For this week's quote I chose the quote from Jeffrey Bland, PhD, and the founding father of functional medicine. In Advancement in Clinical Nutrition, 1994 he was quoted...
"The questions we ask determine the answers we get."
This is so true on so many different levels. First let's look at healthcare. Traditional healthcare (or sickcare) looks to ask what question? 'What are you symptoms?' And the answer is generally a drug to block or reduce the symptoms. Look at what that got us. Now we are the most drugged nation in the history of the planet. We had over 4 billion prescriptions written in 2011. Forbes did a study and the average American spends over $6,500 a year on healthcare. My question is for what? We are fatter, sicker, more stressed, toxic, and tired then we have ever been. Where is all this money going?
A functional medicine doctor asks different questions. Instead of 'what are your symptoms?' we ask 'what is causing your symptoms?' The answers you get from that line of questioning will blow your mind. Gut issues, GMO allergies, food allergies, nutrient deficiencies, detox problems, toxic exposures, heavy metals, etc. The list is endless. The difference is the answer leads a solution because the question demanded a solution.
When the question asked is too simple for the problem, or not asking the right question, the answer will not be a solution.
Here is a question for patients to ask of their doctor. "Are you going to find the cause of my complaint?" Many times you will not get a straight answer. Or you might simply get the wrong answer or a blatant lie. One big lie permeating is biomarkers being causes of disease. For example, high cholesterol does not cause heart disease. THAT IS A LIE.
The real question is 'why do I have high cholesterol?'. The answer most certainly is not, 'because you are statin deficient'.
I leave you with this quote.
"The questions we ask determine the answers we get."
Seek the right answers. Ask the right questions. This is where health starts.
Dr W
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