GETTING AT THE ROOT

Subtitled 'Treating the Deepest Source of Disease', this book is a real gem of medical philosophy and clinical practice that offers much food for thought to generalist and clinician alike. The author is a homeopath who has served as Chair of the Department of Homeopathic Medicine and Supervising Clinical Physician at Bastyr University in Seattle. A moving part of the book describes his personal apprenticeship with some remarkable physicians, which partly accounts for the living presence conveyed in the depth of simple insights that he conveys.

The book begins with an examination of the myths of science, moving on to those of natural medicine. He explains his view that a vitalistic philosophy (vitalism as a philosophy of the life force is a non-word in modern biology, as bad in orthodox circles as dualism as a philosophy of the soul) insists on consciousness being a central influence on physiology. In another definition later in the book (p. 115) he defines vitalism as the 'recognition of the life force as the organising substratum of material form', adding that it is 'the mystery that differentiates mechanism from organic processes'. Here we touch an essential point, namely that vitalism recognises the innate intelligence of the body and the healing power of nature (vis medicatrix naturae). This means that such approaches work with rather than against the body's own processes: 'the body is more intelligent than the doctor'.

Disease is understood as an information system and feedback mechanism indicating the kind of balancing treatment required. Treatment is seen within the context of an innate tendency towards homeostasis, while 'the method of treatment reflects the depth of our understanding of disease, and the corresponding effect should be a catalyst for a sustained level of change'. This in turn implies not only that the patient needs to be active, but also a wider view of life as participatory and not externally determined.

Lange distinguishes the orthodoxy of the modern allopathic school from the tradition of naturopathy and homeopathy. The former attempts to overcome physiology while the latter seeks to enhance it; or, more precisely, the former is about manipulation, force and control, while the latter embodies harmony and healing. Moreover, the inappropriate use of force results in resistance, as we have learned to our cost with antibiotics in medicine and pesticides in agriculture. The author contends that traditional medicine functions in a healing way to 'enhance a sense of belonging, to the body, to the environment, and to the community'. Later in the book, he observes that 'our primary disease is separation, the lack of being rooted, of not feeling at home, in the world, in our bodies, and in ourselves. It is a homesickness. In primitive medicine, this was called a loss of soul'. This striking passage exactly reflects the diagnosis by the Prince of Wales of the malaise induced by modern life, for which the cure is the sense of belongingness already referred to; in other words tradition in its living sense. Moreover, without genuine bonding we are driven to seek substitutes in addictive substances to alleviate the pain of separation.

Lange does not reserve all his criticism for allopathy. Other systems can also be used mechanistically rather than energetically, and all are potentially capable of making inaccurate or superficial diagnoses that lead to inappropriate treatment or continued dependency on drugs or other addictive substances. A particular danger is the tendency towards 'singular diagnosis', which reflects the elegant simplicity of Koch's postulate that underlies molecular biology and biomedical research methodology. The search is for the single cause, an attitude which is perplexed by multi-causal syndromes such as chronic fatigue or Gulf War syndrome. It neglects the dynamic pattern of relationships inherent in the disease process and distinguishes the desired effects of a drug from the 'side-effects' that are its accompanying toxic shadow. Statistics also tend to isolate causative factors and stress uniformities, thus encouraging physicians to treat the disease rather than the patient. The overall aim should be the maintenance of health and the treatment a step in that direction, where, in healing, 'our lives are the experiment and our bodies the crucible'.

Today, the ruling myth, according to Lange, is the myth of chemistry. This means a reductionist methodology which, while it has raised the standard of critical evaluation of treatment efficacy, has also – along with government safety regulations - raised the cost enormously, so that the search for new medicines has to be driven primarily by profit. However, as Lange remarks, 'the great questions of life and healing do not always fit the limitations of current science'. This, he surmises, is 'why so many fundamental questions about chronic disease remain unanswered'. Another requirement is a proper understanding of the dynamic ecology of our gut flora, which has been disrupted by overuse of antibiotics, thus making the whole system vulnerable. This forms part of what the author provocatively calls biological warfare against citizens by chemical companies. Readers of my review of 'Living Downstream' in the last issue will recognise this charge.

Clinical readers will find Lange's discussion of specific conditions fascinating, along with his observations about the role of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG), which plays a central role in conception and, paradoxically, in the growth and regulation of cancer cells. He sees reflections of his vitalist philosophy in Paracelsus and Goethe, and calls on the reader at the end to remember that 'what has come before us is still a part of us no matter how sophisticated our knowledge'. Our past, our instinctive and intuitive nature, needs to be integrated in our minds if we are to avoid what he calls 'the revolt of our own denied selves'. Lange's book is a profound meditation on our vitalistic heritage and will, I hope, provide readers with a catalytic realisation that we need the continuity and sense of belonging that modern life has tried – unsuccessfully – to do without.