Biochemistry or Bio-Energy?

I spend much of my consulting day interpreting and explaining biochemical test results. I have not, myself, had any biochemical/blood tests since my pregnancies, some decades ago. In fact, I recall having very few then. You could say that there is an element of inauthenticity in that I am not practicing myself what I preach to others. But actually I am not preaching to others but abiding by a system that has the expectation that medical practitioners do tests to help determine and manage their patients’ medical conditions.

Possibly there is an element of personal neglect in my not having medical tests and I am not saying I never will – I am sure I will if I get frightened enough. Possibly I will regret not having had them earlier. And I am not suggesting that you don’t have medical tests. However, I just do not perceive my body, or my general being, in biochemical terms. If I feel something is awry with my body, my tendency is to explore what in my mind and lifestyle is giving rise to that physical manifestation.

There is very compelling pressure for the medical practitioner to order tests - and I order way too many in my attempts to do what is expected of me. I am still part of the system and it is so easy to engage that mind-set when in that environment. I do look forward, however, to when I have the courage to bypass tests and deal with the humanness of the person in front of me.

I never actually liked biochemistry in medical school. I struggled with all those two dimensional diagrams of the Krebs’s cycle and such. I just did not gel with it and had to force myself to get acquainted with all those pathways. I still do. I found those diagrams and charts devoid of life and had difficulty equating them with living, in the flesh people. As far as I know, there is not a biochemical test that can determine the life energy or spirit of a person – what really animates them.

We collectively bring to reality what we collectively believe and we believe in biochemistry and the broader scientific method. It has become the unquestioned, accepted underpinnings of how we conduct modern health care. In fact, any health care approach not supported by these understandings of how our bodies work is considered quackery – or even heretical. We have become very suspect of health care paradigms that take a ‘bigger picture’ view, which understands the human system in holographic and bio-energy terms.

Maybe I am admitting an intellectual or brain deficiency in that I just cannot embrace the science of biochemistry as do most of my colleagues. However, I can play that game when I need to. I have always been an overview rather than a detail person. I like the gestalt rather than data (maybe I need to check my copper levels!). I have tried to squeeze my right-brain tendency into the predominant left-brain format that is required to cover the plethora of medical knowledge we need to keep up with. Interestingly though, I have always loved the logic and elegance of mathematics.

If I were really honest I would admit that I don’t have as much faith in the whole concept of biochemistry as most, if not all, of my colleagues happily do. There, I have said it – and this is a dangerous admission in my business. In fact, I believe that the whole concept of biochemistry is how our minds understand how our bodies work – rather than how our bodies actually work. Our bodies are animated by energy (and I’m not talking about ATP), not those dry two-dimensional diagrams.

We have become very sophisticated in our understanding of methylation cycles, etc., etc. It is very hard to keep up with all the latest scientific research. In fact it is a full time job. Knowledge is ever increasing as the goal posts are ever moving. In the scientific realm we will never catch up with it all and we will never find that one key that will be the ultimate solution to all our health dilemmas. Though this does not stop us from trying!

I wonder how we survived all those millennia without any knowledge of biochemical concepts and how animals survive in the wild without knowing the RDI of nutrients, etc. How on Earth did we get by all that time without knowing the specificities of our genetic profile or our lipid levels? Not to mention the intimate details of our microbiome! By taking a reductionist, linear ‘cause and effect’ approach to how our bodies’ work, are we in danger of getting further and further away from the whole? We forget that the mind-body is a complex bio-energy system.

I pose the question, has all this scientific knowledge made us a healthier – or happier – species? Dare I ask - has our knowledge of biochemistry made us a little too obsessed with our health? I see a lot of people who are so devoted to knowing the intricacies of their biochemistry that they seem to bypass the simple joys of living. It becomes a full-time pre-occupation for some. I see patients who come in with folders bulging with their test results and who can cite their biochemistry in great detail. I know this has its place, and understand that some people struggle with significant health challenges, but I often wonder if they are as well acquainted with their own inner selves – their emotions, values and purpose.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking science (Well maybe a little!). I enjoy the benefits and wonders of science every day. Clearly it is part of the evolution of our species and has made our lives more comfortable on many levels. Medical science has created some wonderful developments that have helped, and saved the lives, of many. I just think we have lost perspective by making science the new God to whom we bow. Is our preoccupation with science, as it relates to health care, distracting us from essential aspects of ourselves that are begging to be addressed? Have we just forgotten who we really are and what life is actually about?

Dr Catherine Fyans is a holistic medical practitioner/conscious health facilitator and the author of The Wounding of Health Care: From Fragmentation to Integration