Dear Yoga Student,
I’m a natural kinda guy…
I avoid the doctor, I eat organic foods, and I
rarely take pharmaceuticals.
But sometimes the alternative medicine camp
really pisses me off.
Case in point: I recently heard about Patrick
Swayze’s pancreatic cancer that turned fatal. I don’t
pay attention to stars, but the natural vs. chemo
treatment debate that it sparked certainly caught
my attention.
And when his cancer/chemo proved fatal, the natural
medicine camp had a field day blaming mainstream
cancer treatment.
Modern medicine has saved my own life at least
3 times that I can remember:
1992 – my appendix got infected and nearly burst.
Without surgery and antibiotics, I would be dead.
2005 – scraped my toe on a piece of coral while
diving. Severe blood infection. If not for antibiotics,
I would have lost my leg or my life.
2006 – sliced a tiny chunk off my thumb with a
dirty knife (kitchen accident). By the time I went
to the doc, I had a blood infection all the way up
my arm and neck.
Now I’m a guy who rolls his eyes at 90+% of the
garbage medications people are taking, and I’ve
personally been clinically diagnosed with a laughable
list of nonsense conditions – simple ailments
that a salad and some exercise could fix in a
week.
But, if some day they find a baseball of a tumor
in my brain, you better believe I’m going to the
health food store…
… right AFTER I go see the oncologist.
You see, mainstream medicine is TERRIBLE at
prevention because that’s not their business.
Prevention doesn’t sell.
So what they DO sell is treatment, and yes,
sometimes cures. And for that, they are the
pros.
Do they mess up? Of course. Hundreds die daily
from medical mess ups. But hundreds of thousands
live that would otherwise have died.
The natural health camp goes to the other
extreme… saying everything is preventable
with a little ginger root and positive vibrations.
(people actually suggested that Patrick
Swayze treat advanced pancreatic cancer
with oleander and black cumin seed oil alone)
And this natural fanaticism is just as crazy and
illogical as the doctor who puts women patients
on Prozac for PMS.
Preferring natural treatments is a great way
to live, but recognizing that someday you
might need that doc and his prescription
pad is also important.
Here’s what we know:
87% of patients accept the first recommendation
for a major surgery WITHOUT a 2nd opinion.
That’s foolish.
But flying to Mexico and doing H202 enemas for
months while starving yourself on Acai Berry juice
is beyond foolish. It’s asinine.
My man, Dr. Mark Hyman is part of the new “functional
medicine” crew who approach health holistically and
focus on natural, natural, natural – until you need
something stronger.
I think this makes a lot of sense.
Stay bendy,
Lucas
YOGABODY Naturals LLC
p.s. If you don’t know Dr. Hyman yet, grab
this book (title is cheasy, but it’s excellent)
Dear 
Dear 
