THE DEFICIENCY MYTH
- Madhukar Dama
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Why Correcting a Blood Report Isn’t the Same as Healing Your Life
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THE MODERN MEDICAL MIRROR
A man goes for a blood test.
It says: low Vitamin D, borderline cholesterol, mild anemia.
The doctor gives him tablets.
He feels better for a while.
He repeats the tests.
The numbers improve.
He smiles.
But inside — he is still tired.
Still irritable.
Still constipated.
Still losing hair.
Still craving sugar at midnight.
So what happened?
He corrected the values, not the reasons.
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NUMBERS ARE SIGNALS, NOT SOLUTIONS
Medical reports are like speedometers.
They show you something is wrong — but they don’t tell you why the engine is overheating.
If you only cover the speedometer and continue driving the same way — the damage will return.
Just in another form.
Today it’s low calcium.
Tomorrow it’s hormonal imbalance.
Next month it’s anxiety and constipation.
Then it’s dry skin and sugar cravings.
Why?
Because you patched the crack,
but didn’t look at the leaking roof.
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WHERE DEFICIENCIES REALLY COME FROM
Let’s take a few common deficiencies and see what creates them:
Vitamin D: Lack of sunlight, poor liver function, overuse of sunscreens, always indoors
Iron deficiency: Poor absorption due to gut inflammation, frequent tea/coffee, excess refined foods
B12: Antibiotic overuse, sedentary life, reduced intrinsic factor in the stomach
Calcium: Not just low intake, but soda/coffee that leaches it, chronic acidity drugs, stress
None of these are only about what you eat.
They are about how you live.
So the tablet fills the gap, but the hole remains.
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THE DOCTOR'S ROLE
Doctors are not the enemy.
They are trained to correct what is seen.
And they do it efficiently.
But healing is not just correction of visible data.
It is restoration of natural rhythm.
Most doctors are willing to guide further — if you ask, if you listen, if you reflect.
But you must go beyond the prescription.
You must ask:
Why did I become deficient in the first place?
What daily habits contributed?
What organ systems are silently suffering?
Can I realign my life, not just my lab results?
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SYMPTOMATIC VS SYSTEMIC HEALING
Taking a tablet for B12 will fix the blood marker.
But if your gut is leaky, your nerves are inflamed, your food lacks fiber, and you’re eating in a rush —
You will remain fatigued, anxious, and confused.
True healing doesn’t come from isolating the problem.
It comes from examining the whole terrain.
And when you correct the terrain —
The weeds disappear on their own.
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THE POWER OF ROOT CORRECTION
If a person with low iron:
Improves gut health
Eats natural fiber
Removes tea after meals
Adds jaggery and greens
Sleeps better
Reduces stress eating
Moves more
Then not just iron —
But skin, mood, digestion, periods, hair, and immunity all improve.
Because you didn’t just feed the cell.
You reopened the flow of vitality.
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CONCLUSION: START WITH THE DOCTOR, CONTINUE WITH YOURSELF
A blood report is a starting point.
A doctor’s prescription is first aid.
But the real healing is in your daily choices, rhythms, thoughts, light, movement, sleep, honesty, and care.
Fixing a number in your report is like painting a wall while termites eat the foundation.
If you go deeper —
You heal not just what is seen,
but what was waiting to break.
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II. HEALING DIALOGUE
A FAMILY, A REPORT, AND A RIVER
Characters:
Kailash (42): Bank manager, fatigue and acidity
Rani (39): Homemaker, hair fall and thyroid
Priya (16): Student, acne and mood swings
Madhukar: Hermit
Scene: A quiet riverbank, near Madhukar's mud home
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KAILASH (unfolding a report):
I got my blood test done. Low D, borderline sugar, cholesterol creeping up. Doctor gave tablets.
MADHUKAR:
And what did he say about your lunch schedule?
KAILASH:
Lunch? No time. I eat when the branch quietens. Sometimes 4 PM.
MADHUKAR (nodding):
So you want your cells to work,
but not your clock.
RANI (anxiously):
Mine says thyroid high again. They gave a new dose. I’m so tired. My hair is falling like leaves in wind.
MADHUKAR:
And what time do you sleep?
RANI:
Midnight or 1. I finish everything — homework, kitchen, scroll phone.
MADHUKAR:
You want the body to rest,
but you won’t give it night.
PRIYA (whispering):
Mine has B12 low. Also my acne… it’s embarrassing. I’m doing supplements and face wash.
MADHUKAR (gently):
Do you sit in the sun?
PRIYA:
I hate it. Makes me sweat.
Besides… UV rays?
MADHUKAR:
So you fear light,
but expect glow.
(They fall silent.)
MADHUKAR:
You all did right to go to the doctor.
He lit the torch.
Now you must walk.
KAILASH:
What do we do?
MADHUKAR:
Eat with the sun.
Sleep with the moon.
Breathe with your spine.
Sit on the floor.
Chew with respect.
Walk before food.
Laugh before phones.
Sweat every day.
Tell the truth.
Cry if needed.
Touch the earth.
RANI:
That sounds like… everything we left behind.
MADHUKAR:
Because healing isn’t new.
It’s ancient.
You just forgot to live it.
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III. CHARLES BUKOWSKI–STYLE POEM
THE REPORT SAID LOW D
the report said low D
but didn’t say
i haven’t seen sunlight
in four weeks.
the doctor said take pills
but didn’t ask
if i was eating lunch
in silence
or between spreadsheets.
my wife’s hair falls in clumps
our daughter’s cheeks burst with acne
our boy bites his nails
we are all
deficient.
not in vitamins —
but in rhythm.
i pop B12
while eating white bread
with ketchup.
i chase calcium
while drinking soda.
i scroll
while i chew.
i lie
while i swallow.
and we wonder
why we’re tired.
no doctor failed us.
no tablet lied.
we
abandoned the sunlight
betrayed the kitchen
mocked the floor
and made war
on the gut
that tried to save us.
healing didn’t leave us.
we left it
for convenience.
now i sit
with soil under my nails
sun in my face
food in a banana leaf
no report in my pocket
and
for the first time
in years
i don’t feel
empty.
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