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Celebrated American psychologist Abraham Maslow famously wrote “If the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail.”

The idea is known as the law of the instrument and describes a cognitive bias that people have recognized for centuries. Essentially, you look to solve each problem with the tool you know best, whether that be a hammer, a bomb, or a pill.

Modern Medicine’s Cognitive Bias

Conventional modern medicine has its own cognitive bias, and that began nearly 200 years ago when the germ theory of disease became a dominant explanation for the cause of common ailments.

Germ theory was an important medical breakthrough at a time when infections were a primary cause of death. When antibiotics and sterilization helped prevent deaths from these infections, many people took it as proof of the germ-fighting approach.

Germ theory pushed out another view of disease known as terrain theory, Epoch Times contributor Emma Tekstra explains in a recent article.

Terrain theory holds that it is the internal factors of the person that decide whether or not they will be vulnerable to that disease, things like nutritional deficiencies or a compromised immune system. This view engenders a constructive approach, in that it aims to support the immune system and general health.

And while terrain theory, especially as originally conceived, has several flaws and some people tend to take it to extremes, it also offers an essential outlook that has become all the more relevant in our era of chronic disease.

In contrast, germ theory holds that external factors, germs, cause disease, and that the best way to combat disease is to eliminate the germs. It is a destructive approach, in that it aims to eliminate negative factors.

Both approaches can be used simultaneously—and often need to be—but the destructive approach fostered by germ theory dominates clinical practice.

The problem with the destructive approach is that the tools or medicines used can potentially damage the human body as well. Take chemotherapy as an example, it kills both cancer cells and healthy cells.

The problem with the constructive approach is that it is typically slow and requires the patient to put in more effort or make changes, like keeping a healthy diet to lose weight instead of using a weight loss pill, which reduces your weight by 20 percent with ease but can introduce other issues and may create a long-term dependence. But for major diseases of our day, ailments caused by a poor diet, stress, and physical inactivity, it’s clear that we need to find ways to support these efforts at change.

The Crux of the Issue

The real problem with germ theory is that it reduces disease to its immediate consequences, symptoms that can be targeted for treatment. In doing so, it bypasses the miracle of the human body and fails to find ways to harmonize and enhance this incredible vessel.

From one view, the living nature of the body is created by an unending electrochemical reaction. Our cells are performing trillions of these operations, changing the charge of countless atoms and the structure of billions of molecules.

But it isn’t just our cells performing this work, so too are trillions of microbes that live inside us, bacteria, viruses, and fungi that are largely beneficial (as proposed by terrain theory) and even essential to our well-being.

This is the energetic movement that keeps our bodies alive, an impossible complexity beyond our current medical science.

There is no drug, biologic, or gene therapy that uses the same range and complexity of tools as the body itself.

Fortunately, there is a growing recognition that the best medicine is that which enhances the body. This has fuelled the growth of functional medicine, personalized medicine, and holistic approaches. And hopefully it will inspire each of us to treasure this vessel and give it what it needs to thrive.

For past wellness newsletters, click here.

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Terrain Theory vs. Germ Theory–A Fresh Look at an Old Principle

The theory that a strong and healthy body keeps illness at bay is reemerging as a foundation for maintaining wellness and fighting potential disease.

The Difference Between Integrative and Functional Medicine

Integrative and functional medicine bring the focus back to patients and their health and healing. The surge in popularity of these modalities suggests that patients are drawn to this new (or very old) approach.

The Miraculous Immune System

In this series, we’ll explore the true power of our immunity, the organs that work tirelessly to protect us. We’ll also provide practical ways to protect these vital gifts from the divine.

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for our next edition coming your way next week.

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The information in this newsletter is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of many experts and journalists. The Epoch Times encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

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