Our country is seriously confused about what health is and what it means. We have a “healthcare” system that focuses on managing diseases, grocery stores that are filled with chemicals and processed sugars, and a FDA stamp on “medicine” that kills people. We aren’t even required to list the “treatments” of ammonia being added to the meat we consume or report when a food has been genetically modified. These are very scary things. Have you ever wondered what being healthy really means or what it takes to get there? I think we should all take a second to review some of the basics.
Healthy by definition is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing, not by just the mere absence of disease or infirmity. It means that we are in a good state or existence characterized by happiness and prosperity. I don’t know many people who can honestly say they are in this state of existence, nor are they well physically, mentally or socially. Why is that?
More than half of our country is obese, including children. Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading killers of our friends and family members. Type II diabetes is being diagnosed like the plague. Cancer is tearing through our society like wildfire. This is outrageous and we need to change it. We have to make conscious decisions every day that lead us down a pathway of health, far away from disease and pathology. There are some things out of our control like the genes we inherit that are linked to disease. Or the external stress we encounter in our daily activities. But that does not give us an excuse to relinquish control over what we choose to consume or how we exercise our bodies and minds.
It’s time to wake up people and declare your health. It is never too late or too far gone. We don’t have to eat the foods advertised on television just because they seem less expensive; I guarentee the long term effects of heart attacks and high cholesterol are anything but cheap. We don’t have to let the stress of our day run us down so we are too exhausted to exercise on a regular basis; I guarentee you will have more energy and less ache if you get up and move. We don’t even have to take synthetic medications that list more harmful side effects than positive outcomes; I guarentee these can cause more problems than you bargained for. We are in control of these things, and can change them by making one simple choice.
Choose health. Eat real foods that don’t come with labels. Drink real water that is not pumped full of sweeteners or chemicals. Break a sweat everyday doing something physical that increases your heart rate. Avoid synthetic medications whenever possible and be proactive instead of reactive. These are the very basics of being healthy, and all of these are solely up to choice, not genetic chance. Let’s start taking responsibility for ourselves and start treating our bodies and minds to something good. This simple choice will change your life. Start a new year where the grass is actually greener.
Cheers to health,
Dr. Nicole Adamson