“If I could live my life over again, I would devote it to proving that
germs seek their natural habitat—diseased tissue—rather than causing disease.“
– Rudolf Virchow, the father of modern pathology
We have been led to believe that, outside of washing our hands and getting our immunizations, we are pretty much at the mercy of disease-causing pathogens that we can’t even see. Two things: that is a frightening thought—and, it is simply not true. Pathogens—viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites—in and of themselves don’t cause disease. We swim in a sea of germs. Over a century ago Lancet reported that we breathe in around 14,000 germs and bacteria an hour. A healthy throat always contains various forms of strep and staph bacteria. We are a walking ecosystem of germs: 380 trillion viruses and 60 trillion bacteria among the 6 trillion cells. If simply being exposed to germs put us at risk, then we would always be sick.
So What Gives?
The answer to the riddle is that it’s the environment inside our body that determines whether germs will get a foothold or not. Even Pasteur admitted this, saying that “in a state of health the body is closed against the action of disease germs.” The condition of the soil of our bodies is a more important marker of disease than the the presence of a germ. If we allow poor nutrition, inactivity, toxins, and/or trauma to bombard our body habitat then it will become an acidic and hypoxic swamp. This nasty terrain provides the ideal environment for germs to thrive. If we really think about it, this has to be true. The mosquito doesn’t propagate the swamp. The swamp propagates the mosquito.
Pathogens are scavengers—opportunistic parasites. They are a contingent cause of disease—never a primary one—showing up in parts of our bodies that are already weakened or sick. It is a huge mistake to take one of the factors that is involved in disease and hold it completely responsible for the entire dirty deed.
A Metaphor On Germs
In their book, Cosmic Nutrition, Mantak Chia and William U. Wei sum it up with a great metaphor:
Germs alone can no more produce pathology than a seed alone can produce a tree. Just as a seed must have fertile soil, moisture, air, water, warmth, and sunshine, if it is to grow into a tree, so the germ, if it is to add it’s complicating influence to an evolving pathology, must find certain essential conditions existing in the bodies of those it enters, before it can do the slightest harm. Normal nerve energy and pure blood—in a word, good health—are proof against germs of all kinds.
The 8 Foundational Natural Healers: Our Foundational Sword and Shield
So if germs are powerless against an alkaline body terrain with a healthy blood supply then it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that we have way more power against them than we thought. It is no wonder that Antoine Bechamp, the life-long rival of Louis Pasteur, proposed that the biological terrain was a better focus for medicine than the pathogen itself. Which brings us to our true sword and shield against germs: the 8 foundational natural healers. They are nutrition, exercise, water, sunlight, temperance, fresh air, rest, and trust in divine power. These are the essential elements from which our bodies manufacture their own protective potencies, antiseptics and anti-toxins.
Why Have We Become So Focused On Germs?
So how could such an advanced society as ours end up so far into the wrong part of the woods? Why are we so frantically focused on germs, germicidals, and artificial immunity? In light of the fact that we have had access to the commonsense information that is described above since the mid-1800s, I can only think of only two reasons. First, follow the money trail. Our war on germs has generated an industry worth nearly one trillion dollars. The truth about the germ cannot effectively fight against such a arsenal of vested interest. Second, many of us don’t really want to take responsibility for our own health. We would rather take a drug or a vaccine.
Don’t Get Me Wrong
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that we shouldn’t incorporate techniques and strategies that reduce pathogens in the body. Hygiene and germ-killing has its place in fighting contagious illness and supporting optimal health in our bodies. What I am saying is that we need to put first things first. Our primary focus should be on propagating foundational health in our bodies. When we put second things first it is easy to end up in the such a mess as our world is in now.
A Covid-19 Object Lesson
When we look at Covid-19 virus demographics, it is clear that most people who die are already diseased. This is called comorbidity and it’s a good example of what germs will do to us if we allow poor nutrition, inactivity, and toxicity to weaken our bodies. We are not trying to cheat death here. There is a time to die, but we needn’t hasten that time by courting the disease that is the scourge of those who ignore the 8 foundational natural healers.
It’s Not Too Late
For those of us who have been led down the primrose path and drunk the poison: it’s not too late to change. It’s not to late to transform our body’s swamp into an enchanted wood. It’s not to late to invoke our divine privilege and nurture vital bodies that can hold their own against any germ.