Did you ever wonder why the first three letters in the word diet are die? Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop reported that “dietary imbalances” are the leading preventable contributors to premature death in the United States. As Ethiopian-Americans, it is essential that we keep informed of the health risks associated with our diet. Dr Koop strongly recommends the expansion of nutrition and lifestyle modification education for all health care professionals. The changes that are necessary will not be implemented as long as physicians continue to earn a living solely by prescribing “band aid” medicine that simply treats the symptoms, since this is far more lucrative than prevention of the disease. Chronic disease currently accounts for 85% of the national health care bill.

This is due to the fact we spend little time treating the causes of chronic disease before major illness develops. The greatest atrocity is that society has come to accept these conditions as normal, despite evidence that almost all disease is preventable. The Center for Disease Control states that cleansing the body from effects of wrong eating and a well-balanced “diet” can prevent 37% of cancer and 54% of heart disease. Research has shown that the present medical systems ignorance of the natural health principles, the perpetuation of normal health, is the fundamental cause of all disease.

Doctors and physicians are confronted with patients suffering from ailments for which conventional medicine offers only temporary fixes and superficial treatment of symptoms. The magic of antibiotics is no longer effective as a host of new resistant infections appear. It is clear that contemporary western medicine is in a state of crisis and that our current treatments are simply not effective.

The elements that are necessary for disease prevention and management of chronic disease include hygiene, a calm balanced mental state, proper nourishment, a sound work and home environment, and physical conditioning. The fundamentals of alternative healing are far from new. It is mankind recalling his understanding of health and preventive medicine. Over time, medical wisdom evolved within a framework, which connected health to a state of harmony or balance, and disease to a state of disharmony or imbalance. It has taken into account the variables that contribute to both. As the general public becomes increasingly aware of the inadequacies of conventional medicine, a growing number of people are turning to alternative medicine. Everyday people are beginning to understand and appreciate alternative medicine’s approach to health. The fundamental principle being that health has to be inclusive of mind, body, and soul. It blends science with experience to focus on the patient as a whole. What was once considered a “passing trend”, is on its way to becoming the primary medical approach of people across the globe. The objective of alternative health care is to advocate and bring to the forefront these said principles in an attempt to end all human suffering through prevention of disease.