From a very early age, passed down generation to generation, we accepted the notion that germs cause disease. When someone experiences a sniffle or a sore throat, we immediately, think they “caught something” somewhere. We are taught to cover our mouths when we sneeze, not just as a courtesy, but in order to keep from “spreading germs”. Playgrounds and day-cares are referred to as “germ factories”. Our culture has deeply believed this idea as absolute truth and never ever considered to question it.

The theory that germs cause disease began in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with the invention of the first compound microscope. It wasn’t until Louis Pasteur in the mid 1800's did experiments that showed that bacteria could cause food, wine, and beer to spoil. These experiments led to the development of the process we know today as pasteurization. During that time many of his colleagues strongly disagreed with his perspective and interpretation. Claude Bernard and Antoine Bechamp were prominent French scientists. They theorized that a weakened, imbalanced, or compromised bodily environment was the cause of illness, not the germ itself. Therefore, the strength of the host, not the presence of the germ, was the true causal factor.

As reported by the National Institute of Health, we now know that microbes inhabit just about every area of the body, living on the skin, in the gut, and up the nose. The human body normally contains trillions of microorganisms, outnumbering human cells by 10 to 1! That means we have 10 times more germs within our bodies than we have of our own cells. Sometimes they cause sickness, but most of the time, microorganisms live in harmony with their human hosts. These microorganisms provide vital functions essential for human survival, such as aiding in digestion, producing certain vitamins, detoxifying harmful chemicals, and regulating emotions. Many microbes thought to “cause” disease were frequently found to exist in healthy people. Overall health improved with high standards of living, and these ubiquitous microbial agents in the body became less tenable as a true cause of disease.

Sometimes, a microorganism will enter areas of the body where they don’t naturally belong, as in the case of leaky gut, injury, or from physical damage to the blood-brain barrier.

FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE

As B.J. Palmer, developer of chiropractic, stated, “the master maker of the human body did not create you and then run off and leave you masterless”. Abundant health and vitality for a lifetime are your nature and your birthright, just as they are for the germ. All there is to fear is that interference, that toxicity, that deficiency that would disconnect you from your healing source, weakening your defenses, and distorting the fullest expression of your inner life potential. You are built to be well. That is your natural state. Seek the fullest expression of that inborn strength of your nervous system through consistent chiropractic care over a lifetime, proper nutrition, regular exercise, sufficient sleep and hydration, adequate sun exposure, prayer and meditation, avoidance of toxins/chemicals, and drugs.

Pathways to Family Wellness, Issue 81, Spring 2024