Wellness in Practice

We have been looking at the theory and background of wellness. Now let’s take a look at some examples. This is somewhat like Jesus’ use of parables to teach – you can go only so far on theory before everything starts to run together. Illustrations clarify theory.

Gerson Therapy: In the middle of the 20th Century, Max Gerson, M.D., was healing disease that all other physicians had given up on. One such example is a small boy, “Baby R.S.” (Case No. 15 of 50 in reference) This 8-month-old baby had surgery twice to remove a recurring cancer on his left shoulder. The doctors recommended radical amputation; the parents refused and took the baby to Dr. Gerson. Under Dr. Gerson’s care 1950 - 1957, the baby steadily improved; the treatment was a lasting success with the boy growing up healthy and strong. Dr. Gerson died in 1959, but his therapy continues to heal “terminal” cases today. (Max Gerson, M.D, A Cancer Therapy, Gerson Institute, Bonita, CA: 1990, p 306ff)

Macrobiotics: This is a diet based on whole grains and traditional foods in harmony with the seasons. During WW I, imports of grain to Denmark were cut off by blockade,. The food advisor to the government ordered slaughter of 4/5 of the pigs and 1/5 of all cattle to free up grain for people to eat in the place of meat and dairy. He also limited production of alcohol from grain. The Danes ate more porridge, fresh vegetables, greens, beans, peas, and fruit and less milk, meat, and butter. In one year of this austere diet, approximating a macrobiotic diet, the cancer rate dropped by 60% and the death rate by 40%. After the war, with their former meat and dairy diet restored, the disease and death rates soon returned to their prewar levels. (Michio Kushi, The Macrobiotic Way, Avery Publishing, Garden City Park, NY: 1993, p 8)

Budwig Protocol: Johanna Budwig, MD., practiced in Europe during much of the 20th century, restoring wellness to thousands. One example was George Friedrich who had suffered three serious heart attacks between ages 60 and 63. Medication controlled his symptoms, but he became very weak and aged visibly. When introduced to Dr. Budwig’s Formula (cold-processed, unrefined raw flaxseed oil blended with low-fat cottage cheese), he immediately included that in his daily diet. Within three months, his breathing was easier and his angina was almost eliminated. A year later, the medical doctors who examined him were amazed at his full recovery. (William L. Fischer, How to Fight Cancer & Win, Agora Health Books, Baltimore: 2000)

The Hallelujah Diet: In 1976 at age 42, Rev. George Malkmus was told that he had colon cancer, a baseball-size tumor similar to the one his mother had recently been treated for – unsuccessfully; she died a horrible death. On the advice of a friend, Rev. Malkmus changed his diet to all raw fruits and vegetables and lots of fresh carrot juice. In less than a year with no medical treatment at all, the tumor had disappeared, along with hemorrhoids, hypoglycemia, severe allergies, sinus problems, high blood pressure, fatigue, pimples, cold, flu … even body odor and dandruff were gone. In the 32 years since, Hallelujah Acres has helped many thousands of people worldwide back to vibrant good health. (George H. Malkmus with Michael Dye, God’s Way to Ultimate Health, Hallelujah Acres Publishing, Shelby, NC: 1996, p 24ff)
These examples are just four of the many ways that people are finding wellness today. The common element among them is depending on the body to heal itself by supplying vital nutrition and eliminating the causes of disease. There is no medicine as powerful as the healing capability that the Creator designed into our bodies at the beginning. Genesis 1:31 “And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good!”

There is not time nor space to go into detail here on all the approaches to wellness, but I welcome your inquiry on any specifics.

Wellness as Wisdom

Proverbs 1:20-33 is a very strongly worded instruction to make wise choices. Of course, each of us does that to the best of our ability.

Sometimes we do not see an obvious “wise” choice, so we might decide based on preference. For example, should I choose a Chevrolet, Ford, or Dodge pickup? Just about anyone in the country can answer that question, but the answers won’t all agree. People can do whatever they want much of the time with little ill effect.

In Luke 11:12, Jesus asked whether a father will give his child a scorpion when he asked for an egg – that is a much clearer choice. The benefit of one and the harm of the other make it obvious which is the wise choice. Some wisdom is easy.

When it comes to decisions about wellness, there is a similar pattern. Some of the choices are matters of preference, while others are critical. The easy choice is to continue doing what we’ve always done – and we can expect to get what we’ve always gotten. Although we in the US spend far more per person than other leading nations, we rank only 37th in the world in health care system performance.1 The more difficult and critical path is to choose what works and to have the discipline to follow it. We can get some information from professionals and some from personal investigation. Especially with the availability of Internet research, hardly any knowledge is beyond our reach once we look for it.

From all that I’ve found, the choice among wellness plans is much like the choice of pickup. Different strokes for different folks, but all carry the same load. Next month, let’s look at some results of a few of the many effective ways to approach wellness.

The decision whether to adopt a wellness plan is more like the scorpion and egg situation. Every resource I have found concludes that the rich Western diet is one factor in much of the disease that we see now. It is very obvious in the Far East – as Japan and China move toward a Western-style diet and the frantic lifestyle of city life, the formerly rare Western diseases are becoming all too common. Let’s reverse the world-wide trend and choose wellness! (In case you wonder if I believe in salvation by diet, NO! I believe that in Christ we have the freedom to choose any food without sin; rather, our choices are a matter of stewardship of the resource of wellness.)

1. T Colin Campbell, Ph.D., The China Study, Benbella Books, Dallas: 2004, p 17