The term health is pervasive in today’s society. One can hardly step out of the house or look at the media without hearing the term. The question then arises, what is YOUR definition of health? Let’s look at this together. The point of this article is to get you thinking about what health means to you.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” I believe this definition brings out a couple of good points, but is missing something. Consider the latter portion of the definition, “Health is not merely the absence of disease”. Often times, people believe because they are not “sick” or do not have pain, they are healthy. In other words, because there are no symptoms, there is health. Let’s look at the example of a heart attack. Frequently, what is the first symptom of a heart attack? The heart attack itself! Before the heart attack, a person “feels” fine and carries on like nothing is wrong. But we know, through science, that heart disease is a process and takes years to produce a heart attack. So, health is more than the absence of sickness, symptoms and disease. Also note the WHO points out that health goes beyond our physical body to include our mental and social body. However, I would expand their definition by adding spiritual and emotional to the list of physical, mental, and social. This now addresses the “whole” person. Do you think a person that is constantly sad (a very real emotion) or has no connection to the One above (spiritual) has complete health? I don’t think so. I am guessing that if asked, most people would want health in all these aspects of their lives.
Let’s look at another definition of health that I feel is more appropriate. Drs. Talsky and Holder define health as “a dynamic state of wholeness in which your body can accurately perceive its constantly changing needs, and respond appropriately in a timely manner.” In other words,
the “whole” body has the ability to perceive and ADAPT. Appropriate adaptation is required for our whole body to achieve health.
I would like to pose one final question. What system in our body is responsible for the control of adaption? The answer is the nerve system. The nerve system, which is composed of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, is responsible for the appropriate and timely adaptation of our “whole” body. It is responsible for all the functions our bodies carry out on a daily basis. If your nerve system is not working at 100%, your body has less than 100% ability to appropriately adapt and function. CHIROPRACTIC allows your nerve system to function at its highest capacity so that your body has the ability to appropriately adapt and achieve TRUE HEALTH.
