A systems approach to breathing problems

October 24th 2007, 14:35

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Doctors fail to conquer disease, in the main, because they are not taught to think globally. They usually consider each system in isolation. A heart attack is due to clogged pipes feeding the central engine. A pain in the arm must originate in the arm.

Two strong counterpoints to the medical model have recently come to light-both involving breathing problems. Medicine has always regarded run-of-the-mill breathing disorders like snoring and mouth-breathing as quirks that affect no one other than the person sharing the snorer's bed.

However, startling new evidence has come to light that problems with breathing appear to have profound effects on the developing brain, and a diminished oxygen supply may be an important cause of attention and memory deficits, hyperactivity and learning disorders. So basic and central is oxygen to the brain's ability to process information that the effects can be permanent if the breathing problems aren't sorted early.

This would make perfect sense to anyone with a systems approach to biology. Any diminution of the central supply of nourishment will affect every part of the whole.

The reason that the tools of modern medicine so often don't work is that medical scientists have yet to develop perfectly targeted drugs. Most medicine itself is systemic: it doesn't only affect the area of the body the doctor wishes to treat, but scatters its effects into every cell. As with everything else in the universe, the components of our body exist only in relationship. Until doctors are able to think big, they will continue to be blind to obvious causes of certain diseases and the disastrous effects of their medical 'solutions'.

You can read about these new discoveries in your trial issue of What Doctors Don't Tell You. Just click here to order your free copy.