Dr. Douglas Schar Philosophy

People exist in one of three states. The first group exists in the state of health. The second group exists in the state of disease. The third group exists in that state that lies somewhere between health and disease — they are neither well nor diseased. This group exists in a transitional state. Pathology concerns itself with the state of disease. Valeology concerns itself with the state of health and the transitional state.

Valeology is defined as the study of health. Valeology uses the scientific principles of search and research to gain insight into the ways and means the body maintains health.

The body has an intrinsic ability to maintain health. Valeology believes in working with this intrinsic ability and never against. Remedies and procedures that augment the bodies' ability to maintain health are accepted. Remedies and procedures that undermine the bodies' ability to maintain health are rejected. Medicines that cause disease are rejected en toto. Valeology works with nature and never against it.

Valeology will have medicines that maintain health. The study of medicines for health will be called pharmacosanation. Pharmacosanation will be divided into sub-sections: alimentary pharmacosanation (food for health) and medical pharmacosanation (medicines for health).

Alimentary pharmacosanation is defined as the study of foods and beverages for health and will be a top priority of valeology. This is in part because food is causing great morbidity and mortality in much of the developed world. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions and makes it clear that food can and will destroy health.

On the other hand, valeology sees food and beverage as a dynamic opportunity to maintain health. Human beings are creatures of habit when it comes to food and beverage. If we can learn about foods for health, and educate people about foods for health, in all probability, they will eat and drink these foods regularly.

There is a tremendous amount of preliminary information available about the health benefits of food and beverage. As an example, studies have noted that people who live in the Mediterranean region have a lower incidence of coronary heart disease and regularly drink red wine. Additional studies have demonstrated the tannins in red wine have a protective effect on the heart. However, whether or not this has any bearing on people who do not live a Mediterranean lifestyle is poorly understood.

Long used by traditional societies to boost well being, various mushrooms have been shown to improve immune function. The list includes shitake (Lentinus edodes), maitake (Grifola frondosa), Porcini (Boletus edulis), and the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). There is sufficient evidence to support these mushrooms being used during the cough and cold season to increase immunity to infections. The public needs to know about this tool of disease prevention.

Brown sugar has been used since time immemorial to boost health. It is used as a building tonic in India. In the New World tropics it is used to secure the health of the elderly, the young, and the sick. Brekhman demonstrated that brown sugar acts as a resistogen. On the other hand, refined sugar has been demonstrated to cause a host of diseases. The general public needs to know that if they want to sweeten their drinks, they should be sweetening them with unrefined cane sugar.

Food and beverage represents an excellent opportunity to prevent disease. For foods for health to become totally realised, the subject must be taken on by a distinct discipline. In the hands of a discipline that concerns itself with food for health, all of the bits and pieces of data can be synthesized into useful information.

Pharmacosanation is the study of medicines for health. The greatest objective of this discipline is the identification, study, and use of drugs that keep people healthy. Specifically, it will look for drugs that prevent the movement from state of health into state of transition, or state of transition into state of disease. Medicines that cause disease are to be rejected entirely.

Valerogens (formerly adaptogens) are drugs that raise resistance to stressors. The deleterious effect of stressors is ameliorated with their administration. Their application is wide and their utility great. Medical pharmacosanation will identify and study valerogens and put them into use.

Medical pharmacosanation will take on the study of drugs for heart health without prejudice. At the moment, drugs like Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Garlic (Allium sativum), and Gingko (Gingko biloba) are not well studied because they are of botanical origin. Medical pharmacosanation will not care from whence the drug comes. If it prevents heart disease, and does not cause disease in the process, it will be studied.

Senility is increasingly treated in a pro-active manner. The study of the drugs currently considered senility preventing remedies is something medical pharmacosanation will take on. However, it will also be concerned with finding new anti-senility drugs. A likely source of such drugs is traditional systems of medicine, which are rich in drugs used for centuries to combat senile dementia.

As the population ages, drugs that can prevent age related disease will become increasingly important. Medical pharmacosanation will identify drugs useful in preventing physical senility. Resistogens have been shown to raise resistance, and medical pharmacosanation will examine the role of the resistogen in ageing.

There is nothing more unfortunate than the under use of the known botanical immune stimulants. There are drugs that have been shown to increase immune function that are not being used — drugs like Echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia), Maitake (Grifola frondosa), and Elder (Sambucus canadensis). Public transport workers, health care workers, educators, and people suffering under the strain of over exposure to microbes would be greatly helped with the administration of an immune stimulant.

Specialists in the field of health will be called Valeologists. Valeology will have two branches of specialists: clinical Valeologists and research Valeologists.

Clinical Valeologists will be trained in working with those in the state of health and in the Transition State. Consumers are very interested in doing what they can to maintain their health, but they do not have access to a trained professional who can assist them. The Valeologist would assess the risks of the individual and come up with a health maintenance protocol to suit that person's need.

Persons working in the lawn care, dry cleaning, painting, and farming industries are exposed to toxic chemicals as a regular part of their employment. The risk of developing liver related disease is great. This risk could be offset with drugs known to prevent liver damage, drugs like Eleutherococcus senticosus and Silybum marianum.

Persons working on airplanes, public transport, schools, and health care professions are exposed to infectious agents with greater regularity. Individuals such as these could be directed towards immune stimulants like Echinacea angustifolia, Sambucus canadensis, and Grifola frondosa.

Research Valeologists will undertake the study of health, health foods, and health medicines. One of the fundamental topics this line of researcher will investigate is the nature of health itself. The healthy need to be scrutinised and the secrets of their health established. With this knowledge, health maintenance protocols will be more readily created.