THURSDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2011 THE SOUL AND MEDICINE

" The body is the soul's house. Shouldn't we therefore take care of our house so that it doesn't fall into ruin? "

Love is a gift of one's inner most soul to another so both can be whole
~Tea Rose

This is my mission. I have been assigned this g.o.d. chosen profession to take care of many houses and apartments for souls. However, love is a two way street. So is caring for one's health or house. It not only involves the doctor, but you, the patient. There needs to be a real doctor-patient relationship. Not only hello, goodbye, here is your prescription --see you in 3 months, but instead, "How is the family? What are you doing now that you are retired? Tell me your top three concerns today compared to your last visit?"

Unfortunately medicine is changing. I love to talk to the patients, so the new way medicine is practiced does not agree with my philosophy.

I always want to develop a personal guide for each patient to maintain all around physical AND emotional health in the face of daily stresses. I utilize all disciplines of medicine to accomplish my task.

The key word in both quotes is the 'soul'. What is the soul? You can ask ten individuals you work with and each will give a different answer. The soul can be defined by three traditions. A soul, in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions, is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans are souls. The soul is often believed to exit the body and live on after a person’s death, and some religions posit that God creates souls. You can discuss 'souls' for a long time and never get the same answer. The soul has often been deemed integral or essential to consciousness and personality. I think there is a difference between soul and spirit and soul and the mind, but some use these interchangeably. My mother told me to be careful when discussing sex, religion and politics with another person. The same is true about discussing 'souls'

It is important to understand that every practicing doctor faces a complex set of challenges when seeing every patient. For me it is trying to convey and interweave the new emerging knowledge of aging, disease, genetics and the environment. I do know that the risks of disease and age related decline are unique to each patient. I had to figure out what would be the lowest cost intervention. It is lifestyle changes. The problem is that these lifestyle changes are rarely part of a conventional doctors agenda. I had to change that for my patients.

You must know this- we cannot change our genetics--you acquired them from your mother and father and previous generations. However we can change the HABITS or LIFESTYLES that modify the induction, translation and expression of the genes.

WE ARE IN THE 21ST CENTURY and the patient's physiology, physical and emotional function are as important as a medical diagnosis and the prevention of end stage disease. We as physicians need to educate individuals on how to nourish themselves. This is my goal. This goal of personalized medicine will allow patients to live to 90 years and older with good health. Humans are living longer and no one will dispute that fact. How we live those extra years is the issue.

In time, physicians will have to understand the patient's genotype and how to improve their lifestyles and environments to minimize the risk of age-related disease. The need to change is compelling. We are beyond conferences and research. The medical practice needs to shift not only for you--the patient, but the whole society and world.

Until tomorrow...