A Tale of Two Theories (Germ & Terrain Theory)

Health for your soul:

Running the Race of Sanctification

In this article you will learn about the difference between Germ Theory & Terrain Theory, their history and what implications they have for how we perceive health, sickness and disease.

When you go to the store and get some milk that’s been pasteurized, this refers to a process like heat or irradiation that’s been applied to kill any pathogens that may have been in the milk. The word “pasteurized” comes from Louis Pasteur, a 19th century French biologist and chemist. Pasteur is famous for many contributions to science and medicine, but one that is less known by the general public is the Germ Theory.

In a nutshell, Germ Theory argues that it is microbes and pathogens which cause disease by invading the body and wreaking havoc. This leads to several important conclusions if it’s true and we will examine them in just a bit. What’s less known about Pasteur is that he had a bitter rivalry with some other French scientists and researchers named Antoine Bechamp and Claude Bernard.

Contrary to Pasteur’s theory, Bechamp and Bernard argued something called Terrain Theory. Through it they postulated that it wasn’t the germs coming in and creating disease, but rather that diseased environments attracted and housed germs in the first place, allowing them to proliferate out of control and cause disease.