Ears perk up at the word ‘breakthrough’ and the people of Kansas certainly have an interest in health, so readers should be interested in Suzanne Riedel’s July 21 article in the Christian Science Monitor – “The next health breakthrough: Where will it come from?” An excerpt from the article, including a link to an article in The Kansas City Star – Heatlh Care section, is below – please click through to read the entire article.
Of course the draw to breakthroughs is great. Everyone wants to be well.
Attempts to find health solutions often start with less invasive methods – restrictive diets, lifestyle changes, mindfulness meditation. Others hope in a prescribed regimen of meds or in a new technology. The need to be well keeps us looking.
Yet, instead of bringing assurance, physicians’ critiques of current practices are increasingly causing tremors. For example, a recent article, “Heralded Treatments Often Fail to Live up to their Promise,” concludes that the verdict is still out on many new drugs and procedures. And an article by Luis Collar, MD, critiques with a breathtaking – some might say bewilderingly honest – view of current allopathic practices. He cites the need for more rigorous, scientific thinking, unaffected by economic demands or status-quo positions. A Business Insider article cites research proving that gluten sensitivity, the concern that propels 30 percent of Americans to buy gluten-free foods, actually doesn’t exist. Maybe in a bid to allay dismay, that article opened and closed with a cheer for science: “It works.”
But cheer or not, the fact remains that the scientific thought process that impels researchers does “work.”
It is producing more voices in biological, neurological, psychological, and other types of research, all looking at thought processes that govern the body in more depth than ever before, including expanded use of mind-body, and even spiritual, techniques.