The Holistic Medicine Approach

            Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, and AIDS are only some of the progressively deteriorating, incurable diseases affecting the human species. Many of these diseases seem to be pronounced death sentences. Growing up in this Western culture of medicine in the United States, I’ve come to the notion that if one is ill, give them pills. If one has strep throat, give them antibiotics. We are a pill-popping culture, and subsequently, what’s the scenario for us when popping pills is no longer effective in curing the illness? Palliative care until end of life is the assumed default in this Western approach of treatment and medicine. To some people, that future in itself is already a grim landscape far too unpleasant. However, unbeknownst to certain people or perhaps scoffed upon in the eyes of some, Eastern medicine has alternative treatments, such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, Tui na massage, Qi gong exercise, and dietary therapy, for many of these diseases deemed incurable. While its effects are not guaranteed, there are many cases in which individuals have seemingly miraculously recovered from cancer, diabetes, arthritis, paralysis, heart disease, severe depression, systemic lupus, and many other chronic illnesses (Collins, 2010). Interestingly enough, there is in fact a hospital in China, called the Huaxia Zhineng Qigong Center, which routinely dissolves cancerous tumors with the practice of Qi gong, making it a medicinal-free hospital (Collins, 2010). At this site, there’s a videotape recording showing four Qigong masters, who were being monitored live with the use of real-time CT scan by 2 doctors, dissolving an orange-sized tumor in a cancer patient within forty seconds, just with the power of qi. Additionally, since its inception of this practice, the Center has cared for over 135,000 patients, totaling over 180 different diseases, and has achieved a mesmerizing 95% success rate (Collins, 2010). As unbelievable as that may sound, I’m not advocating to immediately discontinue Western practice of medicine, as it does have benefits over the Eastern approach towards this, but I argue that there needs to be a holistic approach towards treatment of diseases that are currently deemed incurable in Western culture.

            Western culture has key differences in their perspectives on medicine from Eastern culture. Western culture focuses on the belief that human beings can control nature. Foreign invaders are the causes of illness. Health is the absence of disease, pain, and symptoms of illness, and illness is the destructive process characterized by specific symptoms due to a specific cause (“Eastern versus Western Medicine,” 2002). Because of this thinking, symptoms are merely seen as manifestations of the dis-ease, and therefore, only as phenomena that should be suppressed. The typical causes of illnesses are generally foreign invaders that may or may not accompany peripheral forces. Additionally, the progression of diseases is solely characterized by the maladaptive development in terms of physiologic structures. Personal responsibility for their illness is often deemed irrelevant, as there is this scope of belief that our genes are the ones to blame, and we are victims of our heredity. Understanding the illness has become separate from the patient’s being. Human beings are still being seen under the archaic model of mechanical Newtonian physics, as we are machines in conflict, and the physician is the mechanic who works to fix what is broken (“Eastern versus Western Medicine,” 2002). Treatment is focused on curing diseases and suppressing symptoms with drugs or surgery. Mind and body are looked at with the viewpoint of attached yet separate, as these are not definitively connected. And last but not least, it’s unaware of energy-based physiology, known as Qi, prana, or simply a life force coursing throughout every living beings’ body, and therefore, there is no detection, classification, or measurement of its effects in the stages of illnesses (“Eastern versus Western Medicine,” 2002).  

            Eastern Medicine revolves around this bio-energy of life. Disruption in qi is the ultimate causal disruption of vitality. Health is a condition in which the body is balanced and adaptive to its environment. Illness is the result seen due to disharmony and imbalance of adaptability, disrupting the flow of qi (“Eastern versus Western Medicine,” 2002). Any force that interferes with the balance and flow of qi would be causes of illness, such as one’s psyche and environmental stress. Symptoms are manifestations and messages from the body that there is chaos and unstable underlying emotions and issues that need to be addressed. Symptoms tend to start out small, and if these messages are ignored, the condition becomes a little worse with a little more pain until it becomes something of a chronic, full-blown nature. These incurable diseases are then the end result of multiple insults to the body, not just one. Through the eyes of Eastern medicine, disease is essentially the dis-ease of the body. The development of illness is characterized by stages in which energy imbalances disrupts normal body functions that force the body to adapt but after numerous “attacks”, the adaptive process has become maladaptive to the extent that there are physiological changes in tissue (“Eastern versus Western Medicine,” 2002). Clearly, adaptation is not always successful, and in certain cases, these adaptations are only temporary “hold-outs” before more provocative changes occur. Personal awareness and responsibility of our own psyche and environmental lifestyle are keys if serious illnesses are to be prevented and or “healed” for lack of a better word. (I am not particularly fond of this word “healed” because it gives the impression that this is “miracle” work, and has no scientific value behind why this works, for there is.) The mind and body are inseparably connected as one, and diseases are essentially psychosomatics, in that physical symptoms originate from emotional turmoil. Furthermore, man is seen as an ecosystem or a garden, in which the physician is the gardener or assistant in cultivating life (“Eastern versus Western Medicine,” 2002). The physician only facilitates the patient to better health, and is not a mechanic in fixing what is broken in a machine. Rather, we, as individuals are our own healers. Additionally, the science behind Eastern medicine is in alignment with quantum field mechanics, and not the mechanical Newtonian physics, which has been proved to have flaws at the subatomic level in the basis of Western beliefs.   

Much of the psychosomatic theory that is deeply ingrained in Eastern Medicine has recently been adopted by Western doctor named Dr. Bruce Lipton after he made a breakthrough discovery in his research and studies of what controls biology. Dr. Bruce Lipton was a cellular biologist at the University of Wisconsin, and it was there that he was experimenting with dystrophic and pathological human muscle cells in an effort to understand what was controlling their fate and the control process (Lipton, 2001). What he found greatly differed from the “common-day” knowledge that we are controlled by our genes. The research showed that it was the perception of the environment that was controlling the cell, and at the human level, it’s our beliefs that are selecting our genes. It was through this discovery that led him to accede with the new-age, spiritual beliefs that we are not victims of our heredity, but victims of detrimental self-defacing thoughts of ourselves. As we know, genes are found in the nucleus of a cell, and if genes dictate who we are, the nucleus is the control-center. This is the conventional biology that we are taught in school and in textbooks. Well looking at this in terms of fractals, the control center of the human body is the brain, and interestingly enough, there is no new function present in the human body that isn’t already present in one cell. Every cell has a respiratory function, digestive function, nervous system, immune system, reproductive system, and that essentially, the cell and a human being, which is made up of trillion of cells, are structurally the same. A human being is a fractal of a cell. Now, what would happen if one were take away the brain or the control-center of the entity, may it be a cell or a human? Death would be the answer. So if one takes away the nucleus of the cell, it should die. If one removes the brain from a living organism, it dies. However, in a process that Dr. Bruce Lipton performed himself called enucleation, or removal of the nucleus, the cell continued to live for months with no genes at all and continued to perform all of the functions it was capable of doing just as before the nucleus was taking out (Lipton, 2001). Thereby, he realized that the nucleus is not the brain or control-center of the cell, as the genes are no longer present. Genes do not control biology. He asserts that this is a flawed assumption that was never proven scientifically (Lipton, 2001). Truly shocking! Additionally, further flaws are evident with this model of biology as seen in the Human Genome Project. If cells work in the fashion that genes control biology, then there has to be the requisition of at least 120,000 genes to make a human being. When the Genome Project was completed, they found less than 35,000 genes were required (Lipton, 2001). About two-thirds of the genes required to make a human being are not present. This further proves that the conventional wisdom is wrong and that genes do not control biology. So, where is the brain of the cell? To answer this, one need to understand that proteins are the building blocks of structure in the cell. Proteins are further made up by amino acids, and it’s the length and sequence of the amino acids that make each protein unique. Furthermore, protein ends are negatively charged, and since likes repel and opposites attract, the ends are pushed away from each other. However, when a positively charged signal arrives and binds to one end of the negatively charged protein, that end becomes positive and attracts the other negatively charged end of the protein, causing the shape to change. And in a cell, this change in the shape of the protein causes further actions in the cell. Therefore, the conclusion is that at the cellular level, the presence of a signal causes the protein to change shape and cause a certain action, or behavior, to occur within the cell. If there is just the protein and no signal, nothing happens. There is no behavior by the cell, but with the signal, there is behavior. Therefore, the brain of the cell is the structure that responds to the signal and tells the cell what to do. The skin of the cell, or the cell membrane, is the brain. In fact, thinking in terms of fractals once again, the skin of a human being is very much related to being the brain, despite the fact that we have a cerebrum in our cranium. Here’s the amazing part that Dr. Bruce Lipton connected. In embryology, there are three germ layers: endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. Each layer gives rise to different tissues, and astonishingly, the outermost layer, or the ectoderm, gives rise to the skin and the central nervous system (Lipton, 2001). It’s the skin that’s reading the environment and is what’s telling the cytoplasm what to do. Again, the nucleus can be removed, and all is well because the nucleus is not the brain of the cell, but the gonad. The nucleus is the blueprints that contain the instructions to build, but it doesn’t know when and what’s needed, only the how. That’s why the cell will die eventually with no nucleus, but it’s only the recipe book. It’s the cell membrane, which is covered with proteins that act as receptors, that picks up the environmental signal and produces action or behavior. A cell in a Petri dish with no stimulus in the environment (such as nutrients or toxins), would just be idling there, as there is no environmental signal. A cell’s life is in response to how the cell responds to its environment, just as how a human being’s life is how he responds to his environment. The cell membrane’s receptors are the proteins that cover the outside of the membrane, waiting to pick up a signal. The human beings’ receptors are sight, smell, taste, hear, and feel. The function of the receptor is awareness of the environment. Therefore, it’s perception that controls behavior. It’s the awareness of the environment that is causing the protein on the surface to change shape and causes processor proteins within the cell to be able to fit into that “lock and key” to pass on the signal and activate the pathway (Lipton, 2001). Incredibly, genes haven’t even been involved yet. Behavior of the cell is not programmed. It’s constantly adjusting to the responses in the environment. So what happens if the environmental signal shows up, but the required proteins are not currently present in the cell? Now, the DNA’s role comes in to play when it’s needed. Genes do not self-activate, in the sense that they do not turn on nor turn off by themselves. Thereby, the search for the cancer gene in recent times is a flawed and futile effort. If the gene really caused cancer, then the individual should have expressed the illness once he was born. Because once the cells started to replicate and divide, the “cancer” gene would’ve started to produce cancer (Lipton, 2001). It is truly shocking that this antiquated notion that genes control us has been constantly reiterated to such a degree, that this has become common “knowledge.” However, the truth of the matter is that this was never scientific reality. It was never scientifically established that genes control anything. The conventional belief that genes “control” biology is false. The truth is very well articulated in an article titled, Metaphors and the Role of Genes in Development, written by H.F. Nijhout, in which, states “When a gene product is needed, a signal from its environment, not an emergent property of the gene itself, activates expression of that gene.” The genes are not self-selecting, but are selecting based off the environment that one is in. The right question to ask is what change occurred in one’s life that promoted the activation of that gene that had been dormant?

Dr. Lipton further explains that half of the nucleus of a cell contains DNA and the other half contains protein. The protein that covers the DNA is similar to the sleeve of a dress shirt that covers the arm of a person, which is the gene. To read the gene, the protein must be stripped, as similarly, to see the arm, the shirt sleeve needs to be stripped. And how is the protein “stripped”? Again, when the signal is present, the protein changes shape and the DNA is exposed. The gene was always there, but the difference is that the signal has emerged. Now, researchers of the past few decades have made a disturbing mistake when trying to study genes. They would do so by retrieving the nucleus from a cell and breaking it open to expose the chromosomes. They would subsequently separate the protein from the DNA, and then throw away the protein (Lipton, 2001). However, the protein that they have been throwing away is indeed the ultimate controller of the genes. Researchers need to be studying this system as a whole, and not as individual parts. This was a crucial mistake among researchers in the past several decades in solely studying the DNA. That is why textbooks will only describe the process of RNA transcription with DNA, producing the RNA chain, producing the protein, as the researchers removed 50% of the material in the nucleus. What really happens is that an environmental signal will cause the regulatory protein to change shape and exposes the DNA, and so forth. Ultimately, it’s the perception that controls and selects which genes one will express. We now know that when the environmental signal calls for the need of a particular protein that is not present, the signal goes to the nucleus to have the protein produced (Lipton, 2001).

However, what happens if one is under a stressful environment and there are no appropriate genes in the nucleus to respond to this signal? The only way to overcome this then is to alter the genes. In conventional biology and Darwinian theory, the only mechanism for change to occur is through “random” mutations, as these are accidental. This is the conventional belief. However, in a 1988 article titled, The Origin of Mutants, John Cairns published his profound findings, in which he argues about a new type of mutation. Adaptive mutations occur under the influences of environmental pressures. Through this, the genes are constantly being adjusted to fit the environment that one is living in. Interestingly enough, one major problem with the well-renowned evolution theory is that the evolution timeline seems to have gone by much too fast. Emile Borel and Fred Hoyle are examples of two mathematicians who reject the theory of evolution based off statistical grounds for the amount of time that has passed for prokaryotes to have evolved into numerous, massive complex eukaryotic organisms (Phillips, 2005). (Additionally, there are many other major problems with the theory of evolution, as many modern-day scientists point out serious problems with evolution. Absolutely amazing! It just goes to show that perhaps much of the knowledge that is in textbooks these days are still flawed and incorrect). Furthermore, in another grounds-breaking corroborating article titled, Test Tube Evolution Catches Time in a Bottle, Mr. Appenzeller conducted an experiment, in which a population of bacteria was placed into five separate test tubes. Then, each tube was placed under the same environmental stress. The result? Amazingly enough, bacteria in all five individual test tubes had the same exact genetic changes as all the others. However, where’s the “random” mutation in that? The answer is that it’s not random! As stated verbatim from the article, “These miniature adaptive radiations unfold in the same way every time, governed by the available environmental niches.” Evolutionary genetic changes are occurring to help the individual better adapt to the environment that he believes he lives in. After all, if one believes the environment is conducive to what he needs, nothing needs to be changed, and vice versa. So, ultimately, it’s perception that is changing one’s DNA. I need to note that perception and environment are two separate aspects. One could be living in a safe, supportive environment, but that may not be the prevailing belief. He may feel that he is in a very toxic environment. So, although perception is often influenced by the environment, it ultimately boils down to one’s beliefs, as our perceptions are the ones that lead to and control the Genetic Engineering Genes present in each and every cell in our bodies whose sole function is to rewrite the other genes when necessary to allow for adaptation (Lipton, 2001). Therefore, it’s interesting to note that while identical twins are supposed to have exact copies of DNA with each other (as that was a notion believed to be true at a certain time) (Casselman, 2008). That notion is actually false, as our individual experiences and perceptions rewrite our genes. Incredibly, this learning already starts while in utero (Lipton, 2001).

Furthermore, it’s very intriguing to note the Placebo effect, and how it further corroborates into this phenomenon. Let’s say that we have a patient who is sick, and you, being the doctor, tell this patient that this medicine, which is really nothing more than a sugar pill, will work and cure you of your condition or illness. What may in fact happen is that the patient will experience a full recovery from the condition or illnesses, despite the fact that the pill was just sugar. This phenomenon is a prime example of the power of the mind and of one’s perceptions! On the other hand, there is the less renowned phenomenon known as the Nocebo effect. Now, let’s say I have someone who is indeed healthy and free of illness, but you, being the doctor (or someone of credible status), tell him that he has a certain illness or condition, what will happen may astound you. The person, who is indeed very healthy, will develop the illness that you told him he “has.” Absolutely incredible! Again, all of this is due to the power of one’s own mind and perceptions!

In light of all of this, the good news is that the majority of our genes is already intact and present to help us survive. Natural instincts, such as the immediate withdrawal of our hand from the surface of a scalding hot oven, are innately-propagated into our genes by perceptions operating in a lower level of consciousness (Lipton, 2001). However, most of the rewrites that do occur in our genes are based off negative perceptions. As such, many illnesses are the result of that. 95% of cancers have no hereditary links and are actively manifested through one’s negative perceptions and emotions, causing the genes to be rewritten (Lipton, 2001). Hence, we each are very powerful beings, but we may not realize that. Our perceptions are selecting and rewriting our genes! We have much more control over our lives than previously thought, and we are not victims of our heredity. Interestingly enough, in cases in which Dr. Bruce Lipton took out muscular dystrophic cells out of sick patients and placed them in a proper healthy environment, the cells grew consistently well, but when they were in a negative environment, they didn’t! Again, it is due to the negative perceptions within the body that are being broadcasted to each and every cell in the body. The genes in one’s cells have two basic programs consisting of either growth or protection. When one is in an environment, their belief will either sway them towards the growth program or protection program. This is seen in which cells in a nutrient-rich petri dish will experience the growth program, as the cells will move towards the positive stimulus. However, cells in a toxin-filled petri dish will experience the protective program, as the cells move away from the toxins. Cells cannot move both towards and away from the stimulus concurrently. Therefore, cells are in an either-or state.

On the scale of a human being, the greatest growth-promoting signal is love, and the strongest negative-promoting signal is fear. In the body, there is the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal gland system, in which one’s perception of the environment provides either a positive or negative signal. If the signal is negative, the pituitary gland will cause the adrenal glands to release stress hormones, particularly Norepenephrine and Epinephrine, and engage the fight-or-flight mode. These stress hormones suppress the immune system and shut down growth (Lipton, 2001). If these stress hormone levels are constantly high, the body is in a constant state of protection, along with having a decreased immune system. Now, how long can one last in a state of protection before problems occur in the body? Let’s think of it this way. If there was a bomb threat in the society and everyone went from their jobs in a growth-filled environment and into their bomb shelters, growth has stopped. People can last in their bomb shelters with certain supplies, but those will run out. And if the bomb threat is incessantly there, and everyone is arrested in their shelters, it’s only a matter of time before resources run out and small problems turn into massive chaos. The same happens in the body. However, let’s say that the bomb threat is present, but the perception of the people was (as awkwardly as this may sound) is of safety and security, people would still be continuing their jobs and lives and they would still be in a state of growth, despite this potential danger. Ultimately, the perception of the environment is what causes growth or protection.

It sounds simple enough. Change my beliefs, and all will follow suit. Pretty simple, but here’s the catch. All of us, ever since we were a child, have grown up with filters of how to perceive life. Filters of society, filters from our parents, filters of false knowledge and misperceptions have caused each of our beliefs to have seeped into the core of our subconscious. Every once in a while, we can selectively and consciously force ourselves to think positive and what not, but in our subconscious, those prevailing beliefs that have been ingrained so deeply are the ones running the majority of the time. And frankly, some are not very pleasant. I understand that all of us have our insecurities, and many times, our predominant thoughts can be rather negative and self-deprecating. However, we have to understand to take responsibility for our psyche and realize that we are not victims of our heredity. One is not condemned to breast cancer because it “runs” in their family. One is not condemned to Alzheimer’s because of a family history. One is not condemned to Diabetes because of a family history, and so forth. What we need to do is remove these filters that have been interfering with our lives and replace them with favorable ones. We are omnipotent and are the ultimate controllers of our lives. While much of this must seem so foreign and awkward, much of what Dr. Bruce Lipton has talked about is starting to merge science and spirituality into one. Ultimately, this raises many questions with regards to how hospitals and how medical diagnoses and prognoses should be structured. Should nurses and doctors be informing patients of negative diagnoses or prognoses? What kind of psychological interventions should be implemented for each and every patient in light of this discovery, either as a primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention? Should we include the use of the placebo effect, despite these “ethical” issues? Additionally, much more focus would be geared towards screening and treating depression and raising the mood level, and not just towards increasing a patient’s energy level. Ultimately, much of what I’ve explained is the scientific explanation behind these “miracles,” and Dr. Bruce Lipton’s work and conclusions support many of the principles seen in Eastern medicine, and not to mention, the tenets in New-Age Spirituality. Eastern medicine, while different from Western medicine, has positive aspects that need to be considered, and while I admit I’ve digressed to a certain degree on this essay about the science behind Eastern medicine, I believe we need an amalgamation of Western and Eastern medicine to not only treat these illnesses but hopefully cure and ultimately resolve each and every illness in the long run. I know this sounds like the works out of science fiction, but this discovery has shed new light on this topic and may very well be the stemming-off point for the future of medicine and nursing.    

**(If you’re deeply intrigued into the work and findings of Dr. Bruce Lipton, I strongly encourage you to read his book, The Biology of Belief).

  

References

Appenzeller, Tim, (1999). Test Tube Evolution Catches Time in a Bottle. Science. 284 (5423), pp.2108

Cairns, John, (1988). The Origin of Mutants. Nature. 335 (), pp.142-145

Casselman, Anne, (2008). Identical Twins' Genes Are Not Identical. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=identical-twins-genes-are-not-identical. [Last Accessed December 3, 2012].

Collins, Danica, (2010). Ancient Chinese Healing, Qigong Dissolves Cancer Tumors. [ONLINE] Available at: http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/quigong-ancient-chinese-healing#axzz2DxvOq5xc. [Last Accessed November 25, 2012].

Lipton, Bruce H, (2001). Nature, Nurture and Human Development. Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health. 16 (2), pp.167-180

Nijhout, HF, (1990). Metaphors and the role of genes in development. Bioessays. 12 (9), pp.441-446

Phillips, Tom, (2005). Science Debunks Evolution . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.thedefender.org/Science%20Debunks%20Evolution.html. [Last Accessed November 28, 2012].

(2002). Eastern versus Western Medicine. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.stresssolutions.info/vrs.htm. [Last Accessed November 25, 2012].