With several thousand registered prescription and over the counter medicinal drugs available from chemist’s shops these days, we would be very justified in assuming that we are being attacked by an incredibly large army of diseases, all requiring very specialised ‘antidotes’ for us to survive their effects.
This is a conclusion that would not seem to be too far from being a real possibility if we even just tried to count in our heads the large numbers of manufactured toxins present in the air that we breathe and the water we drink. Also additives in our foods, different types of viruses, bacteria, fungi and other outbreaks of epidemic causing microorganisms with long and complex names that seem to spawn every now and then and which culminate in the release of even more new drugs and new vaccinations.
I have always said, “Treat the causes, not just the symptoms”. Never said “Don’t treat the symptoms”. |
Relieving the symptoms is always important and may indeed be lifesaving. It seems however that in most cases these days, once the symptoms have been relieved, one neglects or forgets to also carry through with checking for the real causes of why the warning light was shining on their dashboard in the first place.
There are many times when during an emergency situation or a painful condition, the relieving of symptoms is absolutely essential. If you are having, say, a bad case of pneumonia, it will not help you a lot right now to sit around reflecting on the warning signs that your poor immune system may have been giving you for many years, or for regretting not having paid sufficient attention at the time by choosing to live a healthier lifestyle and perhaps having had lesser takeaways. Right now you should be immensely grateful to the hospital or doctor who have stuck a needle into your veins and is pumping you with antibiotics. This could very well have saved your life. However, it makes sense that the story would have been a lot better if you had taken greater care of your health in the first place. You would have had a much greater chance of the pneumonia not occurring in the first instance. However, because this can no longer be helped, what is done is done, you should decide to start taking better care of yourself once you are out of hospital and the emergency is over.
The same example could be of course used with practically every other health condition. If one has an advanced form of cancer, there may even be some advantage having the usual medical treatments which could include mixture of surgeries, radiotherapy or chemotherapy. One can’t undo what has brought them here and at this stage, keeping alive is the most important priority and surgically removing a cancerous growth that interferes with the function of other important organs may at this point have become essential.
According to the World Health Organization, up to 70% of some types of cancers can be blamed directly to poor lifestyle and nutrition. |
In my opinion the percentage is a lot greater but let’s go with official figures for the moment.
Also, the American Cancer Society says that “Nutrition is an important part of cancer treatment. Eating the right kinds of food during and after the treatment can help you feel better and stronger”.
I would correct this statement to read “Nutrition is an absolutely essential part of your cancer treatment. Eating the right kinds of food during and after the treatment may very well make the difference between winning or losing the fight and will help you feel better and stronger”. Also keep in mind that the right kinds of foods could have almost certainly helped prevent the cancer developing in the first place.
Do you think that this may be unproven or illogical and that only aggressive medical treatment will now help? Not so, according to many scientists and physicians. The statistics looking at survival rates after conventional medical treatment for cancer are disappointingly poor. It may prolong your life but just slightly and the quality of life associated with the treatment often makes one wonder if they would have been better off not having had the aggressive treatment in the first place. Most doctors have said that if they were diagnosed with terminal cancer, they would not pursue aggressive medical treatment which may only give them a 5% chance of surviving more than five years after the chemotherapy.
So, it is never a waste of time to start taking good care of ourselves, preferably whilst we still have our good health and youth to support us, or, during an illness to help us get over it sooner whilst, also helping to fix a lot of the problems that caused the illness to occur in the first place.
If we cannot or do not get the opportunity of eating well and starting with the right supplements during the course of our illness, and our condition may require emergency medicinal drugs or surgery, then, when out of danger, start making the necessary changes to ensure your health heads in the right direction from then on.
Case Study no. 1 – David’s personal testimonial. Having been diagnosed with Stage 4 diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, I needed help from all angles.
Bruno immediately made dietary and vitamin recommendations, which we stringently adhered to. Chemotherapy was also part of the treatment plan, as drastic measures were required.
Prior to the commencement of chemotherapy, I saw my GP. He was so amazed that I had already improved even before chemotherapy, due to Bruno’s recommendations; he wanted to see Bruno as a patient himself. Nowadays he also refers some of his patients to Bruno. We always found Bruno to be very supportive and encouraging.
When the chemotherapy treatment was completed, I once again attended Bruno’s clinic. The improvements were most surprising. As chemotherapy is usually very harsh and destructive to the gastrointestinal tract, we believe the combination of diet and vitamins not only maintained, but improved my gastrointestinal tract, which also contributed immensely to a quick recovery.
Although you can never be completely confident, I am happy to say that I have remained Lymphoma free for two and a half years.
My wife and I are very thankful for Bruno’s support and treatment. David T. |
COMMENTS: I have known David and his wife as good friends for a long time. The discovery of the advanced lymphoma was quite a shock, which David and Carolyn had to quickly come to grips with and suddenly change their lives even more to try and combat this serious condition. They were helped immensely by their strong faith, determination, positive attitude and Carolyn’s perfect preparation, dispensation and orchestration of The Marevich Way supplements and dietary program.
Having the support of a really good doctor who was prepared to incorporate David’s decision to include our supplements and nutritional help as part of his treatment also helped immensely. Having health professionals, who, although with different personal views and preferences, are prepared to set these aside and collaborate for the ultimate benefit of the patient, apart from the obvious synergistic health benefits, also takes away what is the very unnecessary and unwanted stress, and helps the patient remain focussed on getting better.
Again, the importance of the right supplements to improve the digestive tract’s inefficiencies, and thus a very large chunk of the immune system together with proper nutrition, will always help anyone with any immune deficiency or other problem. Since his recovery, David and Carolyn are continuing to be focused on the correct nutrition, supplements and enjoying what they regard as up-building and valuable in their lives. |
Because prevention is better than cure and in most cases prevention may help us by us never having to get to use extreme medical therapies, choosing to do something about our condition before we end up in hospital is of course a wise decision.
One of the problems with embarking on an illness prevention lifestyle, when there aren’t any medical signs to warn us that we may be going in the wrong direction, is that it requires much greater motivation. Modern medicine is generally more focused on fixing something now when it is obviously broken that to have alerted the patient before the breakage.
The reason for this, in part, is that the usual complaints that people present themselves with at a doctor’s or our clinic may not be that bad or dangerous enough as yet. People who, for example, are just tired, may get told by their doctors not to work so hard, rest more – or are sometimes left with the thought that it is all just in their heads.
Case Study no. 2 – Ken’s personal testimonial. I cannot thank Bruno enough for his guidance, wisdom, and professionalism in helping me overcome my health issues and put me on the correct path to a healthier lifestyle. In September 2016, I went to Las Vegas with my wife and friends for a holiday. When on the plane I felt uncomfortable as my weight had again increased and I just felt unhealthy. I had always struggled with my weight, and would diet to lose 10 to 15 kilos, and then as soon as I stopped dieting I would put on the weight again in no time, and would usually put on a bit more. Along with my weight I was also insulin resistant; suffered and medicated for high blood pressure, and been prescribed Nexium for heartburn and laryngospasms. I found Bruno’s details and on the day I returned from my holiday in September 2016, I rang his practice, made an appointment, and I have not looked back since. The combination of diet, vitamins and supplements has been easy to follow and maintain, and is not affected by my heavy workload and social life. Bruno’s guidance in the correct foods to eat, matched with insights through eye diagnosis, have been spot on in helping me achieve and maintain my health goals. It has now been ten months since my first visit and I have lost 31.5 kilos. I no longer take Nexium and have halved my blood pressure medication. I have not had a cold, flu or any illness that has been going around at work or home. I am no longer insulin-resistant, and my levels are under a third of what they were ten months ago, and my blood tests have shown a marked change for the better. Now at 51 I am far more active and feel far better than I have for the last ten years. The diet has been easy to follow and I do not crave food like I used to. I have bought a pushbike, which I now regularly ride and have a new dog, Boris that I walk daily. I hate to think where I would be now if I had not come to see Bruno last year. I have appreciated his knowledge, patience in explaining everything, and his down to earth manner. I look forward to my monthly visit/consultation with Bruno and Henriette. I have recommended several family members and friends who are also achieving marked improvement in their overall health and wellbeing, which is the least I can do for the help Bruno has given me to make the needed changes to my diet and overall health, to ensure that I have minimised the risk of major health issues. Thank you so much. Ken N. |
COMMENTS: Ken is a good example of an intelligent, very busy professional person juggling between his clients and family life. He had already been aware for a long time of the importance of keeping his weight and health under control, which he tried to do, but no longer so successfully. The cracks were beginning to show in his health but not enough to warrant any serious medical intervention, just antacids and blood pressure checks. Had he kept going in the same direction, diabetes would probably have been the next bus stop. Diabetes, blood pressure, extra weight and indigestion add up to what? Heart problems, cardiovascular disease. Fortunately Ken did not wait for that to happen. His taking onboard The Marevich Way has brought him overall great improvements. Everyone sees it in him, everyone tells him about it, and many who are inspired want to do what he is doing. I should add that Ken’s wife Sue is also on the same program and is happy to be gradually getting her particular health issues under control. Prevention is better than cure! |
Other people have deteriorated to the stage where their health condition now has a name. It has been identified, usually through a combination of either blood tests, imaging tests or pathological analysis, to be a medical condition, and the appropriate drugs can now be prescribed.
Other times the treatment of recognised medical conditions may require more than simply drugs, as in surgery and other specialised treatments or interventions.
In these cases where the problem is already there, many people may find varying degrees of relief and stability through the drugs, others will struggle to improve and others unfortunately will get even worse. All these people will also be at risk of the potential side effects that accompany practically all drugs. The justification for the risk of the potential nasty side effects on patients is usually that they will be at an even higher risk if they do nothing at all.
Case Study no. 3 – Archana’s personal testimonial. I had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis after having my second child. I was seeing my local GP who referred me to a specialist. Over the months I was prescribed with a combinations of methotrexate once a week, a drug also used to treat some forms of cancer, Panquil, plus other anti-inflammatories and painkillers such as Panadol Osteo. Little did I know I was taking dangerous drugs which were slowing down my immune system and risking many other serious side effects.
I then saw a news article on TV where one lady died whilst taking methotrexate incorrectly. I had decided then this wasn’t for me, as whilst it was meant to help combat my disease my general health was suffering. I would wake up feeling ill everyday with no energy.
My dad recommended me to see Bruno Marevich as he had recently already experienced great results with him in only a few weeks. This was a life-changing moment and I haven’t looked back since. Bruno’s natural supplements have helped me achieve a better quality of lifestyle. I have more energy than ever and feel better now that my body is free of toxins and my joint inflammation has almost disappeared. With a combination of taking the right supplements and the right nutrition I know that I am now getting the best treatment without the dangerous side effects. My family and friends can see the difference this change has made for me. I would like to thank Bruno for all his assistance and support during this whole process. I couldn’t have done this without him always willing to take time and listen to my everyday issues. Archana P. |
COMMENTS: Archana is a young mother busily handling work, family and, up to not long ago, the pain and discomfort that come with the autoimmune condition of rheumatoid arthritis, where her immune system, the good guys, had decided to not only wage war with the bugs and other nasty things which could hurt her body, but to also her good tissues – in this case her joints. This causes great levels of dangerous inflammation and swelling. The same autoimmune process that hurt her joints is also known to cause problems with the eyes, lungs, skin, hearth and blood vessels as well as other organs.
Therefore Archana fell in the category of someone with a well-recognised medical condition that also has an established medical treatment plan.
The medications that were prescribed to Archana were intended to reduce the painful inflammation by quieting down her immune system. They were, however, also causing her unpleasant results and afflicting this busy working mum with lack of energy, fatigue and obvious worries and stresses about the possibility that her health may develop even greater problems down the road because of these side effects.
She knew that there were too many risks by just continuing with what at times appears to be the easier way of just taking drugs, which mostly just relieve the symptoms. Archana is now drugs free, practically pain free, overall healthier and happier, has recently started a new job and feels much more capable of dealing with her daily life. Archana will soon be placed on a maintenance program which consists of continuing with the healthier eating habits she has developed and gotten used to ever the past number of months and some natural supplements to help her keep healthy and active with her busy lifestyle. |
Naturopathy endeavours to: support and practice the sound and eternal principles of natural healing, including:
- The healing power of nature: the body has the inherent ability to heal itself. This vitality can not only heal, but restore and maintain health.
- Treating the whole person: health and disease result from many factors including physical, emotional, spiritual, environmental, genetic and socioeconomic ones. Within the body, the different systems are connected, dynamically balanced. ‘Disease’ occurs when the body is out of harmony, out of balance.
- ‘First Do No Harm’: respect the inherent ability of the body to heal itself by using therapies that are non-invasive, gentle and safe.
- Identifying and treating the cause: illness does not occur without a cause, and symptoms are not the cause of illness. If the root of a problem is not corrected and only symptoms are treated, a more serious condition may develop later on.
- Prevention is the best cure: health is a reflection of how we choose to live. We help patients recognise their choices and how these choices affect their good health.
- Naturopaths as teachers: one of our principal goals is to educate the patient and encourage self-responsibility for health by building together with the patient a healthcare program unique to their needs.
As natural healing benefits the whole body, there is no person with any known condition whose helth will not benefit in some way or another from seeing a qualified naturopath |
In practically every case, also seeing a good doctor for more specific, in-depth medical diagnostics – including laboratory tests results and monitoring your progress as well as, if required, more aggressive forms of treatment – will generally give you the best combination of synergistic modern and traditional treatments and you will be able to expect better results. For emergency situations you should always see your medical doctor or hospital first, as there is no doubt they are better equipped to deal with life or death accident or similar emergency situations as well as some acute conditions.
Whenever seeing a doctor first, you should always express your desire for non-aggressive, side effects free treatments wherever possible and ask whether in their opinion seeing a good naturopath may be of help in further assisting with your condition. Whenever seeing a naturopath first, you should always ask how you should explain what they just told you to your doctor, so that the combined treatments will bring you the intended greatest benefits.
For a long listing of the more common conditions that we and many other suitably qualified naturopaths treat, you can visit our website at www.TheMarevichWay.com.au, or find these listed later in this book.
The combination of this book’s introduction and this chapter so far will, by now, have given you some insight into the idea that natural prevention is always better than having to cure a health problem. There is nothing terribly new or revealing in these words, as shown by the fast increase of natural products and vitamins in the market over the last three or four decades. The growth is demand driven, and the demand is high and shows no signs of slowing.
None of this has gone unnoticed by the drug manufacturing companies which would of course prefer that one purchased their products instead. In Australia, the regulation for the manufacture of natural vitamins is practically as strict as the manufacture of medicinal drugs. This offers Australian manufactured vitamins the obvious benefit that strict manufacturing quality assurance protocols offer. Sounds like a balanced and fair deal you may think, and that what is good enough for the manufacture of drugs should also be applied to vitamins.
This may not look so balanced if you consider that hundreds of thousands of people die every year all over the world from the side effects of prescribed medicinal drugs. What does the official data show for deaths resulting from the use of vitamins?
The American Association of Poisons Control (AAPCC) reported in 2011 that over the previous 27 years there had been 11 alleged deaths from either the side effects or misuses of natural supplements. A later analysis by the AAPCC revised this figure down to zero deaths. No deaths at all! |
So the first question is whether it is necessary to apply the same levels of controls to a line of products that has induced zero fatalities over the last quarter century, as for one that has killed millions and millions of people over the same period of time.
One could answer that it does not hurt to be extra careful. And I would agree with that if the governments were also playing on an even field with subsidising your cost of buying vitamins as they do with drugs.
You can only buy cheap antibiotics, cholesterol drugs, blood pressure drugs etc., because like the pharmaceuticals benefits scheme (PBS) in Australia, many other governments in the world pay the larger portion of the cost of that drug from everyone’s taxes for you.
So, could it perhaps be that the reason why vitamins are not more affordable and being pushed outside of the reach of all people including those in the less favourable socioeconomic backgrounds is the extra costs incurred in their manufacture, because of not totally necessary controls?
Well, the present trend unfortunately isn’t to relax the unnecessary controls and restrictions but to tighten them up, and it will probably continue to be so until you, the buyer demands access to better-priced vitamins.
Case Study no. 4 – Anna’s personal testimonial. My name is Anna and I want to thank Bruno for putting me on the right track to a better, healthier future. I am 52 years old and just over a year ago I started experiencing massive hair loss and extreme rosacea and acne (just to name a few things). I visited my local GP (in the US) as I also have low thyroid, and thought that it may be the cause of my dilemma. My GP was very sceptical and tried to tell me that it was a combination of colouring my hair and reaching menopause. He nevertheless conducted the thyroid test I requested. A couple of days later he rang me and said “Congratulations, your tests are normal, you are perfectly healthy”. I thanked him and then cried as yet another handful of hair came out when I washed it that night. In desperation I spoke to a relative of mine in Australia that weekend and explained what had been happening. She advised that I go and see Bruno next time I visited, as he had done wonders in improving her health. That was the longest five months of my life waiting to return to Australia so that I could see Bruno, as he was my last hope. In that short time, I had lost at least 50% of my hair and my face was a mess. Not to mention that I had lost my self-esteem and confidence. Unlike your average GP, Bruno takes a holistic approach to healing the whole body, not just treating the symptoms. I have now been on Bruno’s vitamins and diet for the last nine months and I am happy to say that I am sleeping longer without waking, my heart palpitations have stopped, some of my hair has started to grow back and my face has improved considerably. I also now try to take a healthier approach to the foods that I buy and eat, as I am more aware of the impact of healthier eating. I have kept in touch with Bruno by email and he is always very supportive and provides me advice and encouragement when needed. If you know that your body is trying to tell you something, but your doctor says that you are fine, I would encourage you to try Bruno’s method, which is safe and natural and a far cry from the treatments that the big pharmaceutical companies are trying to push. Anna Mc. |
COMMENTS: Anna’s hair and skin problems would have almost certainly been contributed to by the hormonal changes which can at times have a strong effect on women in this age bracket, and also by her underactive thyroid which up to then appeared to have been kept under control with thyroid medication. Hair colouring preparations can also pose risks with the health of those using them. As another member of Anna’s family was currently suffering with alopecia, one can only imagine the stress that thinking she too could be heading down that path may have caused. The real problem highlighted in this study is that Anna’s medical tests had all came up very positive and therefore, at least on paper, there were no obvious pathways at that stage to follow medically to seek a resolution for Anna’s hair and skin, without perhaps having to results to other drugs. These may, perhaps, have kind of helped her hair and skin, but at what risk? And what about the real causes of her condition which were being left untreated? Same question about the underactive thyroid medication that Anna and many millions of people are on. They do not address the real cause of the problem which for the underactive (or overactive for that matter) thyroid is almost always caused by the immune system. The purpose of the medication for the underactive thyroid is just to give the patient a tablet which contains some of the thyroid hormones that the thyroid is producing in lesser quantities than it should. Works well in most cases, but what about the real culprit, the immune system that damaged the thyroid? What else can it do if it is not identified and dealt with? Moral of the story: sometimes, as in Anna’s case, medication may be helpful and may alleviate some of the bad symptoms which can make life so difficult. There is a danger however to assume that the problem has been fixed just because the symptoms have abated. By treating Anna’s underlying conditions her overall health has improved, her skin is much better and her hair problem has made a happy turnaround. The hair and skin made her look under the bonnet to try and fix the real problems. |
