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01/14/2007

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Anna Kavanagh

So, in other words, if we hadn't intervened in certain illnesses, our bodies may have naturally evolved in such a way as to produce its own defence which would be a permanent defence to a paricular illness rather than a temporary "sticking plaster" in the form of an artificial remedy.

Take for example Type 1 diabetes in which the body's own white blood cells have, for some unknown reason, attacked the insulin producing cells of the pancreas whilst fighting off some virus. The white blood cells become confused and attack their own body cells mistaking them for a foreign cell to be eradicated. They eradicate these cells to extinction thus making it impossible for the body to produce its own insulin ever again.

Suppose we hadn't intervened with insulin injections? Would the body's immune system eventually work out what it was doing wrong?

Even if this took the body hundreds or thousands of years to work out a remedy through natural evolution, would this be better in the long term for human survival? At present, we are intervening because we cannot bear to die young or, worse, watch the people we love so dearly die young. We have found a temporary solution so we, quite understandably, use it to better our lives NOW, in this century, rather than letting nature take its course.

My son has Type 1 diabetes; there is no way on earth that I would be in favour of nature taking its course and watch him die. I inject him 2-3 times a day to prevent his early death.

But, as Graham says, we are administering these kinds of unnatural solutions possibly at the cost of the long-term benefit of the human race, creating a situation where the body will never evolve its own way of dealing with this malfunction.

But, we are intelligent, inventive, determined, compassionate animals bent on protecting ourselves and those we love from death. I personally, am more concerned about the immediate survival of my family and those other people I love to be selfless and allow for nature to find its own solution.

Time will tell........But Graham has a very good point worth a good deal of thought.

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