INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE

•Integrative medicine encompasses a viewpoint which recognizes the complex, intelligent and holistic nature of the physical-energetic-informational system of each individual and the uniqueness of that system. In this approach the practitioner and the sick individual form a team working towards an integrated protocol of management best suited for that person. Supporting health is a priority using least invasive and most natural approaches. Treating disease symptomatically may be indicated but always with the full knowledge of the sick individual.”SASIM April 2006

•Integrated or Integrative Medicine is practicing medicine in a way that selectively incorporates elements of Complementary and Alternative medicine into comprehensive treatment plans alongside solidly orthodox methods of diagnosis and treatment. [British Medical Journal 2001;322:119-120]

•Integrative Medicine:

Is based on a partnership of patient and practitioner, within which conventional and health promoting [alternative] modalities may be used to stimulate the body’s healing response;Shifts the orientation of medicine from one of treating disease to improving health;Engages the body, mind, spirit, and community in the process of healing;Neither rejects conventional medicine nor uncritically accepts alternative practices;Is committed to good science that is driven by inquiry and open to new paradigms;Is grounded in the philosophy that prevention is a primary responsibility of medicine and that healing is possible even when curing is not;Works to activate innate, natural healing mechanismsUses natural, less invasive interventions before costly, invasive ones whenever possible; andAsks that practitioners seek to be holistic, patient-centered and committed to the process of self-exploration.

•The [new] terminology of integrative medicine includes the following:

Art of medicine

Systems

Webs

Non-linear dynamics

Informational systems

Patterns

Probability dynamics

Relationships

Complexity

Meaning and medicine

Order and chaos

Intuition and experience

•As the philosophy develops and become more sophisticated a newer medicine will emerge which will naturally integrate many aspects of traditional medicine, newer developments in physics and quantum theory and recent advances in nutritional medicine.

•A state of dis-ease
•Chronic disease is often complex, and usually several modalities have to be employed to achieve good results. Apart from the well-documented chronic diseases, there exists a grey area between defined disease and complete wellness. This so-called state of dis-ease is often a cause of great frustration to both the conventional medical doctor and the patient. This is because the patient persists in feeling unwell in spite of normal results from all the traditionally available tests. The drugs used to combat the symptoms are often ineffective or cause more problems. This is a very common scenario in which the patient may endure many months of harsh treatments, suffering and frustration. Consequently, the poor patient is finally referred, in desperation, for psychiatric assessment and/or treatment for a condition, which was not psychological at the outset. An integrative approach in these situations can provide much needed relief.

•Healing vs. Suppression
•It is important to make the distinction between suppression of symptoms and true healing of a condition. In an acute bronchitis, for example, the antibiotic will suppress the infection by killing the bacteria, thus allowing the Life Force to bring about healing of the condition. In chronic disease, though, the drugs usually just suppress the symptoms. This may continue for as long as the drugs are administered, but as soon as the drugs are stopped the symptoms usually return. This is because healing has not been allowed to take place. Many patients are happy to continue with chronic medication, as it allows them reasonable quality of life, without the effort of having to make changes to their lifestyle.

•The symptoms of the disease are in reality the signals that the Life Force is emitting, in an attempt to get correct interpretation and healing. If these vital signals are suppressed each time they appear, the disease process is driven to a deeper level in the body. Let us take the example of a child with eczema, who presents with symptoms of an itchy, scaly rash. The conventional treatment would be to apply cortisone creams to suppress the rash. This eventually drives the pathology to a deeper level and the child may develop asthma. Although the eczema may have disappeared, it has not been cured but merely re-appeared as asthma. If the asthma is suppressed for years with a cortisone inhaler, it too can appear to recede, only to be replaced by hay fever.

•Chronic diseases can NOT be cured by suppressing the symptoms. Only treatments that recognize the clues that the Life Force is emitting, and work with them with natural, energetic tools, have any chance of assisting the body back to true health. Examples of such treatments include constitutional Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Acupuncture and others, which all form part of an Integrative approach. True healing is when the person has regained a sense of health and vitality, without the continued need of any kind of medicine.

The Germ vs. the Terrain:
•Louis Pasteur, who died 100 years ago, was responsible for the promotion of the germ theory of infection and disease. He discovered pasteurization and disinfection, which have become so important to modern surgical aseptic procedures. Another Frenchman and colleague, Claude Bechamp, developed a contrasting theory that the integrity of the terrain of the organism or body is far more important in warding off infections. He proclaimed that if one maintains a healthy lifestyle, one’s immune system would be stronger, which means that one will not be susceptible to all the germs in your environment i.e. the terrain is strong. Pasteur, on the other hand, advocated killing all the germs in order to prevent disease. Pasteur and Bechamp were vociferous adversaries throughout their lives, but it is interesting to note that on his deathbed Pasteur finally acknowledged that he was wrong and Bechamp was right: “le terraine est toute” [the terrain is everything]. Conventional medicine to this day follows the Pasteur theory, while practitioners of Natural medicine advocate the truth of the terrain theory put forward by Bechamp.