Disease vs. Dis-Ease

As a chiropractor in the Hamilton, New Jersey area, I am required to ask if my patients have any diseases or symptoms on their first visit.  Sometimes, I receive a list of problems or diseases that people think they may have or that have been given to them.  Many are happy with just a name for the certain set of symptoms that they may be experiencing.  To better understand what disease is, we must first look at the definition.

Disease:  a disorder of incorrectly functioning organ part, structure or system of the body; simply put; lack of function.  All diseases start with something in your body that is not working correctly.  I would like to change our way of thinking about disease.  I prefer to look at disease as dis-ease.  It means that our body is not at an easy state.  In order to combat the body not at ease, as our own health experts for ourselves, must then decide what can we do to give our body or mind a state of ease.  Does it have the proper nutrients, hydration, mental focus, and nerve supply?

For example:  I am sure if you are suffering from headaches that your body is not in a deficiency of ibuprofen.  It could be something as simple as dehydration.  What makes more sense; drinking water that creates balance and ease or taking a chemical that not only affects the head but also the kidneys, stomach and many other parts of the body.  This is a very basic example, and of course the body is very complicated, however the shift is happening where many are getting tired of taking medications for every little problem they may have.  Do not get me wrong, there are times when a medication is necessary to save or maintain a life; however most would agree that especially Americans are way over medicated.  According to the new data in 2014 from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, we spent $374,000,000,000.00 ($374 billion) on 4.3 billion prescriptions.  Our health ranking according to The World Health Organizations is at 37 out of 190 countries; France and Italy are number one and two.

I believe that it is time for change.  Since I became a health care professional in the New Jersey area, our government has been trying to resolve this problem by adding more gasoline to the fire.  One of my favorite quotes from Ghandi is:  “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”  We must take back our health.  We must start feeding our body and minds with proper nutrients.  We must take our health into our own hands and not just rely on the Government and Health care industry.

The steps are simple on creating ease in your body:

1. Give your body proper nutrients and hydration from the food and liquids you put into it.  The food is not only the energy you receive, but the building blocks for the cells that you need to produce to stay healthy.
2. If you do not move it you lose it.  Our bodies are meant to move and work.  It has only been the last 20 years that the computer work station is a mainstay in most jobs.  Our bodies are breaking down just from the simplicity of not moving enough.  You also get natural anti-stress and anxiety hormones released when you perform consistent exercise.  Do some form of exercise at least 30 minutes every single day.
3. Get proper sleep.  This is when the body repairs, regenerates and heals itself.  That means trying to go to bed by10:00 pm (you get the best sleep before midnight) and then waking up anywhere from 4:00-6:00 am.  Also, falling asleep in front of the TV, cell phone, computer or I-pad makes your brain think that it is still daylight and makes it much more difficult to get a restful, deep sleep.
4. Proper mental attitude.  The mind can often run away from us and continue what I call stinking-thinking constantly.  A positive mental attitude must be learned and trained through watching our every word and thought that we put out.  This can be used in a very constructive and positive way when mastered.  Daily meditation practices train the mind and connect you closer with the source.  I have personally found that Kundalini Yoga helps me best with this.
5. Most importantly, all four steps cannot help if you do not have a proper, functioning nervous system.  Every cell tissue and organ is controlled by our nervous system, so in order for you to have full function and ease in your life, you must make sure all of the nerves are connected.  Regular Chiropractic check-ups help to ensure that the nerves and energy flows in your body and mind are at their optimum.  As a Chiropractor, I help to tune the nervous system to create better function, better ease and to prevent dis-ease or disease.

Written by Dr. Eric Evans