Hahnemann observed from his experiments with
cinchona bark, used as a treatment for malaria, that the effects he
experienced from ingesting the bark were similar to the symptoms of malaria.
He therefore decided cure proceeds through similarity, and treatments must
be able to produce symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the
disease being treated.[22] Through further experiments with other
substances, Hahnemann conceived of the "law of similars",
otherwise known as "let like be cured by like" (Latin: similia
similibus curentur)[23][24] as a fundamental healing principle. He believed
that by using drugs to induce symptoms, the artificial symptoms would
stimulate the vital force, causing it to neutralise and expel the original
disease and that this artificial disturbance would naturally subside when
the dosing ceased.[22] It is based on the belief that a substance that in
large doses will produce symptoms of a specific disease will, in extremely
small doses, cure it.
Research increasingly shows that the lifestyle
choices that people make can have a major effect on how they cope and
recover from illness . Right choices at every stage of your life is journey
to better health. Why, when a group of people are exposed to the same common
cold virus, do some individuals suffer a raging throat and streaming nose
while others have mild symptoms or are totally unaffected? There are no
simple answers to these questions: genes , environment and lifestyle all
play a part - and each affects the other in its own ways.
While we have little control over some factors, such as our genes and
environment there is much we can do to influence how our bodies respond, for
example, to infection, trauma and potential allergens. We can also learn to
deal with our emotions to protect our mental health.
According to Cancer Research UK, up to half of cancers could be prevented
by lifestyle changes. Emerging research shows that the same kind of changes
- avoiding cigarettes and alcohol, eating healthily and exercising - can
also affect survival rates in people who have already developed the disease.
And according to INTERHEART, (2004) study, as many as 90 per cent of first
heart attacks could be prevented by lifestyle changes. Even people with
genetic predisposition to a particular illness should not assume that the
outcome is inevitable.
Families with history of heart disease once believed that nothing could be
done to prevent successive generations succumbing to this condition, often
dying prematurely. But today those with raised cholesterol can slash the
chances of heart attack by taking appropriate medication, improving their
diet and increasing the amount of exercise they take and they should take.
Disease prevention rightly commands massive attention. But until we can
protect against every illness - an unlikely achievement - we need to
continue to focus on boosting our chances of recovery. Doctors hold some of
the keys to that process but many others are in our own hands - known
collectively as the "four pillars of health".
- Attitude - Counts
- Diet - Repairs.
- Exercise - Strengthens.
- Sleep - Heals.
Further details on this will be posted in few days.
