Instinct and Health

When defining health, dictionaries emphasize two essential points:

the harmonious nature of the organism’s physiological functioning,

its regularity over time.

Two questions then arise. First, what is the definition of this functional harmony? The Petit Robert dictionary defines it as the relationships existing between the parts of a whole, which cause these parts to contribute to the same overall effect. Second, why is the functioning of organisms harmonious? Two explanations present themselves: the theory of evolution, which explains the progression of species toward optimal efficiency—of which functional harmony is a prerequisite—through natural selection, and the creationist approach, which attributes the perfection of living beings to the Creator.

Whatever explanation is adopted, health can then be more cautiously defined as the absence of deterioration in vital processes: the proper cooperation between the different parts of the organism, allowing them to achieve a common goal, which is none other than life itself. It presupposes that no organ or function exhibits a failure that impairs vital functions, and this in the long term.

Can health, then, be defined solely by the absence of disease? This question seems trivial, given that disease is a disharmony. In reality, it may conceal realities forgotten by modern medicine: certain “diseases” (instincto-and-diseases) can be useful in maintaining health. For doctors of a few generations ago, as for some more modern naturopaths, the flu, for example, allowed the body to perform a seasonal cleansing; it had to be “let out” by ensuring an adequate supply of water, warmth, and proper diet, and not fought against.

The body constantly strives to restore its integrity and balance—this harmonious cooperation mentioned earlier. This tendency is called homeostasis. An effort to return to equilibrium can manifest as a temporary disharmony, which can be mistaken for a health problem, when in fact its aim is to restore balance or prevent potential deterioration.

How does the body maintain homeostasis? When the body is cooled, it responds by increasing heat production, for example, through the muscle tremors we call shivering. When it is warmed, it produces more sweat, which, as it evaporates, cools the skin. These classic examples of homeostasis are undoubtedly the simplest. The body has many similar feedback loops, for example, in response to stress: the pituitary gland triggers the adrenal glands to secrete cortisol, but as soon as this hormone, carried by the blood, reaches the hypothalamus, the latter reduces the cortisol level to ensure a balanced response.

Food alliesthesia plays a crucial role in this homeostatic regulation of metabolism: when the body lacks sugar, for example, the flavor of sugary foods intensifies; if there is a sugar overload, they become less appealing, or even repulsive. This same regulation works for many foods and nutrients. However, it malfunctions when natural flavors are altered by food preparation.

A balanced intake of the various nutrients necessary for the function and regeneration of different organs is the number one condition for long-term health. In the shorter term, as the instincto experiment demonstrates, a balanced diet directly impacts inflammatory and infectious processes. It is therefore clear that alliesthesia plays a crucial role in the well-being and development of the organism. Conversely, impaired alliesthesia regulation fundamentally compromises health—that is, the very harmony that defines health.

The most striking demonstration of this is provided by obesity or being overweight: wild animals all have an identical physique, determined by the genetics of their species. Not an abnormal roundness. Domestic animals, on the other hand, have an unfortunate tendency to become overweight. Why? Because alliesthesia regulation functions normally in wild animals, which find only natural foods in their environment, whereas domestic animals “benefit” from the prepared foods given to them by their owners, or from industrial preparations designed to “stimulate” their appetite, that is, to bypass the alliesthesia barrier.

There is therefore a fundamental link between instincto, the only form of nutrition that guarantees the natural functioning of alliesthetic mechanisms, and health, whether it be physical fitness, maintaining health, or healing illnesses related to one’s general condition.

Even better: alliesthetic regulation is controlled from within; it can take into account ongoing processes before symptoms appear. Rebalancing can therefore occur much earlier.

Instincto is thus a revolutionary method of prevention, in that it ensures appropriate rebalancing before the onset of illness. For example, with the flu: the dietary range and quantities ingested are automatically modified before the onset of fever or catarrh—medicine refers to this as the “mild form.” The classic symptoms remain asymptomatic or easily tolerable, as the flu helps the body “burn” old toxins, which is equivalent to rejuvenation or a holiday detox.

Prevention is known to be the best medicine. Paradoxically, instinct is not medicine, but it is the best form of prevention for all diet-related illnesses. This does not exclude the fact that other factors, such as exercise, stress relief, and a zest for life, also play a crucial role. If all these factors are present, the body is in optimal condition to remain healthy for as long as its genetics allow—that is, to preserve, for as long as possible, the harmonious cooperation between its parts which, from the very beginning, defines health itself.