I was trying to explain holistic medicine to a client this last week. It’s different than the conventional medicine that most of us are used to.
When we see a doctor, we expect to have that health issue taken care. And that’s all there is to it….or is it?
What if that gut infection that you have is related to your immune system. And the immune system is due to other problems in the rest of your body.
Let me tell you about a past client of mine and her story.
SIBO case
This young lady with known dairy intolerance was healthy most of her life. She got food poisoning a couple times in her teens. She was put on birth control pills for several years then switched over to an IUD.
Her abdomen had been distended the last 5 years. Over the last several years she has been diagnosed with Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). Which is a quite bothersome condition!
She got treated with strong antibiotics for Six weeks. And still the SIBO continued.
She avoided fluorescent lights as they bothered her and she had had a lot of different surgeries (tonsils, wisdom teeth, knees, etc.) in her past.
They wanted me to treat the SIBO again. I advised them to treat the rest of the body first then deal with the SIBO. There was a disagreement and unfortunately we parted ways.
Why Treat Holistically?
Why did I suggest to treat the rest of the body then the SIBO? The gut infection had been going on for several years and already had been treated with a course of strong antibiotics.
It didn’t go away even with the antibiotics. Either the SIBo was pretty bad or perhaps the body where the gut infection in wasn’t doing well.
Look at the above garden. It’s pretty and has a lot of nice flowers because the soil and the environment is doing well. Flowers grow because the right environment is there.
Are there any flowers growing in the dessert? No..because it’s the desert. The good flowers grow because there is a good healthy environment. The opposite is true as well – bad things happen in a bad environment.
Infections usually don’t happen in a good environment just like weeds don’t survive well in a properly cared for garden.
So I would recommend that by all means, you should take care of the health issue that’s bothering you. But if you deal with that issue and the health issue still pops up then look deeper.
Perhaps there’s an issue with the whole mind/body which is underlying the health problem.
Deal with the underlying health issues and your health will improve and just maybe… your presenting health issue will be easier to treat.
If you have a question about this blog post or anything medical-related, please email me thru the button below.
To your health!
Dr. Richard Chen
Focused Wellness Author,
A New Way to Health: Wheel of Health
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