As politicians debate the issue of reforming America's "health care system," I find myself perplexed. What health care system? Do we really want to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic? When it comes to the true state of our health in America, we are in deep trouble.
The magic pills that we were promised would give us quick-fix solutions are simply failing. Almost every major disease has increased over the last century despite trillions of dollars spent on research and treatment. 1 out of every 3 adults has some form of cardiovascular disease. Roughly one out of every two men and one out of every three women will get some form of cancer in their lifetime. Statistics show that over two thirds of the people in our nation are overweight and a large percentage of them are considered clinically obese. One third of children born after 2000 will contract type II diabetes and the increase in the incidence of diabetes is directly proportional to the increasing rates of obesity. Even the American Cancer Institute says about one third of cancer deaths in 2006 were related to improper nutrition, physical inactivity and being overweight -- and could have been prevented.
As the overall health of this nation continues to plummet, it is very clear that no so-called system has answers to our health care crises. In fact, giving away our personal power to ANY system is where, I believe, we made our first mistake. We are in a state of fear and confusion and literally dying for the truth. I learned this first hand.
As a boy in Miami, my mother found a small lump in her breast. She was diagnosed with cancer and immediately rushed into conventional treatments. I watched in horror as she slid into a tortured, humiliating death and my innocent question, "Why does my mother have cancer?" was completely ignored. On her deathbed she asked me to dedicate myself to making sure no one else suffered as she had, and that's what I've done.
As if her death was not shocking enough, my father died suddenly of a heart attack just a few years later. During these traumatic and challenging years, I suffered from a painful skin condition as well as debilitating headaches that were finally proclaimed "incurable" by my doctors. I knew I had to learn what caused my own health problems in order to save myself... fast.
My Dad was an exterminator and fireman. Most weekends during my childhood years I had worked by my father's side, soaking in toxic doses of Dursban, Chlordane, Malathion and DDT. Common sense told me that these pesticides could be contributing to my health problems. I also observed that I predominantly consumed the Standard American Diet of quick fix processed and refined foods and beverages. Like most Americans, I had become accustomed to this as a way of life. Meanwhile, for every health problem my doctor instructed me to take some kind of pill and my situation just got worse.
Eventually, my race to save my own life led me right back to the perfection of nature, and when I began to follow those principals my body began to heal. I cured myself by using the real health building blocks made for the human body, the untouched and unprocessed foods coming directly from the earth. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was right when he said, "let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food." He meant...REAL FOOD.
In our quick-fix, take-a-short-cut society we have wandered away from the basic way our body works to keep us healthy -- and we're paying the price with our own lives. It's time to take back our birthright to dynamic health. The truth is the truth is the truth. By wandering away from the perfection of nature, I was the cause of my own health problems. By taking personal responsibility and literally stepping up to the plate, I was also the cure!
As a researcher using naturopathic principles I've taught the basic methods of curing illness and restoring vibrant health naturally to thousands of people, including well-known celebrities who could have afforded any method of treatment. Many of these people were diagnosed with "incurable" diseases and were told that they had only one option to treat their disease. When they learned for the first time how simply and effectively their own body works to protect and cure them, most people chose to trust their own body's healing power and many of their stories were called "miraculous." I call them normal. What ISN'T normal to me is waiting for any health care system to make us well.
The truth (that word again) is, NO system can handle the extraordinary ill-health that is killing this nation. It's time to save ourselves - in fact, time is truly running out.
My message -- and the dedication of my life -- is to show you how to be your own first line of defense, to re-connect your body with the natural resources that have always been there, and to teach the simple yet extraordinarily effective ways you can reverse disease and restore vibrant health. Remember, you were born into a body that possesses the innate intelligence to heal itself, cure itself and care for itself. Simply understanding this message is your first step to powerful health. The more you understand the truth, the more empowered you will be.
*****
Dr. Brantley is the author of The Cure: Heal Your Body, Save Your Life. Additional information may be found at www.BrantleyCure.com.