Body wisdom is no more than everyday eating and living habits. Eating is a science, and living is an art; they complement each other, just as “yin” and “yang” do. Human wisdom is, essentially, the capability in creating and managing this art and science to live a better and a longer life.

Ancient wisdom, however, is not the same as contemporary wisdom. The former has more to do with the mind-how it thinks and perceives; the latter focuses more on knowledge acquisition, and its practical applications in life.

A classic example of ancient wisdom is that of Lao Tzu, an ancient sage in China some 2,600 years ago. He was the author of the immortal Chinese classic “Tao Te Ching,” which is one of the most translated and extensively read books of all time. According to legend, Lao Tzu wanted to leave China for Tibet, but he was stopped at the city gate, where he was forced to put down his wisdom in writing before he could leave. Reluctantly, he expressed his profound and eternal wisdom in only 5,000 words, and that was how “Tao Te Ching” came into being..

How does Tao wisdom help in living a better and a longer life?

Lao Tzu’s wisdom is unique in that it emphasizes “reverse” thinking of the human mind, instead of the “conditioned” contemporary mindset. In other words, one must, first and foremost, have an empty mind before one can even think out of the box, not to mention creating one’s own box in thinking. To illustrate, Lao Tzu’s focus on “under-doing” (as opposed to “over-doing” or “the more, the better” contemporary mindset), “living in the present” (as opposed to “multi-tasking” modern lifestyle), and “no expectation of result” (as opposed to “goal-oriented” or “goal-setting” attitude of this day and age) is conducive to creating internal peace and harmony, which is the essence of living a stress-free life. The essentials of Tao wisdom are fundamental to the art of living well and the science of healthy living without stress.

In addition, Lao Tzu believed that true wisdom lies in internalizing and self-intuiting eternal truths. Unlike contemporary wisdom, Tao wisdom has no blueprint for all-just as the health of an individual is based on the unique body chemistry of that individual; true wisdom, therefore, is acute awareness of the needs of the body, which is known exclusively only to that individual.

Another example of ancient wisdom is that of Hippocrates (377-460 BC), the “Father of Medicine.” His basic principles of health and wellness are profound. For example, Hippocrates said: “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.” His wisdom is quite contrary to the conventional wisdom of modern medicine, which overtly emphasizes the use of drugs. The United States is the riches but also the sickest country in the world, and our healthcare costs have skyrocketed in recent decades.

Hippocrates also expressed his wisdom in the art of living: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The wisdom of modern medicine focuses on cure through drugs and procedures, rather than prevention through a holistic approach to health and wellness of the body, the mind, and the spirit. The wisdom of modern medicine is simply on quick fixing the symptoms, instead of preventing their occurrence in the first place.

The wisdom of Hippocrates echoed that of Lao Tzu’s “non-doing” or “under-doing” when he said: “To do nothing is sometimes a good remedy.” According to Hippocrates, “everything in excess is opposed to nature” because of the presence of the innate body wisdom in self-healing. Unfortunately, modern medicine chooses to do just the opposite, and thus opening the Pandora’s box, creating many more human diseases and disorders through toxic drugs and procedures.

The Bible is the Word of God. It provides the ancient wisdom of God for health and wellness in the form of principles for the body, the soul, and the spirit. For example, in the Old Testament (Genesis 1:19), God prescribed ancient Hebrews with instructions to eat plants and seeds. As a matter of fact, in the Hebrew language, the word “meat” is essential “food” and not animal protein. However, it does not mean that God would like the Hebrews to become vegetarians; rather, fruits, vegetables, and herbs would have to be their basic or first diet. The Bible, in many instances, reveals the ancient wisdom in healthy eating to maintain health and wellness.

It is rather common for pharmaceutical companies to “influence” researchers through coercion, incentive, and even threat, to produce the desired results in clinical trials. Fabricating data, such as in the case of OxyContin, is no surprise to the industry.

Clinical trials, usually involving a small number of people, may not truly reflect the outcome of those who will ultimately be using those drugs after their approval.

Drugs tested on animal models may be biased and even irrelevant. An artificially induced disease in non-human animal models may yield results incompatible to a spontaneous, naturally occurring human disease. In short, there is no absolute safety or reliability of pharmaceutical drugs. If you wish to live a long life, your life should be drug-free as much as possible. Taking pharmaceuticals too many and too frequently means that your body is already stressed by physical ailments ‘ and that is not a healthy sign. Ironically, these drugs may do a further disservice by infusing more toxins into an already toxic body. Remember, all pharmaceuticals are chemicals, and therefore are acidic and toxic by nature. However, it does not imply that you must desist from taking your medications prescribed by your doctor. Rather, it suggests that you should be more alert to the side effects of the drugs you are currently taking, and that you should not readily reach out for pharmaceutical drugs without second thoughts as if they were coupons or gift certificates.

More importantly, you should be more aware of your body’s own self-healing power. Your body is very forgiving. Even after years of abuse, your body is still capable of recovering from any disease, only if you would give it the opportunity.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, once said: “Healing is a matter of time, but it is also a matter of opportunity.” Give your body that opportunity to heal by itself, instead of using a pharmaceutical drug aimed at removing symptoms right away, thereby interfering with the self-healing mechanism in your body.

Western medicine does not take into consideration the basic concept that your body is designed to regulate and repair itself, and therefore does not address self-healing, which is always made in deference to more invasive procedures, such as administering a drug.

When you give your body a drug that replaces a substance your body is capable of making itself, you body then becomes weaker, not stronger, and begins not only to manufacture less of that substance, but also to become more dependent on the outside source, which is usually the drug.

Unfortunately, no drug can give you insight into the circumstance that created your problems. At best, it can only temporarily assuage the physical pain created by your situation. A drug “cures” your symptoms at the expense of creating more potential symptoms down the road. For a while, you may be symptom-free, but soon enough new symptoms may emerge, requiring yet a more potent drug to deal with them. So stop ingesting your body with drugs, flu shots, vaccinations, and other antibiotics, which are toxic by nature.

Are vaccines safe?

Vaccines contain killed or less-virulent viruses, bacteria and chemical extracts to stimulate your immune reaction against these organisms. Because more and more reports have cited vaccine failure, manufacturers have made vaccines more potent. You may have been indoctrinated with the concept of taking medications for prevention and treatment, instead of relying on your own immunity. The medical profession is forever promoting the positive attributes of flu shots and vaccinations, leaving the unaware patients no other option except to succumb to the pressure as long as their health care providers are willing to pay.

A case in point: Most recently, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also recommended that the vaccine, called Gardasil, be administered to girls as young as nine, at the health provider’s discretion, and for women up to age 26, who have not previously been vaccinated against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV). These enthusiastic recommendations were hailed as “a breakthrough for women’s health.” You just wonder!

Modern medicine puts its emphasis on cure rather than prevention: preventive therapy is never its first priority. In a way, modern medicine welcomes health problems because health problems generate billions of dollars on medical research for drug therapy. Modern medicine is the single biggest business in the United States. Doctors, hospitals, insurance and pharmaceutical companies – all make money out of your sickness. Yes, modern medicine is a sickness business.

There is a valid reason why modern medicine does not put its emphasis on preventive therapy. Preventive medicine is never profitable. Just look at the dental profession, which has put so much emphasis on prevention that now there are fewer dental schools, fewer dental patients, and fewer dentists.

Take another look at pharmaceutical companies. The more health problems you have, the more pharmaceutical drugs they produce, and the more money they make. On top of that, all pharmaceutical drugs have side effects, and some of these adverse side effects may cause more problems down the road, requiring more pharmaceutical drugs – a vicious cycle of health problems and profits for pharmaceutical companies at the expense of the patient’s health and well-being. Drug therapy is the way to prosperity for the pharmaceutical industry.

Your doctor is no more than a repairman to fix your health problems. And your doctor is an expensive repairman at that.

But is this the doctor’s fault?

No. Doctors are trained to treat disease, not to prevent it. In medical schools, doctors are trained to deal with the patient after there is a problem. Modern medicine is not preventive medicine. It is the medical profession to suppress symptoms through drug therapy and surgeries, and other drastic measures. Doctors are educated on human nutrition, but only an elementary understanding of the basics of nutrition. Doctors are certainly not trained to use nutrition therapy to treat an illness. Has your doctor ever asked you: “What do you eat?” Does your doctor know about your diet? Has your doctor asked you if you exercise or not?

It is time the medical profession learned from the patients the underlying causes of the patients’ problems, instead of identifying the symptoms of a specific problem and labeling it as a particular disease.

Another important aspect you should observe in your doctor is your doctor’s own body image, which is often a reflection of the personal lifestyle of that individual. You would not want to be treated by your doctor who is grossly overweight, would you?

Dr. John Sarno, author of “Mind Over Back Pain,” said doctors should facilitate “patient awareness and the utilization of nature’s self-restoration process, releasing the potential within individuals to heal themselves.” Yes, doctors may help you with your health problems, but you have to heal yourself, just as Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, once said: “Everyone has a doctor in him” and nobody knows your own constitution better than yourself. Heal yourself through nutrition therapy and preventive therapy.

Modern medicine performs far too many surgeries and prescribe far too many drugs. Nowadays an average senior has 15 prescription drugs. If this is not too much, then what is? Drug therapy is only a symptomatic therapy. You cannot purchase health in a pharmacy. You may be alive, but not well. A doctor may be able to alleviate your health problems, but only you can eradicate them through nutrition therapy and preventive therapy. Health wisdom is knowing your doctor and modern medicine.