Two things I have been pondering the past few weeks are the disconnect people have with the amazing capabilities of our bodies and also the natural functioning of nature.
New patients at my clinic are instructed to bring all their medications and natural supplements or botanicals on their first visit so I can ensure there are no interactions. Additionally, I evaluate each item's indication for that particular patient. It is not rare for some patients to bring in shopping bags full of regimens of vitamins, herbs and specific nutrients intended to assist, upregulate and support nearly every system in the body. Then, when I explain that the body has an amazingly brilliant, built in capacity to maintain (homeostasis) the optimal functioning of these organ systems and they most likely do not need to take half of their regimen, some patients think I am being almost sacrilegious! Certainly there is an appropriate time, dose and indication for supplementation but will a grocery cart of items, that are not indicated, add any healthy years to someone's life?
My second observation stems from having my own city lawn for the first time (I grew up on a farm). How did urban society get to such a place of disconnect from nature where people use their lawn mowers to collect all the grass clippings, send this to the landfill site, and then pay a chemical company to put back on their lawns an inferior synthetic fertilizer replica of what they just sent away?! And then there are all the chemicals and water required to keep that artificial induced carpet of dark green!
It all comes down to education. Education about what we do directly to our bodies and indirectly through how we treat the world around us. I believe teaching is the most important
aspect of being an ND. It takes time but is so worth it!
If you follow our Mountain Health Team Facebook we'll show you some interesting ways to utilize those yellow dandelion flowers (Taraxicum officinalis) in the next few weeks.
