Don’t Allow Your Health To Be


Treated Compartmentally By Audrey Bennett LCSW, LADC


cal and holistic therapies to complement the core issues of health. Integrative medi- cine is now the cutting edge of therapeutic whole health.


A In Europe, and especially in Ger-


many, traditional medicine and integrative therapies have been blended for decades, resulting in a highly optimal system for health and well-being. When you compare German and U.S. health statistics you find that Germans have longer lifespans, a lower infant mortality rate, and spend about half of what the U.S. spends on medical health services. (Health Care in Germany by Christina Geyer, August 18, 2009, www. amiexpat.com/2009/08/18/health-care-in- germany/) Many European countries progres-


sively embrace the benefits of new technol- ogy and practical common sense when it comes to health and well-being. Alterna- tive therapies are utilized and the actual cost of overall healthcare has become far less expensive for the country. People are healthier and that is a fact. Today’s exponential growth in technol-


ogy has allowed us to perceive and un- derstand the human body and brain as we have never done before. We can now “see” the brain while it is engaged in the most delicate tasks. Technological breakthroughs in neuroimaging, such as positron emis- sion tomography (PET), functional magnetic resonance (FMRI), and single photon emis- sion computerized tomography (SPECT), give us a first-time opportunity to pinpoint areas of the brain that are responsible for the generation of emotions, thoughts, and even higher abilities of the mind, such as meditation and prayer. Molecular biology has given us the op-


portunity to track down minute quantities of substances traveling through the human body and interacting with different systems of the body. Of great significance are the molecules found interacting in the brain,


newer term that is increasingly used is “integrative”. This term describes a process of blending together medi-


especially the limbic system responsible for our emotions, with other bodily systems. The increasing ability to track the path- ways of minute amounts of molecules and monitor their effect on different systems has enhanced our knowledge of how mental, emotional, or spiritual changes can alter the molecular profile of the immune or hormonal system and thus affect the body. These breakthroughs have assisted our advancement from treating symptoms into affecting whole health.


A term coined in the 1970s, psy-


choneuroimmunology (PNI) is the study of the interaction of behavioral, neural, and endocrine factors in the functioning of the immune system. PNI has become the major scientific focus of integrative medicine. In 1982, Dr. Bruce Lipton began ex- amining the principles of quantum physics and how they might be integrated into his understanding of the cell’s information pro- cessing systems. He produced breakthrough studies on the cell membrane, which revealed that this outer layer of the cell was an organic homologue of a computer chip, the cell’s equivalent of a brain. His research at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, between 1987 and 1992, revealed that the environment, operating though the mem- brane, controlled the behavior and physiol- ogy of the cell, turning genes on and off. His discoveries, which ran counter to the established scientific view that life is controlled by the genes, presaged one of today’s most important fields of study, the science of epigenetics. Two major scientific publications derived from these studies defined the molecular pathways connecting the mind and body. (noetic.org/directory/ person/bruce-lipton/). PNI proves that the impact of our men- tal, emotional, physical, spiritual, and ener- getic life all interact together to determine the quality of our health. However, many Americans still allow “health” to be treated compartmentally. We need to awaken from utilizing the medical model as our sole means of treatment. The progress which has


been made through our technology needs to be tempered by practical application of stress reducing, integrative approaches. Let us consider for example the negative impact of stress on our bodily organism. It has been established that chronic stress is a risk factor in the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Chronic stress has been shown to be a risk factor in heart disease, stroke, cancer, infection, wound healing, autoimmune disease, depression, infertility, pain, and many other disease states. The cause of disease is multi-factorial.


Why is it that while individuals within a group of people (e.g., a family) may have a common genetic tendency to develop a disease, only some of them will actually develop the illness while others won’t? And why is it that virulent bacteria can be found in certain people, of whom only a few will actually become infected and sick? These two examples show us that diseases are caused by factors other than just a certain genetic background or the mere presence of an infective agent (e.g., bacteria or virus). The decline of immune function through stress may be responsible for the ability of the bacteria to cause infection or of a genetic trait to become expressed as an actual disease. (www.simpletoremember. com/articles/a/psychoneuroimmunology/ Yakir Kaufman)


Since stress is one of the highest risk factors in poor health, it is imperative to seek out integrative health services like meditation, massage therapy, Thai Chi, Yoga, etc. to relax, de-stress and enhance any health regime. You deserve to have the best quality as well as quantity of life. Integrate your health today!


Submitted by Audrey Bennett LCSW, LADC. Center for Holistic Practices & Psycho- therapy. 963 Queen Street, Southington, CT 06489 (860) 819-8570. www.centerfor- holisticpractices.com. See ad on page 10.


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