Reductionism

Our latest podcast is on the topic of reductionism. Reductionism is centered on the belief that we can best explain something by breaking it down and taking a look at each of its pieces. Many disciplines take this approach – medicine, exercise, psychology, etc.

The problem with reductionism is that when we narrow complex and multi-faceted things such as the human body to one area without understanding how the system works as a whole, we create an environment where people feel they understand the complexity of it without understanding how that one part relates to the whole.

An example would be in our understanding of cholesterol and how it works in the body. According to Dr. Stephen Hussey, MS, DC, author of Understanding the Heart, the focus on cholesterol and LDL’s has been a major distraction to understanding and preventing heart disease. (Published 2022)

Cholesterol plays essential roles in the healthy function of our body. Even if you ate none, your body would produce it anyway. It aids in defence against infection by binding to bacteria and endotoxins and neutralizing them before they cause harm. Cholesterol also helps in fighting viral infections by attaching peptides to antibodies that improve the antibodies’ capacity to mount a defence against pathogens. It also plays an important role in cell membrane structure, function, and repair and is essential for communication between cells and is the backbone of our hormones. Without communication our cells would not be able to form tissues, organs, and organs wouldn’t be able to function together.

So, if cholesterol plays such essential roles in our bodily functions, why has it been labelled good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol?

One of the reasons is reductionism. By isolating a single part of a much larger whole, there is a misunderstanding of how it works, and why it builds up in the body. In this short blog post, we could not state the number of studies cited in the book which indicate that in most studies and articles written on the subject, the author or researcher gives their opinion and then tries to prove that.

This is mind-blowing information! We encourage everyone to read the book because in the writing of this article, we too have reduced a much larger topic such as how the heart and cardiovascular system works, into one short post. This is why it is so important to go beyond what you know, look up articles, read books, find what resonates with you.

Kellie heard Dr. Hussey speak on a quantum biology panel, and subsequently purchased his book. It took a while to read because there is a lot of chemistry and biology to sift through. Understanding the cardiovascular system is something that intrigues Kellie due to her background in physical education, health, and kinesiology. Cholesterol levels fluctuate in her body and she’s tried various remedies, although she’s never needed medication. Upon blood analysis by a trained naturopath, it was discovered that she absorbs too much iron. This can cause symptoms similar too low iron absorption. In response, the body will create more cholesterol to mitigate the oxidation of the iron in the blood vessels in order to repair the tissues. And all of it is treatable. But it’s important to understand your body, what it’s doing, and why. Someone else diagnosed with high cholesterol could have a different issue altogether.

Reductionism can be the cause of many misunderstandings and mistreatment of diseases. Get more than one opinion if you feel it’s necessary. Remember your body is a whole unit. You have 30-50 trillion cells that make up your body – 30 trillion of which are parasites, bacteria, fungi, and viruses that are all there to help keep your body and its microbiomes in healthy working order. Jumping on a bandwagon from a thirty second TikTok clip, doesn’t give you an overall picture of your health, and often leads people to try health remedies that might throw off the delicate balance of their body’s Ph and healthy mechanisms.

Many doctors, scientists, biologists, and naturopathic doctors offer online courses to help you understand the body better. High school students these days don’t have to graduate with one science credit anymore, so most people do not have a basic understanding of their bodies, biology and chemistry in general. Understand where you’re getting your information from. Know where your organs are, understand where your muscles are in the body and their function. When you learn your body, you can understand what it needs rather than reducing it down to its single components. (BTW – Kellie and Kelly have extensive training in all of this but learn more every day!)

Qigong helps balance your body in many ways by calming the nervous system and increasing blood and lymphatic flow – a physical way to keep the body and its systems in balance that has worked for 3600 years. We’d love to see you in a class sometime!

To listen to the podcast, click HERE

To find out more about our classes, click HERE

~Kellie & Kelly