Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D


" Back in the last century (I like saying that …), I was a Professor at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine in the 80’s. While I loved the job, it was the Wisconsin “Siberian-like” winters that really challenged me. In the winter of 1983, I went on a 6-month sabbatical to teach at an off-shore medical school on the island of Montserrat in the idyllic Caribbean. One day while motorcycling home from school, I became a candidate for the Darwin Award, an honor for those who accidentally remove their own DNA from the gene pool during the spectacular climax of a 'great idea' gone very, very wrong).Realizing there was no posted speed limit, I joyfully accelerated to what was an unsafe speed. Ahead, there was a dip in the road and a sharp left turn. At the dip, the bike became airborne. In flight. I tried to tilt the bike to make the left turn even though the wheels were not on the ground. Of course, the bike flew straight through the corner, and I landed on my head in the woods (thankfully, I was wearing a helmet). I regained consciousness a half hour later and was surrounded by a couple of doctors from the med school. They helped me get home and into bed. The next day was the final exam for my course. In full-out pain and doubled-up like Quasimodo, I made it to the school, but my head, and especially my eyes, were focused on the ground because I could not straighten my back. Seeking help from the medical doctors, I received a handful of powerful pain relievers. While the pills reduced the pain, there was nothing the docs could do to help with my twisted posture.One of the students told me about a chiropractor who was now a med student. In the world of allopathic medicine, I was programmed to believe that chiropractic was a fraudulent pseudoscience. With no resolution from conventional medicine, I visited that student. It was amazing! I hobbled into his room and right after the adjustment I walked out pain-free in perfect posture.The point of this story: Conventional medicine primarily deals with relieving patient’s symptoms, but not necessarily impacting the cause of the problem. Patients show up in a state of “dis-ease” and the role of the practitioner is to return them to “ease.” Alleviating a symptom does not imply healing the cause. Many times, a symptom, such as fever, pain, swelling, are part of the healing process that should not be interfered with. For example, a fever is generally the result of an infection that is temperature sensitive. The body’s response is to raise the temperature to kill the infection. For example, a 104oF (40oC) is a healing response and should be encouraged, not reduced. Wrap yourself in a blanket and “sweat” it out. After a short time at that temperature, the infective agent will be eliminated, and the fever will immediately be gone. It should be noted that sometimes an exaggerated symptom can cause a secondary problem. Temperatures below a 105oF are safe, however, temperatures above that are a problem that should be dealt with.Similarly, a swelling, such as the result of twisting your ankle or knee is a necessary part of the healing phase. The extra fluid causing the swelling is required to “wash-away” damaged tissues and bring-in immune cells to aid in healing. In most cases, reducing the swelling profoundly interferes with healing phase. Although in a few situations, such as in the case of very high fevers, swelling can interfere with vital functions. For example, extreme swelling of tonsils in the throat can compromise breathing and must be dealt with.This month’s video regarding cancer is another important example of treating the symptom rather than dealing with the cause. Cancer cells are the symptom of a problem and not the cause. There are NO genes that “cause” cancer, 90% or more of cancer is the result of environmental stressors and/or issues of consciousness. Using chemotherapy and radiation can kill cancer cells but in no way does it impact the cause of the cancer. And as in cases mentioned above, if a cancer physically interferes with health by swelling and occluding blood vessels, nerves, or conduits (e.g., digestive, respiratory, and urogenital ducts), surgical intervention may be necessary.The important conclusion is that in a state of physical discomfort, medical intervention should not be focused on eliminating the symptoms but should be directed at eliminating the primary cause. Within range, pain, fever, swelling and general discomfort, are important contributions to the healing phase and should not be compromised."
With wishes for your health and happiness,Bruce