Consider this bit of ancient wisdom:
"Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food." -Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.)
This tidbit of advice comes from none other than the bona fide father of western medicine. That thing called the Hippocratic oath that doctors take? Yeah, he came up with that. Unfortunately, that is largely where the similarities disappear in today's medical practices. We have clearly diverged from essential Hippocratic ideals. Instead of preventing ailments through proper nutrition and exercise, or proactively seeking nature's remedies, we have put all of our faith in pills, pediatricians and procedures. Common illnesses can all too often be staved off by healthy diet. Instead, however, they have come to necessitate costly visits to the doctor, further encumbering an already teetering system. The truth is, we have the capacity to be our own doctors. All it takes is an objective look at our personal diets and habits. What we put into our bodies largely accounts for our mood, our energy, our appearance, everything. All calories are not created equal. Yes, it is simply a unit of energy, but it is too simplified of a reduction. The expedience of fast and processed foods are often devoid of accompanying essential nutrients. They may be more than enough to fill us up, but they're not doing our bodies any good. These various nutritional deficits accumulate day after day, leaving massive debts in the functioning of our immune systems and the like.
The modern American diet is not geared towards health. The shocking prevalence of obesity, diabetes, heart disease among other such afflictions certainly speaks to that fact. And then we wonder why healthcare is so expensive. We could unburden a large part of the system if only we would feed ourselves responsibly (This is to say nothing of the environmental implications discussed in previous posts). This means returning our diets to the bounty of nature. Instead of sucking down Nyquil next cold season, prevent its very onset by upping your intake of vitamin C. Oranges and broccoli (perhaps a surprising source of vitamin C) are here to take care of us. For added health, bolster your immune system with some sweet antioxidants from blueberries or cranberries. Or try some beta-carotene from squash, carrots or sweet potatoes. Fruits and vegetables are a metaphorical goldmine of benefits. All it takes is a little reading up on the stuff. You'll be amazed at what your food can do.
We have all the science behind these foods, and we have tremendous, often year-round availability of them, so why is America still eating itself sick? I think a lot of it has to do with a lack of perspective. Many might protest the fact that healthy foods costs more. Yet consider the amount of money potentially saved on health care if you were to properly care for yourself. And shouldn't the quality of your life and that of your kids be something worth investing in? From personal experience, I've been living in a residence hall full of sick college students for months now, and I believe it is my diet that has kept me from getting sick once thus far. Even with the snow and runny noses setting in. Basically, it only makes sense to ditch the processed crap and go with what nature intended for us to eat.
There's also a bit of conspiracy theory to consider along with all of this as well. Or maybe it's simply a matter of economics. Either way, we need to factor in the power of the pharmaceutical industry. This billion dollar industry thrives on sick Americans; pumping us full of pills and constantly keeping us coming back for more. There's hardly any emphasis on preventative measures. The advances of modern medicine allow us to treat damn near anything, but there isn't education enough about why these illnesses are occurring in the first place. There have been studies done, for example, as far back as decades ago that show the effectiveness of megadoses of vitamin C. The stuff is practically a cure-all. But the idea never seemed to catch on in the medical world. Instead, we're stuck with a laundry list of bizarre chemical cocktails prescribed for the most mundane of ills. The healing properties of nature have long since been forgotten. But we could really skip all the danger and the dollars if we took care of ourselves in the first place. We ultimately are what we eat; it influences much more than just a waistline. There are implications that can be measured in billions of dollars. We need to wake up from this nutritional nightmare.
Healthcare should start every day with breakfast.
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