For decades, critics have claimed modern medicine only treats symptomsโnot causes. Almost every week some chiropractor on social media says we physicians donโt find the root cause.
Theyโre wrong.
Weโve never been closer to understanding the root causes of diseaseโand preventing themโthan we are right now. From infectious disease to metabolic illness, cancer to cardiovascular disease, modern medicine isnโt just managing illness. Itโs rewriting its playbook to stop it before it starts.
๐ง From Symptoms to Systems
The โtreat the numbers, not the causesโ criticism made sense 40 years ago. Today, it doesnโt.
We know:
Atherosclerosis is driven by Apolipoprotein B (ApoB)-containing lipoproteins, not just LDL
โ PMID: 28600185Insulin resistance, not sugar alone, is the early driver of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
โ PMID: 27407151Helicobacter pylori is the root cause of most peptic ulcers
โ PMID: 3792711HPV is the root cause of cervical cancerโand we can prevent it with a vaccine
โ PMID: 32520948
This isnโt disease management. This is disease disarmament.
๐ฆ Infectious Diseases: The Original Root Cause Breakthrough
Modern medicineโs first root cause triumph was identifying that microbesโnot โimbalancesโ or โmiasmaโโcause infectious diseases.
Tuberculosis, once the #1 cause of death in the U.S., is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We now screen, treat, and isolate it.
โ PMID: 31834298Smallpox, responsible for over 300 million deaths in the 20th century, was eradicated by identifying its viral cause and deploying the worldโs first vaccine campaign.
โ PMID: 31553385Measles, once a childhood killer, is nearly eradicated where the MMR vaccine is used.
โ PMID: 26458724
Modern medicine has uncovered the microbial causes of HIV, hepatitis, COVID-19, and dozens moreโand built preventive strategies from vaccines to public health systems.
๐ฌ Prevention Is the New Cure
Today, we donโt have to wait for disease to strike. We can prevent it by targeting its root cause:
Statins and PCSK9 inhibitors lower ApoB to prevent heart attacks before symptoms begin
โ PMID: 29561643GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide and tirzepatide treat obesity by addressing neurohormonal dysregulation
โ PMID: 37657757Vaccines target viruses that cause cancers and chronic inflammation (e.g., HPV, hepatitis B)
โ PMID: 25952630Microbiome science is illuminating how gut health links to immunity, inflammation, and metabolism
โ PMID: 34725445
This is root cause medicine. Itโs here. And it works.
๐งโโ๏ธ What Hasnโt Found Root Causes: Chiropractic and Eastern Medicine
๐ซ Chiropractic
Founded on the idea that spinal โsubluxationsโ cause all disease, chiropractic has never demonstrated this claim. Over a century of practice, chiropractors have:
Found no causal link between spine alignment and systemic illness
Developed no vaccines, no diagnostic tools, no disease cures
Failed to publish meaningful data showing prevention or treatment of chronic illness
โ PMID: 21214080
While spinal manipulation may help with back pain, calling it โroot cause medicineโ is a stretchโpun intended.
๐ซ Eastern Medicine (TCM, Ayurveda)
Eastern medicine uses terms like โqi,โ โdoshas,โ and โmeridiansโโbut none are biologically measurable. These systems have:
Not identified any pathogens
Not eradicated any infectious diseases
Not produced reproducible diagnostics or therapies with clinical trial validation
Herbs used in TCM or Ayurveda that have demonstrated efficacy have only done so after scientific testingโnot because they balance invisible energies. Without that evidence, this isnโt medicine. Itโs belief.
๐ก The Real Challenge: Implementation
We know the root causes of most chronic diseases. The barrier now is delivery, not discovery.
We need to:
Make healthy food and physical activity accessible
Integrate lifestyle coaching into medical care
Reimburse prevention like we reimburse pills and procedures
Science has done its job. Now policy, systems, and culture need to catch up.
๐ฉบ Final Thought
Modern medicine is not just treating symptoms. It's discovering causesโand neutralizing them.
โ
We cured smallpox
โ
We control tuberculosis
โ
We prevent cervical cancer
โ
We understand the biology of atherosclerosis, obesity, diabetes, cancer, and more
Meanwhile, no alternative system of healingโchiropractic, acupuncture, Ayurvedaโhas ever eradicated a disease, developed a vaccine, or discovered a gene.
This is the golden age of root cause medicine. And weโre just getting started.