Is your body your friend?

I just received my monthly newsletter from Dr. Dale Peterson, M.D. He is a dear friend and a trusted advisor on any medical concerns. Those of you who know me well know that for more than 30 years I have tried to solve medical concerns as naturally as possible. It is no wonder, then, that I am friends with Dr. Dale and his wife Rosalie. Dr. Dale was trained in traditional medicine, but life has taught him to look at all possibilities when dealing with health challenges.

A yearly subscription to his newsletter is $39.95. He said I may offer it to the readers of this blog at $29.95 if you mention where you heard of his newsletter. His address is
1006 West Taft, #342
Sapulpa OK 74066.

Here are some excerpts from his latest newsletter, used by his permission.

"After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it." Eph. 5:29

...the United States' annual per capita expenditure on health care in 2004 was $5,635. We spent twice as much per capita as the United Kingdom and more than triple that of countries like Spain and Portugal.

One would think that seeking healthcare would indicate a love of one's body--a desire to protect and support it, but health care in the United States is a paradox. What is euphemistically referred to as health care is actually disease care, and in American medicine's war on disease, the human body is considered public enemy #1.

Disease, when it appears, is almost always viewed as the result of a body run amuck. People die of heart attacks because their bodies are producing too much bad cholesterol. Many develop arthritis because their bodies are producing too many bad leukotrienes. Individuals are dying of cancer because one of their organs was genetically programmed to go bad. .......

Since the body is considered the source of disease, the response of American medicine when an illness appears is to attack the body and beat it into submission. This is most commonly done by cutting (surgery), burning (radiation), or poisoning (drugs).

...With the exception of hormone replacement products, nearly all drugs attack the body's ability to function properly. Cholesterol-lowering drugs, for example, block the body's ability to manufacture cholesterol and coenzyme Q10. Anti-inflammatory drugs block the body's ability to produce certain chemicals called prostaglandins, which are produced by the body to regulate various activities. Acid suppressing drugs inhibit the body's ability to produce stomach acid.

Because drugs are blocking the body's ability to perform various functions, side effects invariably occur. In blocking the body's ability to manufacture cholesterol in the liver, for example, statin drugs also block the body's ability to produce coenzyme Q10. When physicians attempt to prevent heart attacks by prescribing statins or alternative practitioners recommend red yeast rice with the same intent, they simultaniously increase the likelihood that congestive heart failure will develop. When physicians prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs to block the production of prostaglandins that cause joint pain and inflammation they simultaneously block the production of prostaglandins that protect the lining of the stomach from the acid it contains. They adversely affect kidney function and once again increase the likelihood that congestive heart failure will appear.

...I do not believe that anyone would knowingly attack his or her body if they loved it and were seeking to feed and care for it. Indeed, a high perceentage of those seeking my council intuitively know that many of the drugs they are taking are not in their best interest.

...I saw firsthand the folly of modern medical practice during the many years I attempted to heal the body by assaulting it. Perhaps that is why I now so fervently believe in doing everything possible to strengthen rather than weaken the body's systems.

I have a deep and abiding respect for the design and nature of the human body. It is, as the psalmist states, "fearfully and wonderfully made." My goal, when approaching an illness is not to beat the body into submission, but rather to nourish and support it to the best of my ability, trusting that its innate healing mechanisms will restore health.

...Disease occurs not because the human body is bad or defective, but rather because the body has been attacked and has been unable to respond effectively. This is often because the body has not been properly fed and cared for prior to the attack. A wide variety of nutrients are required to enable the body's defenses to work properly. If they have not been provided and are lacking, hostile invaders find it easy to gain the upper hand, renegade cells are able to establish themselves as an independent cancerous growth, and aging cells and worn tissues break down because the body is not able to repair or replace them. A body that has been well cared for--that has received proper nourishment, adequate rest, and protection from environmental insults will be able to withstand most assaults. It will be able to conquer nearly all challenges if given optimum support when symptoms of disease first appear.

When disease occurs, the body is not the enemy; it is our greatest ally in the fight to regain our health. It deserves and needs our support. After all, no one (in his right mind) ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it.

If any part of this article is reprinted please give the proper credit to Dr. Peterson along with his address.