Individuality Where Health is Concerned
Physicist Max Born said, “For the belief in a single truth is the root cause for all evil in the world.” Today, the world vibrates with thousands of differing points views, many are warring political or religious factions, but not all of them. In fact, I just heard an interview with a book author who is at war with “positive thinking,” which would seem the penultimate in just looking for a fight! Anyway, I’m a chiropractor who absolutely believes in the efficacy of chiropractic treatment, but I also know, as do all chiropractors, that there isn’t “one thing” that works for everyone, not even chiropractic. If a patient doesn’t respond to chiropractic care, I refer them to someone else who may be able to help them.
Certainly there are plenty of people in the world who are tolerant, and even respectful, of other points of view. That’s why it sometimes surprises me when those otherwise open-minded, balanced folks who are convinced that there is no “single truth” are still looking for some discovery in nature, a supplement, or a drug, or gene therapy that will be THE THING that has the power to prevent or reduce every known cause of mortality.
We are dynamic, biological beings, not “machines,” and just as there isn’t one religion or political ideology that is a one-size-fits-all, there isn’t going to be the same health answer for everyone. We are far more than the sum total of our parts. Our central integrative states differ and, therefore, internal incitement factors and external, environmental influences cause us to react in different ways. Case in point, there are a few individuals who can smoke cigarettes and live to be ninety without any obvious ill effects. Yet, as a habit for most, it is definitely detrimental.
We make conscious choices everyday that have to do with the health of our individual body. We personally decide what we’ll put into our body, and how much activity and rest we’ll get. Not all the decisions we make are beneficial for our health and longevity, even though we “know,” by the way our individual body responds, what if “right” for us.
When we choose an unhealthy lifestyle, our naturally homeostatic system becomes “off balance.” Over time, the imbalances we’ve created by not making healthy choices, result in diseases. We can hope, we can even pray, that one day researchers may uncover a “the single truth” in nature that has the power to reverse all of the excessive and unhealthy things we do to our body on a regular basis. But, a better solution would be for each us to follow our own natural, individual path to health. If we do, we’ll be live longer, healthier lives.