Your Constitution Is the Key to Your Health
Do what you can to enhance it.
“It has been said, with what truth we are unable to tell, that if all the disease in the textbooks could be removed by the wave of a wand, doctors would still be left with 80% of their patients. Their ill health would be due not so much to any known disease as to the failure of the constitution to adapt itself to the life the patient is leading. A good constitution is not to be confused with a good physique; it is something more and something more valuable. Those who have it seem able to do whatever they wish without impairing it in any way. When it is poor, small causes may impair health or even endanger life. The athlete with the most perfect physique may be prostrated by every infection that he encounters.”
(Boyd and Sheldon, Introduction to the study of Disease, 8th edition, Lea and Febiger, 1980, pages 58-59)
I’ve always liked that quote and have kept the textbook primarily for that. The medical text was conceived by Dr. William Boyd and updated by Dr. Huntington Sheldon. the text had been in use in medical schools for 43 years before the eighth update.
Key to the quote above is the importance of your constitution. It seems to be overlooked in healthcare today. People hear a sneeze and immediately are afraid they will be sick. There is no faith in the ability to be well.
We are now hearing about the bird flu. I just read that one person in U.S. has died from it. Your chances of getting it are pretty low. Your chances of dying from it depend on your constitution. How is yours?
As you read articles on the flu, prepare your mind to look for who is being affected. Look for the word weakened immune systems and comorbidity.
A speaker once said, “Healthy people don’t get sick. Sick people get everything.” I don’t think that is entirely true, but it makes a point.
Health is optimal physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Sounds like the constitution, doesn’t it? Your health depends on your ability to adapt to your environment. Your nervous system is the primary interface between you and your body. If your nervous system is failing to give you appropriate information, how can you adapt? If your nervous system is failing to follow your directions, how can you adapt?
The bones of the spine house and protect the nervous system. The profession of chiropractic is based on the idea that the spine can interfere with the nervous system and reduce our ability to adapt. Our goal is to reduce or remove the interference so you can adapt to the best of your ability.
Just like the medical doctor has many different drugs, there are many different approaches to chiropractic. Although I have been under chiropractic care nearly my entire life, and most would consider my health amazing, I have some degeneration in my spine. I am working every day to attempt to rehab my spine. I’m not trying to relieve pain or cure a disease. I’m trying to improve my constitution.
Although I don’t worry about sneezes, I do wash my hands frequently. I do eat thoughtfully. I do attempt to get plenty of sleep. I pray/meditate/visualize daily. I exercise. I also have put in a lot of effort to keep my spine aligned and moving freely. I encourage you to do what you can to be healthy/improve your constitution.