The evolution of health care - Part 2

When two views coincide

There is another aspect to this history, and it concerns two French-man of the nineteenth century, Louis Pasteur and Antoine Bechamp.

A major area of difference between the drug approach to health care and the natural remedies approach is the way these two men viewed the activities of microorganisms and their impact on health. In the middle of the nineteenth century Louis Pasteur and publicized information about the presence of bacteria and other pathogens at the site of infections. He then made the mental leap required to claim that the pathogen had caused the infection. Antoine Bechamp also French and of a similar age, observed the same phenomenon but took the reverse view. He considered it was the breakdown of the terrain, the person's weakened or previously damaged tissues, that caused the disease and that the pathogens arrived later and were opportunistic beneficiaries rather than causative agents. Bechamp stated that this explained why one person succumbed to a particular health problem while another, in the same location or situation, did not.

The two men had many debates during the course of their professional lives, but it is Pasteur who, at the end of his life, changed his mind and acknowledged, 'It's the terrain that is important.'

Unfortanately, the initial ideas of Pasteur were seized upon by the many drug companies of the day, and this continues to the present. It is easy to focus on finding drugs that are patentable and profitable and that will kill specific bugs or bacteria. Whether or not that ensures long-term health is debatable. On the other hand, it is impossible to make and patent profitable ways of improveng the individual's terrain, for this depends on good diet, a healthy lifestyle, and, if necessary, the use of nutrients, herbs, and specific phytonutrient-rich foods, none of which can be patented. Thus the ideas of Bechamp were largely ignored, even though, in the end, Pasteur came around to them and embraced them.

Your health is linked to your terrain

CAM therapists follow the hypothesis put forward by Bechamp and whatever your health problem, they work to improve the terrain; your body. This is why CAM therapists work the whole body rather than focusing on a specific symptom or target tissue. It is also one of the reasons why CAM therapists put so much emphasis on diet, digestion, the avoidance of nutrient deficiencies, and the removal of toxins - factors that are enormously important if you are to recover from cancer.