The modern health-care system could better be called a disease-care system, dedicated to diagnosing and treating illness.
"Health care" would focus more intensely on preventing illness, according to Dr. Robert Ivker. And it would recognize that love and intimacy are two of the most powerful, health-enhancing tools available.
Ivker, co-author of "The Complete Self Care Guide to Holistic Medicine" (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam Books, $27.50), has been a family physician for three decades. He's also clinical instructor in the department of family medicine and otolaryngology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and founder of Columbine Medical Center in Littleton, Colo., the largest family practice in that state.
His approach to treating a patient would seem odd to some, he admits. He sees each patient for a couple of hours at a time. And while he might recommend prescription medication or surgery for some, another patient might be told to try herbal tea and some quiet, stress-free time.
Health has six components, he says: social, spiritual, physical, environmental, mental and emotional — all terribly important to wellness.
He didn't always see things that way, he said. The tenor of his practice changed dramatically 15 years ago when he was struggling to survive almost crippling sinus pain. His own physician told him to learn to live with it. "I thought, you must be kidding. At that point, I went well beyond the bounds of conventional medicine, determined to cure the problem."
The results, captured in his bestselling book, "Sinus Survival," opened up new "healing paths" to a man who cared passionately about medicine and his call to help people. For the past 13 years he has been free of chronic sinusitis.
"I was finally understanding what Hippocrates was saying," he said. "Physician, heal thyself and that's how you become a healer. I learned what health, heal and holy meant. It comes from the Anglo-Saxon 'haelen,' to make whole.
Medical school and most medical practices focus on diagnosing and treating illness. But change is beginning to sweep the industry. Holistic medicine is about to become a board-certified field, with its first examination slated for December. "We will be setting a new standard for quality health care," said Ivker, who was elected president of the American Holistic Medical Association in 1996 and serves on the American Board of Holistic Medicine.
Public desire drives the change. In November 1998, Journal of the American Medical Association published a study showing that 42 percent of Americans used some form of alternative medicine in 1997, spending about $27 billion.
A holistic approach to health is not about alternative medicine but rather "complementary" medicine. It's not "instead of," but "along with." "Integrative" medicine might be even better to describe it, because, "We use drugs and surgery when it's indicated. But it's not about fixing broken parts, it's about healing lives. We guide patients to heal themselves and give them the responsibility for healing themselves by addressing the whole person. It's a body, mind, spirit approach that treats the whole person and not just symptoms. The basis of the practice of holistic medicine is the belief that unconditional love is a foundation. You can learn to love yourself physically, mentally and spiritually.
To explain it, Ivker cites what he learned in his battle with sinusitis. "It's learning to love your nose. When you look at the causes of chronic sinusitis, they include air pollution and general unhealthy air. In Utah, you have both polluted and dry air, so every time you breath — about 23,000 times a day —almost every breath you take is irritating to delicate, sensitive mucous membranes that line the nose, sinuses and lungs."
Ivker healed his mucous membranes with medicinal herbs, aloe vera, grapefruit seed extract and berberus in saline solution. He also used a steam inhaler.
Improving health can be as simple as drinking an adequate amount of water, he said. "Most people are chronically dehydrated. You should be drinking at least half an ounce of water a day for each pound of body weight you have."
While he believes some plants can heal and strengthen the body, he also knows emotions can take a toll. Chronic sinusitis, for instance, often results from repressed anger. More than 25 years of national and international study have documented that beliefs, attitudes and feelings either strengthen or weaken the body. Hostility is a leading cause of heart disease, Ivker said. At the same time, love exerts tremendous power over health.
It's not a simple case of get mad, get heart disease. "There's always more than one cause. But our society has taught us there's a quick fix for everything, from food to transportation to communication. . . . and it's not so.
"We have wonderful conventional medicine for treating acute, life-threatening problems, but when it comes to treating chronic illness, conventional medicine has failed miserably."