What Causes Disease (Part 1)?
Disease, or departure from health, begins when we no longer function as we were created in body, soul (mind, will, and emotion), and spirit. The seven general categories of total health = wholeness are:
1) Hereditary
2) Structural (organ /gland)
3) Physical -circulative
-lymphatics
-exercise
4) Chemical
5) Eliminatory
6) Mental
7) Spiritual
When any one of these parts is affected, the others are affected as well. As we weaken parts of our total health = wholeness, we become vulnerable to disease.
A brief introduction to each of the categories follows.
Hereditary
Some people are prone to heart disease because it is a genetically inherited weakness. The effects of heredity on total health cannot be denied; but since it is not a major cause of disease, and since we can do nothing about this part of our total health picture, we can only attempt to minimize any negative genetic influence on our health. If you are genetically predisposed to cancer, you are not without hope; there are many preventive measures you can implement. On the other hand, if your grandfather and father lived to be 100 while smoking, drinking, and eating meat and potatoes, you cannot assume that you will be exempt from disease and a shortened life span. Remember: you reap what you sow.
Structural (Organ/Gland)
Structural health refers to the neuromusculoskeletal system, or simply the function of the nerves, muscles and bones and how these control all your organs and glands. You may wonder what these have to do with sickness and disease. The answer lies in the nervous system. God created us so perfectly that everything is in homeostasis, or balance. The role of the nervous system is to control all other glands, organs, and systems; it is a major concern when this master control malfunctions. A comparison can be drawn with a large business which relies heavily on computers; when the computers shut down, so does the business.
In my practice, I have seen many ailments of the stomach, heart, lungs, bronchi, kidneys, bladder, intestinal tract, reproductive systems, eyes, ears, nose, and throat respond very well once nerve pressure is relieved from the spine. The muscles and bones play a large part in this, as they support and protect the nervous system — i.e., the spinal cord and spinal nerves. The spinal nerves, which go to every tissue in your body, branch off the spinal cord and go through the hole in the spinal vertebrae joints called the intervertebral foramen (IVF). If the IVF is compromised or made small by spinal bones that have moved out of place, the resulting nerve pressure can lead to a host of other problems.