The definition of health is different depending on the person who you are talking to. So I ask you, “What is health?” Take a moment, think about it in depth. Have you ever really asked yourself this question and is your answer accurate? Here is the answer I most often hear, “I’m healthy when I feel good” or “Well Doc, it’s when I don’t have any symptoms.” I can’t be mad at this answer because I believe this is what we are all taught; at least on TV, radio, and the internet. No symptoms = I’m healthy.
When we look a little deeper into the definition of health, the World Health Organization has the one I believe is best. Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. In other words, it does not matter if you have symptoms or not; health is more about your body being able to adapt to whatever situation (physical, mental, or social) it is put into and come out stronger than it was before.
So, should health be associated with “feeling good?” I’m going to say no because often time the first sign of a heart attack is the heart attack itself. They “felt good” the moment before the heart attack, but their body was not able to adapt to the given situation…they were sick, unhealthy, dis-eased!
Should health be associated with “no symptoms?” I ask you this: Are you healthy or sick if:
- You have a fever?
- You have a runny nose?
- You vomit after a processed meal, in-congruent with your body?
- You vomit after an organic meal, congruent with your body?
My point being, symptoms are not a measure of sickness or health. A child may have a fever to heat the body up to kill off some foreign bacteria or virus. Someone may have a runny nose because they are trying to get debris out of their nose. Both of these are examples or symptoms that show up when the body is actually healthy and doing what it is supposed to do to stay that way. Our bodies are adapting to their environment. The most common mistake to make is suppressing these symptoms though the use of medications. This is only going against what your body really wants to do and will even make it harder for your body to get the job done right.
In the case of the vomiting, if you vomit after a meal that is in-congruent with you, I would say you are expressing your health because your body knows it needs to get rid of it so it doesn’t do any harm. If you vomit after eating a clean organic meal congruent with your body, you may be in a state of sickness or dis-ease.
Remember, health is dynamic, you are either moving more towards health or you are moving towards sickness and disease. Your body is amazing and your nervous system controls everything in your body whether you think about it or not, that includes you immune system. Patients under regular Chiropractic care show 200% increase in immune system function. Chiropractic cares for spine and nervous system. Now that’s health!
