Why “Why” Matters
by Yael Tusk, M.Sc.
A while ago, my friend Leah lent me a book on healing a certain common pediatric issue. When I returned it to her, I told her that while it was informative, I was disappointed that the author seemed to (almost deliberately) leave out one of the main causative factors for the condition the book was meant to treat. “What does it matter what the cause was?” Leah asked me, “If we have a way to treat the problem, just use the methods regardless of the cause.”
There are a few reasons why it is important to understand the true underlying causes of illness. I will illustrate with the new problem of peanut allergies, an epidemic that exploded around 1991. Modern medicine observes the new anaphylactic (deadly allergic) issue and creates “awareness”. They sell epipens, they create “peanut-free” foods, and they educate the public about how to be considerate of all those with peanut allergies.
What is blaringly missing here is the obvious question of: why are so many children developing deadly allergies to peanuts and what can we do to prevent more cases? The medical community has come up with some outlandish explanations, such as: worm infestation can prevent allergies. This was based on the fact that some isolated primitive groups who happened to have severe worm problems did not experience allergies. Other factors, such as lack of exposure to modern lifestyle and modern medicine were not considered!
Other contradictory theories abound; ranging from lack of early exposure to the allergen, to excessive exposure too young! Most of these theories are equally implausible. Why are they doing such an abysmal job getting to the bottom of this mystery? I believe that it is because they are not really investing too much energy into figuring out why. Most of their effort is going towards creating products and awareness (about the products?). More on this subject later.
Another example is the epidemic of cancer that we are experiencing today. America, with all of its cutting edge treatments, has one of the highest cancer rates in the world. Modern medicine puts most of its efforts into developing more of what they are already doing (chemotherapy, radiation and surgery). They also put a lot of effort into “awareness” and early detection. Sadly this has done little to stem the tide of illness.
What they neglect to do is ask: why are more and more people being stricken with cancer? Why are more children than ever developing cancer today? And my question is why aren’t they asking these important questions? I don’t know. But I’ll tell you why we in the field of natural health are.Read more
Let’s say that Irving’s grandmother has cancer, and he is her primary caregiver. If Irving finds out that eating yellow jelly beans is the main cause of cancer, he will make sure that his grandmother does not eat any more yellow jelly beans. He will also make sure his kids and everyone else in his family stop eating the cancer-causing beans.
Of course it’s never that simple, but bear with me. Knowing the cause will prevent Irving’s grandmother from continuing to poison herself and exacerbate her own condition. It will also prevent others from developing cancer from eating yellow jelly beans. Additionally, being aware that yellow jelly beans are the root cause may help heal, since there is a special “yellow jelly bean detoxification program” that is especially powerful for this condition.
So we have said three things. Knowing the cause will:
- Prevent you from re-exposing the ill person.
- Prevent other people from being exposed to this potential hazard.
- Often give you the key to true healing.
When you don’t understand the underlying mechanisms that have led to a condition, the problem looms much more frightening: intangible and unvanquishable. Unmask it, and now you know exactly what you are dealing with. This can open many doors to healing and true prevention.
An honest assessment of the true causes of disease takes courage. Many illnesses are traceable to tangible causes in our history, lifestyle, diet etc. Blaming most diseases on genetics, as modern medicine is apt to do, makes us helpless victims of fate. In truth, we have a lot more control over our health than we realize. As long as we are in the dark about what is making people ill, we are fated to repeat the same mistakes.
About the author:
Yael Tusk, M.Sc. is a practitioner of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine in Jerusalem. She has been treating adults and children for over a decade. She is trained in designing and evaluating scientific studies and specializes in researching and debunking scientific myths. Look out for her upcoming myth-busting book on health! To sign up for her newsletter, email: yaeltusk@gmail.com Subject: Health update.
