COVID-19 Talk

Don’t be a hospitable host & other thoughts.
Dr. Duemling
Family Chiropractic at NW Wellness Center

In nature, there is and always will be a natural order and law to things. These laws must be obeyed in order to prevent catastrophic outcomes. One example would be gravity, it works 100% of the time whether you believe in it or not. 

      Man (Human) are the only species in the animal kingdom that tend to challenge this law. We tend to be curious and lazy creatures which serves us with mostly good, but also some mixed results. If we did not possess this orientation, we would never have progressed beyond the fire and the wheel, even though moving heavy stuff easily while BBQing wasn’t a bad start! Another amazing trait of humans is that we are highly adaptable which is why we have been able to survive for so long and in so many differing environments. It’s not really survival of the fittest, but the most adaptable.  

      Sometimes, we become so obsessed with the way we think things should be, we are unable to consider other possibilities. It wasn’t long ago, the greatest scholars and minds in the civilized/scientific world were convinced the earth was flat and any thought to the contrary was considered heresy and most likely got you burned to a stake. 

      I believe another sacred belief is the Germ theory – which was proposed in the late middle ages (1025) and pretty much fully embraced by the early 19th century. Basically, the Germ theory states that pathogens or “germs” can lead to disease, therefor, if germs make us sick, we need to avoid them or destroy them which is the basis of modern Western medicine. While it’s true that germs can make us sick, the same germs will not make all of us sick. Witness our current COVID-19 pandemic situation. People and entire Nations are scared and in panic mode over this “new” virus. Ask yourself this important question: Does everyone that comes into contact with the coronavirus develop the disease? Does everyone that has a confirmed diagnosis of being infected with the coronavirus die? No, of course not. Why? It has to do with the host (you and I) and the state of our immune systems. What I am trying to describe here is the concept of “vitality” or life, life force, health, the ability to live. 

      The typical flu (which is also a strain of the coronavirus), will claim between 45000 – 60000 lives per “flu” season in the U.S. alone and up to 500,000 worldwide. In comparison, COVID-19 has claimed 94 lives in the US as I write this (3/17/20) and 8000 lives worldwide. In other words, coronavirus/COVID-19 is a minuscule problem compared to the “common flu”. You are free to form your own theories as to why there is such a media frenzy, panic and hoarding behavior over this. 

      So, who is the most susceptible to the coronavirus? The very young with immature, undeveloped immune systems, the elderly and infirm who have compromised immune systems. Have you noticed how few young children have died? Children are extremely resilient as they have a very adaptable or plastic nervous and immune systems. This is how our immune system learns. Children used to be encouraged to play together if one developed measles, mumps or chicken pox, as these diseases used to be considered routine childhood illnesses. Yes, some kids were unable to adapt and died. However, the vast majority developed lifetime immunity to any reoccurrence. The aged and immune compromised people do not possess this immune plasticity and are therefore, unfortunately more vulnerable. 

      How does one develop a compromised immune system? Lifestyle. It is a human genetic requirement to consume nutritious food, drink clean water, engage in regular vigorous exercise, receive restorative sleep and minimize stressful situations and relationships. These are some of the natural laws I was referring to earlier. This makes you a very inhospitable host to “germs and disease” of all kinds. Violate these natural laws by eating processed foods, have poor posture, sit all day hunched over your phone/keyboard/steering wheel, consume alcohol, excessive caffeine, sugar, tobacco, sleep poorly, watch the “news” and live in a state of fear, being medicated, stressed out, and now you have become very hospitable to practically any virus, bacterium, pathogen and disease. 

      Consider this, in 1918 the Spanish flu pandemic killed 100 million people around the globe in 6 months. Chiropractic was a young, fledging profession at that time (1895) the records demonstrate that people that chose “manipulative therapy” with a chiropractor vs. treating with a medical doctor had only 1/40th the death rate. As a result, this led to the licensure of chiropractic throughout the states in America. How was it that chiropractic adjustments were so effective in treating people with the flu? Specific adjustments to specific regions of the spine stimulate the parts of the central nervous system that regulates and controls immune function. 

      We see this all the time in our patients that receive regular, ongoing care. This is yet another key strategy in being an inhospitable host along with proper supplementation and practicing good hygiene. 

In health and vitality!

Dr. D

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