Dr. James Chestnut, who was honored in 2007 as “Chiropractic Educator of the Year” by the International Chiropractors Association, applies a novel approach to his practice. Combining genetics, nutrition and exercise with the science of personal change and empowerment, he offers a fresh perspective on what “health” really is.

The current paradigm, which views “health” as freedom from disease symptoms, is a fundamental flaw of conventional medicine. And to effectively change the current health care system, we, as a nation of people, must examine and revise some core beliefs about health itself.

Because as long as you believe your health, or lack thereof, is related to your genetic predetermination, there is no logic or hope for wellness or prevention.

“If we’re simply walking along our genetically predetermined path to chronic illness, then the best we can hope for is early detection and palliation,” he says.

The irony is that that’s exactly what conventional medicine presents as prevention – early detection.

I mean, they literally call a pap smear or a mammogram “prevention,” which of course, is absurd in itself, because they can’t prevent anything. But again, if your model is that everything flows from the gene down and you can’t go above that, then really, there’s no such thing as wellness or prevention.”

If you want to be optimally healthy, you may need to revisit your own core beliefs. Have you inadvertently bought into the prevailing disease-paradigm? Do you believe your health is largely predetermined?

Or do you fully realize that your state of health is mainly determined by how you eat, move, and think?

How does it make you feel to know that you are responsible for your own health?

If you feel a sense of initial dread, then you are like most people. But the silver lining is not far away. There’s tremendous freedom as well once you embrace this truth.

Because it also means that you have the ability to respond in a new and different way, and take control of your life to a much greater degree than you’ve ever been lead to believe, either by your traditional healthcare provider or by the media.

The Danger of Simply Switching From Allopathic to Alternative Therapies

Without this fundamental change of consciousness, alternative therapies become just another option that follows the allopathic paradigm, which states that “disease will happen, and when it does, you treat it.”

But to actually create health, you must get right down to the root cause.

Dr. Chestnut says,

“I think therapies are useful but they’re still in the paradigm that they’re only given to people who are sick, and they’re generally aimed at getting people who are sick away from that particular illness.

What I’m saying is, the goal shouldn’t be to treat or have therapy for a particular illness at all. The whole goal should be to restore health. And that’s a very different paradigm.”

What is the Root Cause of Illness, AND the Answer to an Optimally Healthy Life?

As soon as you truly understand that your genes do not predetermine your health and longevity, it becomes self-evident that it’s your lifestyle choices that trigger disease and sets the bar for your level of health.

It’s imperative to realize that it’s NORMAL to be healthy!

And hence your lifestyle choices should be aimed at living up to your potential; to optimize your health, rather than trying to run from inevitable disease.

Our current disease-based paradigm is a true testament to the power of advertising and well-orchestrated PR campaigns.

People don’t believe disease is normal or that drugs can cure disease because it’s true. This cultural belief system was created and paid for by the pharmaceutical industry to the tune of tens of billions of dollars a year.

Insidious and unrelenting media manipulation has molded the public belief system and created this cultural conditioning that is precisely opposite of the truth -- which is that your body is designed to stay healthy; to maintain homeostasis and always seek to regain balance.

Your lifestyle choices will either help or hinder this entirely natural process. Supplying symptomatic drugs never was, and never will be, the solution.

Patients are Not the Only Ones Who Have Been Deceived

The tragic irony is that these false beliefs are not just relegated to patients; the “common man” is not the only one kept in the dark. This disease-based paradigm is what’s being taught in medical schools, chiropractic colleges, and even naturopathy schools. It’s the prevailing belief system of the last century.

So by waiting until you get sick, and then deciding to combat your illness with natural therapies, you’re still operating within the same old paradigm. You’re just using less dangerous interventions.

“What has to really be changed is people’s understanding of what health is, and how you can express it,” says Dr. Chestnut.

This has been my mission since I started this website, and I’m about to take it one step further. And you can help!

Mercola.com and YOU Can Make a Difference

I’m about to unveil a brand new social network on Mercola.com, which will offer unparalleled opportunities for you to leverage your personal power to help change this fatally flawed paradigm by getting involved, sharing your personal knowledge, and spreading the word.

The goal is to quickly reach the tipping point where we change the consciousness of our culture.

If you haven’t done so already, sign up for your FREE membership and complete your profile now!