations and crisis management, most of the money spent on health insurance plans simply thickens the wallets of the insurance industry with little to no direct benefit to employees. On the other hand, a wellness program, when implemented properly, can help people to prevent disease, treat illness and improve health. By educating and monitoring people on an ongoing basis, people are encouraged and motivated to achieve and maintain healthy lifestyle choices and behaviors that result in increased productivity, less sick leave and improved company loyalty and morale.

Many health, medical and wellness providers and companies are beginning to impliment programs that are designed specifically with the small business in mind. This trend can only serve to improve the quality of our health care system as a population that actively and routinely engages in wellness programs will be healthier and will not burden an already heavily burdened healthcare system.

The prevention of disease can be attained by adopting and adhering to a lifestyle that is conducive for health and longevity.

Drug therapies serve an important palliative role in the management and care of both acute and chronic illness. Unfortunately, many people are led to believe that synthetic medications will be required for life long intake to control their illness or condition, which is highly discouraging and in most cases entirely untrue.