Introduction
Modern humanity lives in a paradox. We possess advanced diagnostics and pharmacopeia, yet we increasingly feel exhausted and lonely. This stems from treating the body as a machine to be repaired rather than nurturing holistic health.
In this article, you will learn how to integrate biomedicine with ancestral wisdom. You will discover the concept of the nine medicines, which help restore balance through relationships with nature, community, and one's own organism.
Health is More Than the Absence of Disease
We feel fatigued despite medical progress because the system focuses on removing pathology (Curę), while neglecting care (całe) and the process of restoring integrity (Herling). Health is not a product, but a dynamic capacity for adaptation.
The key is to shift from pathogenesis to salutogenesis. Instead of asking what causes disease, we look for the resources that enable us to maintain health despite stress. The central concept here is the sense of coherence—experiencing the world as comprehensible and meaningful.
A prime example is the struggle with chronic fatigue. Rather than relying solely on supplementation, one should examine the allostatic load—the physiological cost of long-term stress that wears down the body.
Health as a Dynamic Relationship and Adaptive Capacity
Biology is not separate from sociology. Social conditions, such as insecurity or loneliness, are registered by the neuroendocrine system. Clinical medicine alone is insufficient; a doctor can lower blood pressure, but they cannot build a support network for the patient.
The author proposes primordial prevention. Unlike primary prevention, which fights risk factors (e.g., obesity), primordial prevention aims to create an environment where these risk factors do not emerge in the first place.
To avoid pseudoscience, traditional practices are subjected to evidentiary rigor. We do not accept everything uncritically; instead, we examine which human needs (e.g., rhythm, intimacy) are encoded within ancient metaphors.
Health as a Biological Consequence of Social Organization
Contact with nature is essential, as our organisms evolved in response to specific stimuli. A lack of daylight or silence disrupts the biological clock and melatonin secretion. Practices such as shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) demonstrably lower cortisol levels.
Regarding nutrition, health is not merely a sum of calories, but an intertwining of biochemistry and culture. The decolonization of nutrition means recognizing a plurality of plant-based traditions rather than adhering to a single norm. Food serves as information for our genes, but also as a carrier of memory and connection.
An important distinction must be made: 'natural' does not always mean safe. Herbs can support the body, but they cannot replace antibiotics in severe infections. The boundary between self-help and professional medicine lies in the degree of life threat and pharmacological rigor.
Summary
Health is the result of one's relationship with the ecosystem, the community, and oneself. It cannot be achieved in isolation using only supplements or meditation apps.
The true challenge is not finding a new chemical molecule, but healing the fundamental loneliness of the human condition. If health is a weave of biology and belonging, no phytochemistry can replace the presence of another human being.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do we still feel sick and tired despite the enormous progress in medicine and technology?
The cause is treating the body like a machine and confusing the effectiveness of clinical medicine in treating pathologies with the ability to create conditions that prevent diseases. Our well-being is primarily influenced by social and environmental determinants, such as housing quality, interpersonal relationships, or access to healthy food.
How does the salutogenic approach differ from traditional disease treatment?
Traditional treatment focuses on removing organism failures and questioning the causes of diseases (pathogenesis). The salutogenic approach shifts the focus to resources that enable maintaining health, recovering balance, and building bonds despite stress and uncertainty.
In what way do social and environmental conditions affect the biology of the organism, and why is clinical medicine alone insufficient for maintaining health?
Social and environmental conditions, such as economic stress, loneliness, or pollution, affect the biology of the organism by mobilizing resources and generating metabolic costs. Clinical medicine alone is insufficient because it does not address questions regarding the living environment and social conditions for regeneration, which shape health beyond the boundary of the skin.
How does the author intend to combine traditional practices with modern science to avoid pseudoscience?
Traditional practices should be combined with contemporary science by subjecting them to critical analysis and verification. This approach involves distinguishing scientific evidence from hypotheses and treating old metaphysical concepts as maps of experience that can suggest questions for biochemical research.
Why is contact with nature essential for the health of the organism from the perspective of biology and evolution?
The human organism is a product of evolutionary history and was shaped over millions of years in response to specific stimuli, such as sunlight, temperature variability, or the day-night rhythm. A sudden change in these conditions in the modern world can disrupt the regulation of the nervous, hormonal, metabolic, and immunological systems.
How does contact with nature and forests affect human physiological health?
Contact with nature and forests lowers stress levels (measured by cortisol concentration) and blood pressure. It positively affects physical and mental health through noise reduction, improvement of environmental quality, and exposure to forest stimuli and phytoncides, which can increase the activity of NK cells.
How does contact with nature actually affect our health if we discard metaphysics and pseudoscientific myths?
Contact with nature supports attention restoration, reduces mental load, and promotes physical activity and social relationships. Additionally, exposure to natural light helps synchronize the biological clock and regulate melatonin secretion. Although plant environments contain biologically active compounds, research on their specific immunological effects is still ongoing.
Do practices such as grounding (earthing) or spending time by the water have scientifically proven mechanisms of action?
The mechanisms of action for grounding (electron transfer) and the influence of water on the vagus nerve are not scientifically proven and remain mere hypotheses. While contact with nature and water can improve psychological well-being, increase mindfulness, or soothe, there is a lack of independent research that would allow these processes to be recognized as established clinical physiology.
Is contact with nature merely a matter of individual choice and lifestyle?
No, contact with nature is not just a matter of individual lifestyle, but primarily a domain of urban planning, law, economics, and public policy. Access to greenery or silence is socially unevenly distributed; therefore, it becomes a question of social justice and health equity.
Why should the approach to food as medicine go beyond simple dietetics and the analysis of single ingredients?
Food is not a pill with one active substance, but a complex system of thousands of molecules, rituals, memories, and social relationships. The body does not consume a chemical table, and the sum of individual components does not always behave the same way as entire dietary patterns.
Is healthy eating just a matter of nutrients and calorie tables?
No, healthy eating goes beyond nutrients and calories because food is a carrier of memory, history, and tradition. The structure of the product and its impact on the gut microbiome and satiety mechanisms are also important, showing that health problems can result from the form of food (e.g., ultra-processed) rather than just the ingredient table.
Why is simply recommending a healthy diet insufficient, and what else besides nutritional values defines food?
Simply recommending a healthy diet is insufficient because dietary choices depend on material and systemic conditions, such as product price, time, transport, or income. Beyond nutritional values, food is also defined by cultural and social dimensions: it is a pleasure, a custom, a religious element, and a tool for building community and identity.
What is the decolonization of nutrition in practice, and why is a diet more than just the sum of nutrients?
The decolonization of nutrition is the recovery of a pluralism of healthy traditions and the cultivation of memory regarding the political and economic conditions of product origins. A diet is more than the sum of its ingredients because food possesses three parallel biographies: biological, cultural, and economic-political.
What is the difference between the biological nourishment of an organism and the process of feeding a human being in the context of health and relationships?
Nourishment comes down to providing the body with components such as proteins, vitamins, and energy. Feeding goes beyond biology, encompassing the relational dimension, a sense of security, and care for another person.
What is the relationship between traditional herbal medicine and modern drugs produced in laboratories?
Modern pharmacology was born from the transformation of plants' natural chemical arsenal into medicines by isolating specific molecules from traditionally used raw materials. Examples such as quinine or paclitaxel show the transition from heterogeneous herbal preparations to substances with predictable concentration, dosage, and mechanism of action.
What is the difference between the traditional use of herbs and the pharmacological approach to medicinal plants?
The difference lies in standardization, substance isolation, precise dosing, and rigorous quality control and efficacy assessment. While traditional herbs are mixtures of compounds with varying concentrations, the pharmacological approach aims to deliver a specific amount of a particular, purified substance.
Does the fact that a product is natural and herbal automatically mean it is safe and can replace medication?
No, the fact that a product is natural and herbal does not automatically mean it is safe or can replace medication. Many natural substances are toxic, and the effects of plant ingredients in a laboratory often differ from their effects in the human body.
How can modern science be reconciled with ancestral wisdom in the field of phytotherapy, and where is the line between self-help and professional medicine?
Modern science is combined with ancestral wisdom through the integration of ethnobotany, pharmacology, and culture, where tradition provides leads and science verifies mechanisms and safety. The boundary between self-help and professional medicine lies between daily self-care (e.g., preparing an infusion) and the treatment of serious conditions, which requires effective medical therapy.
