Changing the mindset of the medical system is not easy. Doctors were trained to practice consistent with what they were taught; to identify and treat the symptoms of chronic disease, rather than diagnose root causes; and to fear deviation from what they were taught. Medical practice is dictated by health care organizations and insurance companies, and doctors are discouraged from creative solutions for difficult medical problems.

It is always difficult to change a person’s mind concerning long-held beliefs, and to open minds to a new way of thinking. It may take enlightened doctors, enlightened researchers, and a strong demand from patients for change, before changes occur in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases. Ulcers were blamed on stress and patients suffered for a lifetime, until patients gained knowledge and demanded a change; then treatment of ulcers as an infection became the standard-of-care. We hope our book will empower doctors, researchers and patients to demand a new way of thinking, diagnosing and treating chronic disease.