Why I’m Not a Fan of “Alternative Medicine”

Nearly every week I run into someone out in the community who says “I love what you are doing, I’ve been into alternative medicine for several years.” What does it really mean to be ‘into alternative medicine’? Does it mean you use essential oils as a replacement to common medications when you have symptoms? Does it mean you consume raw food and do yoga? Or does it simply mean you’ve lost trust in conventional medicine?

Most people who are seeking ‘alternative medicine’ are doing it with pure intentions—they are truly in a pursuit to be their best. However, being into ‘alternative medicine’ doesn’t mean one understands the PRINCIPLES of health.

If you are not anchored to a principle, it’s easy to quickly abandon ‘alternative medicine.’ Have you ever known someone who considered themselves healthy, they ate well, exercised, tried to avoid medications but then were diagnosed with a health condition and ended up on a list of medications or found themselves taking chemotherapy or radiation? In fact, many people who have an extreme distaste for medicine are often on a medication themselves (if not a full list of medications). Just because someone has a distaste of medicine doesn’t mean they understand the principles of healing. They may simply have white coat syndrome and have an unhealthy fear of doctors.

Many times alternative medicine becomes a catchphrase for anything that is not the conventional approach in medicine. I’ve often been categorized as such. But I am not nor do I want to be an alternative to medicine. Let me explain: I believe the body is designed perfectly to thrive. I believe we are designed for an abundant and full life, rich with experiences. I believe wisdom should be passed down from generation to generation—from great grandparents to great grandchildren. I don’t believe we were created to live life drugged, becoming more medicated with age with the eventual result of losing our minds and capacity to reason and have intelligent conversation. I don’t believe we were created to retire in the nursing home without passing down any wisdom or insight into future generations. While you may think of me as alternative to medicine, I see medicine as alternative to God’s plan for your life.

I once had a patient who, from the outside in, seemed like the perfect patient. He was living on the advanced plan, strict with his nutrition and obsessed with making his adjustments on schedule. He took all the recommended supplements. He was well versed in the reasons he disliked medicine. He seemed perfect yet he never anchored to the principle. When he’d have a headache, he’d ask “what should I take?” He’d still go to his annual doctor’s visits and come back saying “my doctor said my thyroid is low” or “my cholesterol is elevated, what can I take?” While he became healthy for a season, his life wasn’t truly transformed. Why? He never anchored to THE PRINCIPLE that God needs no help, just no interference. The power that made the body also heals the body. When the PRINCIPLE is intertwined with your DNA:

There is confidence and certainty that your body will heal no matter the diagnosis;
Fear is replaced with faith;
You realize health comes from within not from a pill (herb, oil, supplement, drug, etc.);
You stop trying to ‘trick the body’ into health or immunity;
You realize that the greatest doctor in the world lives in YOU; and,
You’ve retired from conventional medicine (except for crisis or emergency intervention).

If the key to life is good health and health is your number one asset, your best strategy must be to anchor to the principle.

Together for transformation,

Dr. Wilson