'For my patients, I want more than health'
DR FRANZISKA MEUSCHEL
Early in my career as a medical doctor, and driven from childhood by my own health issues, I investigated alternative approaches to allergies and chronic illness. From when I began working in London in 2004 I have always maintained a strong connection with the German speaking independent health sector and been active in networking across multiple disciplines and borders. As a result, I have been able to make personal connections and train with some of the leading specialists in their respective fields of medicine. Over the years I have tried countless methods and treatment approaches until my own personal concept of Seasonal Medicine started to take shape. It is based on the principles of Salutogenesis, which is the study of the origins of health and assets for health as opposed to the study of the origins of disease and risks factors. Seasonal Medicine works with the understanding that unlike genetic facts, the epigenetic expression of the individual can be influenced and optimised, at any stage in life.
'Extreme remedies are appropriate for extreme diseases'
HIPPOCRATES
I have spent my whole working life specialising in the gentle remedies and approaches; mostly too gentle for extreme disease but perfect to halt development of disease. Perfect for prevention and early intervention. Perfect to intervene at this typical stage when a person is still considered “healthy” and subjectively feels well apart from some minor and familiar symptoms like fatigue or indigestion or some excess weight and the odd headache. Nothing unusual, however this is the very same stage where the metabolism starts moving towards high sugar and cholesterol levels, the detoxification pathways of the liver reaching their limits, where the microbiome is shifting towards fermenting or fouling species, the autonomic nervous system moving towards sympathetic imbalance and the immune system adapting to a pro-inflammatory pattern.
'It is those silent changes that are like railroad switches, determining whether ultimately we travel towards health or towards chronic illness.'
Whilst those changes are still silent, they can already be detected with the right questions and appropriate tests. At this stage they can often still be reversed without using potentially harmful treatments; thereby effectively preventing the onset of chronic illness, which is my favourite concept of prevention. Reversing chronic illness is possible as well, just inevitably much harder. I found the easiest way to achieve sustainable changes to someone’s health is by taking the person out of their usual environment and putting them into a purpose-built environment which allows them to reflect, review and retreat until healing is initiated. This is why I started offering More Than Health Retreats, where our clients can immerse themselves in an authentic and healing space in the middle of nature, where every detail has been thought out for their wellbeing, making my work so much easier.
'I want to teach my patients to act on behalf of their body not to react to their body'
Nevertheless, achieving more than health in my patients is an ambitious goal, requiring commitment from all involved... me, my team of specialists and the patient, as we are aiming to reset often well-established cellular pathways and behavioural patterns. This takes time, and patients often need help on different levels and from different team members. Only together can we address the variety of medical, mental and emotional, behavioural, professional or simple human challenges that make achieving some of these goals so difficult. However, once a routine is established, a habit is formed, a metabolic pathway corrected, there is no need for further intervention – meaning a sustained effect is achieved – which is the ultimate goal of Seasonal Medicine and More Than Health.
