There has been more and more conversation recently in regards to antibiotics and how they mask symptoms and wreak havoc with our micro-biome, as well as an uprising of functional medicine doctors who seek to help people actually find the root cause of their illness. It isn’t so much about naming it, but in understanding the triggers, because only then can we actually begin the healing journey.
The Pharmaceutical companies of course prefer the existing medical structure of doctors only getting 15 minutes with you (who can tell their doctor their entire medical history in 15 minutes?), and then leaving with a prescription for something that will make you feel better, due to masking your symptoms, but not actually help you heal and get over your illness. The system which is now focused on dollars and cents as opposed to your health has been set up to fail you. Don’t get me wrong, doctors are doing their best within a broken system, and the system is very good for acute illness, and broken bones, but when it comes to figuring out how to help someone heal from chronic illness, it’s been failing us in recent years. Drugs are not the cure for every illness. When antibiotics were developed, they were a breakthrough in medical science because they were developed to save lives, ie to be used in life threatening situations, not to be prescribed to almost every person that comes through the clinic doors.
The truth is we haven’t ever been taught how to look after the long term health, of our brain and body at school. This is all new science, that is only just coming out. Most people are left to the advertising on TV of this new drug to help heal X (but be careful about the side affects) and that new drug to help Y (but it may have another long list of side affects)….meanwhile over $400 billion has been spent trying to develop a drug for Alzheimers, with a 96% failure rate, and even the 4% that have been deemed a success, only kept people out of nursing homes for 3 more months. What if we instead start teaching people about the importance of good nutrition, the importance of gut health, good sleep, reducing stress, and exercise in setting themselves up for long term health and a better chance of avoiding Alzheimers and many other chronic diseases?
“Preventative medicine is the goal of modern health care, but it is not where we are at currently. It seems easier to treat the illness after the fact, rather than doing something so you never reach that level of disease. Don’t be deceived; there are no short cuts to good health, but there are ways of getting there that will help you feel better faster.” Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD
It’s not just the medical system that is failing us, so is the food industry. With so many processed foods on the shelves today, full of chemicals, sugars to create addiction, low cost oils that are toxic to our bodies, that add to their profit line, and a general lack of nutrients, we have been caught in a dichotomy of eating for convenience in our busy lives, vs eating healthy meals that fuel our bodies in a positive way, but take longer to prepare. As Ocean Robbins of The Food Revolution Network says, for much of our time on this planet, we were at Food 1.0 = Food for survival. Then we hit Food 2.0 = Food for profit, and we need to get to Food 3.0 = Food for Health.
Not sure where to turn? You have a number of options, firstly, I always recommend getting a second opinion on any diagnosis, to find out alternative options for healing. Many doctors have never had the opportunity to do a class on nutrition, and if you ask if changing the way you eat might have a positive impact on your diagnosis, the answer might be “no”, when they don’t know. Always get a second opinion. Find a Naturopath, find a Functional Medicine Doctor, find a doctor who wants to look at the root cause of your illness. Good nutrition really is the key to much of our good health, so changing the way you eat very often can have a positive impact.. Food 3.0 = Food for Health, choose this for yourself. As a Health Coach, I can support you in this process as well. I can help you by providing full meal plans, with recipes and shopping lists, specific to the healing that your body needs to do, as well as provide action steps to help you put this all into action for your best health. It can feel overwhelming, because changing the way you’ve eaten your entire life, is a big deal. But when you do it for your long term health, it’s worth it. With the support and accountability of a coach, it’s completely do-able.
Want to know more about being proactive in your health, changing the way you eat? Reach out for a complimentary session to find out about my programs. You’ve got noting to lose and everything to gain.
Honor Yourself, by Honoring your Health.
Melissa