When Medicine Loses Its Curiosity & Independence

Restoring the Art of Healing

Introduction

Many years ago, when my oldest daughter was about 12 years of age, our family was travelling through New Zealand when she suffered an injury to her foot. Initially, it seemed like one of those ordinary childhood mishaps, but as the days passed, the wound became increasingly inflamed and infected. Eventually, we decided it needed proper medical attention and visited a small-town general practitioner.

The doctor who saw us was an older Scottish gentleman, trained in the tradition of general-practice medicine of the 1960s. He was what I would describe as an old-school doctor in the very best sense of the phrase. He carefully examined the wound, cleaned it thoroughly, gently removed the damaged tissue, and dressed it with the skill of someone who had performed this kind of work thousands of times. His hands were experienced, his judgement was calm, and his approach reflected decades of practical medicine.

I walked out of that clinic deeply impressed. Not only because he had treated my daughter so well, but because I realised I had witnessed something that was gradually disappearing: the art of hands-on medicine. This was not simply wound care. This was a doctor observing, thinking, using his senses, applying practical skill, and working directly with the body's natural healing processes. He was not just treating an infection. He was helping create the conditions that allowed healing to take place. No antibiotics were needed. When wounds are cleaned properly, they heal well.

The best doctors are not merely dispensers of treatments. They are observers, investigators, and skilled healers who work with the body, not just against disease.

Medicine has changed enormously since then. In many modern practices, the same situation may be handled differently. A skilled practice nurse may now do much of the wound cleaning and dressing, and many nurses are exceptionally good at this work. The doctor's role, however, has increasingly shifted toward assessment, diagnosis, documentation, and the selection of approved treatments, most commonly pharmaceutical options. Some of this change has been necessary. Medicine has become more complex. Regulations have increased. Workloads have grown. Technology and specialist knowledge have advanced enormously. However, I sometimes wonder whether, in gaining so much, we have also allowed something precious to slip away: the traditional role of the doctor as an investigator, craftsman, and healer.

The old-style general practitioner was often a medical Sherlock Holmes. They listened carefully. They observed the small details. They used their hands. They understood the person, not just the disease. They asked the most important question in health care:

Why is this happening? That question is where true healing begins.

The old-school doctor carried something no machine can replace: experienced hands, careful observation, curiosity, and the determination to ask, ‘Why is this happening?

After reading my recent article about immune strength and the risk of a cytokine storm, some readers wrote thoughtful comments that deserve more than a short reply. They raised much bigger questions about nutrition, mineral deficiencies, food quality, environmental health, the role of medicine, and whether some of our most trusted institutions have drifted away from their original purpose.

These are not simple questions, and they deserve careful discussion. It is easy today to fall into two opposing camps. One side may believe that every modern medical advance is beyond criticism. The other may reject almost everything associated with conventional medicine. I do not sit comfortably in either camp. After more than 50 years working in health, rehabilitation, nutrition, and sport, my experience tells me that truth is usually found through careful observation, curiosity, humility, and a willingness to keep asking questions.

Modern medicine has achieved remarkable things. If I suffer a serious accident, require emergency surgery, or develop a life-threatening infection, I am deeply grateful for the knowledge, technology, and dedication of skilled medical professionals. However, we must also be honest enough to admit that medicine, like every human institution, can lose its way. Every profession, no matter how good it was at first, must be open to criticism. Without criticism, there can be no improvement.

A prescription pad is a useful tool, but it should never replace the trained eye, skilled hands, and questioning mind of a true healer.

The need to restore curiosity in medicine

One reader said that people often accept that beliefs, money, politics, bureaucracy, or business pressures can affect many institutions. However, it is harder to imagine that medicine and public health could ever face the same problems. I think this is an important observation because medicine is not separate from society. It is practised by human beings, managed by human organisations, funded through economic systems, and influenced by the same forces that affect every other profession.

This does not mean that doctors, nurses, researchers, scientists, and health workers lack integrity. Far from it. Most enter healthcare because they genuinely want to help people. However, good people can still find themselves operating within systems that reward conformity over curiosity. They can find themselves constrained by guidelines, funding models, institutional pressures, and a fear of stepping outside accepted boundaries.

The COVID years highlighted this tension. For many people, the problem was not simply a disagreement about one virus, one policy, or one treatment. It was the feeling that questioning, debate, and open scientific discussion became more difficult at the very time they were needed most. Science should never be afraid of questions, because questioning is the very process through which science advances.

History repeatedly reminds us that progress comes from people prepared to ask uncomfortable questions. Many medical advances that we accept today began with someone challenging the accepted thinking of their time. The greatest scientists and clinicians have always been observers and investigators. They notice when something does not make sense. They examine the evidence. They adjust their views as new information emerges.

The ideal doctor should be like a modern Sherlock Holmes: careful, thoughtful, curious, and determined to understand the whole story. The best practitioners ask, "Why is this happening?" Rather than only, "What can I prescribe?" They look for patterns, causes, contributing factors, and opportunities to restore health. Like a good engineer, they look for the root causes.

Medicine does not need to be abandoned. It needs to rediscover its curiosity.

Returning to the foundations of health

Another reader raised the importance of minerals such as magnesium, zinc, manganese, and selenium, along with nutrients such as vitamins B1 and B3. These are not minor details. They help the body make energy, fight infection, protect itself, work, repair itself, and many other things that keep it working.

One of my problems with modern healthcare is that we sometimes become fascinated by the most complex interventions while overlooking the basics. We investigate advanced pathways, develop sophisticated drugs, and invest billions into treating disease, yet sometimes fail to ask a simpler question: does the body have the raw materials it requires to function properly?

A builder cannot build a strong house without timber, nails, concrete, and tools. The human body is no different. It requires minerals, vitamins, quality proteins, healthy fats, sunlight, movement, rest, clean water, meaningful relationships, and a healthy environment. Without these foundations, even the most advanced medical interventions may struggle to deliver lasting health.

This brings us back to two principles that have guided much of my professional life: Let food be thy medicine and Body, heal thyself. These ideas are sometimes misunderstood. They do not mean rejecting modern medicine. They mean respecting the extraordinary intelligence of the human body and creating the conditions that allow healing, adaptation, and resilience.

Before asking how we can override the body, perhaps we should first ask whether we have given it the raw materials it needs to repair, adapt, and thrive.

Health care from the womb to the tomb

One of the biggest shifts we need to make is to rethink what we mean by "health care". Too often, what we call health care is disease management. We wait until the body has been struggling for years, sometimes decades, until a person receives a frightening diagnosis such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, dementia, cancer, or an autoimmune condition. Then massive resources are poured into managing a problem that may have been developing quietly for a very long time.

True health care should begin before birth and continue throughout life, from the womb to the tomb. The health of a child starts with the health of the parents, the food they eat, the environment they live in, and the support they receive (health services). A healthy society invests in children early, not just during pregnancy and childhood, but throughout their lives. This helps children stay strong, capable, useful, and independent for as long as possible.

My goal has always been simple: help people stay 20 years ahead of disease. This does not mean we can prevent every illness or avoid every challenge life throws at us. None of us has that guarantee. It means building enough resilience that we are not constantly living one step ahead of breakdown.

The best time to strengthen bones is before they become fragile. The best time to improve metabolic health is before diabetes appears. The best time to nourish the brain is before memory begins to fail. The best time to build strength, balance, and confidence is before a fall changes someone's life. This is not about fearing age or chasing immortality. It is about maintaining vitality, independence, and purpose throughout life.

True health care should begin before birth and continue throughout life, from the womb to the tomb.

Health begins with the soil

Human health does not begin in the pharmacy. It begins much earlier. It begins in the soil.

Healthy soil supports healthy plants. Healthy plants support healthy animals. Healthy plants and animals support healthy people. When we damage this chain, whether through poor farming practices, excessive processing, nutrient depletion, or environmental contamination, we should not be surprised when health suffers.

This is why discussions about food production, farming methods, waterways, genetic engineering, and chemical exposure are important. New Zealand has an incredible opportunity to become a world leader in producing nutrient-rich food from healthy landscapes. That does not mean attacking farmers. Quite the opposite. Farmers are among the most important people who protect the land. Many are already using renewable and sustainable ways to do this. We must encourage this.

The future is not about blame. It is about improvement. It is about reconnecting the health of the land with the health of the people who depend upon it.

Healthy people cannot be separated from healthy soil. The journey from the soil, to the plant, to the animal, to the family dinner table is one continuous chain of life.

The FreeRangers approach

This is one of the reasons we created the FreeRangers movement. Alofa and I are putting our money where our mouths are. FreeRangers is not about being anti-medicine, anti-technology, or anti-progress. It is about remembering what keeps humans strong. It is about supporting families, communities, farmers, growers, producers, and businesses that understand the connection between nature and health. It is about aligning with everything that Mother Nature best represents. Within FreeRangers, we have created the FreeRangers marketplace. The Market Place provides income for small and medium-sized businesses that align with the FreeRangers vision. It is a place where consumers can find products and services that align with the idea of free-range living.The FreeRangers vision is to restore New Zealand to be the best place to live and raise a family. Why not subscribe now, if you have not done so already, and watch it grow from one week to the next?

Every movement begins with a small group of people who believe a better future is possible. Discover FreeRangers and join us on the journey.

FreeRangers is not about rejecting progress. It is about remembering what keeps humans strong and combining the wisdom of nature with the best of human knowledge.

We need more curiosity, not less. More discussion, not less. More respect for the complexity of biology, not the belief that every problem has a single solution. A Free-Range approach asks whether a person is nourished, whether they are sleeping well, whether they are moving, whether they have purpose, whether they are connected with others, and whether their environment supports health.

The answers to these questions may not be as exciting as the latest breakthrough technology or miracle treatments, but they are the foundations upon which lasting health has always been built.

Our vision is simple: help restore New Zealand as the best place in the world to live, raise a family, and grow strong, resilient people.

Concluding Thoughts

It is understandable that many people feel frustrated by what they have witnessed in recent years. Trust, once damaged, takes time to rebuild. But rebuilding is exactly where our energy must go. The answer is not bitterness. The answer is better systems, better communication, better food, better communities, and a new respect for nature's wisdom and the best of human knowledge.

Medicine does not need to be abandoned. It needs to rediscover its curiosity and return to its highest purpose: helping people build health throughout life, not simply treating disease once health has been lost.

Be healthy. Be strong. Be FreeRange.

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Medical Disclaimer:

This article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as personal medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Health decisions should be made in consultation with appropriately qualified healthcare professionals who understand your individual circumstances.