So in the case of the K.P. subluxation and the unsanitary condition resulting from the accumulation of waste material in the body, it is folly to try to correct the condition by any other method than by removing the cause. The sewage must be carried out through the natural channels and any attempt to dispose of it by any other or artificial means will meet with absolute failure.
Three Viewpoints on Hygiene
According to Dr. B. J. Palmer there are three viewpoints of hygiene; that is to say, there are three aspects from which the subject of cleanliness may be considered: namely, the medical, layman’s and chiropractic hygiene. The chief differences are: the medical hygiene tries to make the internal condition sanitary by the application of external means; the layman’s hygiene makes the external condition sanitary by the application of external means; the chiropractic hygiene makes the internal condition sanitary by permitting the internal forces to operate unhindered in the body.
We see that from every viewpoint, hygiene means cleanliness. The only real difference in these viewpoints consists in the methods used to obtain this desired end. The layman maintains a sanitary external condition by observing the laws of Nature. When dirt accumulates on the outside which creates an unhygienic and objectionable condition, he uses soap and water to cleanse the outside. His unhygienic condition is outside of the body and he uses outside means to rid himself of that condition. It is very obvious that this is a perfectly proper procedure and if correctly and systematically applied it will produce a hygienic external in so far as that condition is influenced by external environment.
The most baffling unsanitary and unhygienic conditions are the internal, and yet if these conditions are considered in the light of the same common sense as is applied to the external conditions, no great amount of difficulty will be experienced in coping with them. However, great difficulties will be experienced if an effort is made to keep the internal in a proper sanitary condition by the application of external means. This has been well demonstrated in the application of medical hygiene. However, the author does not want to be understood as implying that a great deal of good has not been accomplished in the investigations that have been made along the line of hygiene and more especially in sanitary science. But when chiropractic philosophy is properly understood, it will be readily seen that it is far better to clean the inside from the inside than to attempt cleaning the inside from the outside. With all due regard it must be said that up to the time of the introduction of chiropractic hygiene all the efforts were to clean the inside from the outside, but Chiropractic says the inside must be cleansed from the inside and this contention has been amply proven in the results obtained through chiropractic adjustments.
Advantages of a Proper Sanitary Environment
The body is capable of great possibilities in intellectual adaptation. It is possible for Innate Intelligence to maintain a degree of health in widely different conditions. Even where the environment is extremely adverse and objectionable Innate will adapt herself to the abnormal condition and maintain the normal processes of life in the body. However, it must be remembered that a greater amount of internal force is required to bring about an intellectual adaptation to an adverse environment than to a normal, natural or more perfect environment.
There must be a constant process of adaptation to the environment even though that environment be a most desirable one. All internal processes must of necessity be adaptative to external conditions. Drummond says, “Life is uninterrupted correspondence with proper environment.” This is true of the expression of life. If the correspondence with the environment is interfered with there will be a corresponding interference with the expression of the life in the body.
The more adverse the environment the greater the amount of force required to bring about this adaptation. Likewise, the reverse is true—adaptation to a more desirable environment requires less internal force. We should not compel Innate Intelligence to do things that we could do educationally and save the body that extra amount of internal force. To illustrate, one should not unnecessarily expose his body to the cold and thus force Innate to expend internal energy to adapt the body to that condition. One might better put on proper clothing to protect the body. On the other hand, one should not go to the other extreme and make a hothouse plant of his body.
A proper sanitary environment should at all times be maintained that there may not be an unnecessary drain on the adaptative forces of the body.