A slogan is defined as “a short, memorable phrase or motto that is used to express an idea or purpose.” A slogan I’ll never forget is the one Porsche used starting in the ’70s or ’80s, which was… “There is no substitute.” It’s short, memorable, and definitely expresses an idea. Tom Cruise made it more famous in the movie Risky Business at the end of a car chase, when he drove a Porsche 928, loses the car chasing him, then looks over to his passenger and confidently says… “Porsche. There is no substitute.”
In a world with knock-offs, look-a-likes, and wannabes, it’s the originals, the best, the most valuable, and the most trusted that stand out. There is no bigger industry making efforts to duplicate, replicate, or replace the real thing than in the health care industry. The human body is the most incredible thing on the planet, complete with an operating system geared to heal, grow, and to be perfect. Like all living things, if we get what we need, and avoid what is bad for us, the human body does a pretty good job.
In an effort to improve our current state of horrendous health, there is a huge effort to out-do our God-given, perfectly designed bodies. Supplements, devices, procedures and medicines are hailed as the latest and greatest ways to regain our health.
While I am all for innovation, advancement, technology, and science, nothing can be better than the real thing. And because the human body is the greatest pharmacist on the planet, capable of making every chemical needed to thrive, no matter how good we get with synthetic chemistry, the real thing is better.
In healthcare, we study the human body and try to create medicine, devices, and procedures to closely replicate the real thing. We can come close at times, and we need to try, but we can never do it better. To think we can do it better is not only arrogant, but dangerous. You likely remember Dr. Fauci make what might be the most ridiculous statement in medical history when he said that the COVID-19 vaccine was “better than natural immunity.” What??? Not only was that inaccurate and untrue, it is absurd to think that we could out-do our natural immune system. There was a baby formula ad many years ago, and their slogan was, “Better than breast milk.” Are you kidding me??? Who says that?
Most know that cortisone shots can reduce pain and speed healing, that opiates were prescribed to reduce pain, and that antidepressants are dispensed to reduce depression, but few realize that their own bodies make the very compounds and chemicals that the drug companies so diligently try to duplicate. Instead of synthetically trying to trick the body with artificial compounds, doesn’t it make sense to work to enhance the body’s innate ability to produce these chemicals naturally?
If you eat, move, think, and live congruently with how we were designed (something we are very far from), then the body moves into a more homeostatic and balanced state. There’s a reason most chronic illnesses that plague most Americans were virtually unknown among our ancestors. They did not have the drugs, doctors, and surgeries that we have today, but were much healthier in terms of chronic illness. We should work to establish better treatments, procedures, and medicines, but these will never bring us back to the level of health and vitality we are so desperately seeking.
We will surely see big breakthroughs, impressive advancements, and even mind-blowing discoveries, but nothing is more powerful, has greater healing potential, or is capable of miracles like the human body itself. We can clearly see now that putting more faith in medicine, doctors, and hospitals than in the natural healing capacity of the human body is not only a mistake, it is futile. Don’t underestimate the power of eating whole, real foods, exercising your body daily, getting high-quality sleep, doing meaningful work, engaging in fulfilling relationships, and creating a more natural, chemical-free environment. Give your body what it needs, and it will do the rest. The human body… there is no substitute!
