Limitations of conventional healthcare
Modern healthcare systems are failing to stem the growing tide of chronic disease.
Despite our technological prowess, the majority of modern humans are living in a perpetual state of ill-health.
Globally, ~ 1 in 3 people are dealing with more than five health problems at the same time.
These are shocking statistics, as is our main strategy for dealing with it.
A defensive posture puts us on the back foot
We talk more about ‘managing’ health problems than we do preventing, or reversing them.
This is a defensive posture—costly for individuals, highly-profitable for a handful of corporations, and unnecessarily burdensome for public healthcare systems.
It’s not a revolutionary idea, but perhaps instead of trying (often too late, and in-vain) to reverse disease states (which are often terminal), let’s go on the offence, and empower people to be more proactive in maintaining lifelong wellbeing.
Reject the notion that degenerative disease is a ‘normal’ part of life
“It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society,”
— Jiddu Krishnamurti
Our primitive ancestors may indeed have had lower life expectancy—due to increased risk of getting eaten by predators, plus acute injuries and infections—but chronic, degenerative disease was rarely on the menu.
By contrast, in the modern ‘developed’ world, chronic disease runs rampant.
Mental illness, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia, autoimmune disease, gastrointestinal disease, reproductive disorders, musculoskeletal issues… just the tip of the chronic disease iceberg.
Such debilitating conditions burden individuals, families, and society at-large.
They destroy our quality of life, steal our minds, and force us to say early good-bye’s to our loved-ones.
These preventable, non-communicable conditions are the leading cause of disability worldwide, and account for approximately two-thirds of global deaths.
This is unacceptable—before the modern era, degenerative diseases were practically non-existent.
The first step in regaining sovereignty over our health is to reject the notion that chronic disease is ‘normal’ and here to stay.
We can clearly do much better than that—we know how to prevent, and even reverse, many modern diseases.
Focus on building health instead of reversing disease
“It is a very myopic medical science that works backward from the morgue, rather than forward from the cradle.”
— Dr. Ernest A. Hooton (1936)
Western medicine is largely focused on pathogenesis (studying the origins of disease) and alleviating acute trauma.
While it can be life-saving, it is an incomplete approach to health.
We cannot understand health by studying disease alone, for health is not simply the absence of diagnosed disease.
Health is created through dynamic interplay between biological, environmental, social and spiritual factors.
Health is built proactively, and on-purpose.
Salutogenesis (studying the origins of health) is a fundamentally-different approach.
Many past cultures have understood the importance of proactively building health and vitality, but modern healthcare systems have not (yet) bought in.
Conventional Western healthcare, instead, runs with a reactive model—again, great for treating acute injuries—but not so great for preventing the slow, insidious creep of degenerative diseases.
Quelling and covering up symptoms with crude, side-effect-ridden medications—instead of seeking out and addressing the root causes that are manifesting such symptoms—will never solve our health problems.
It’s just kicking the can down the road to the next generation.
Go on the offence with your health
We are some of the luckiest people to have ever lived.
Unlike ‘primitive’ cultures, we have cutting-edge healthcare professionals and medical technologies at our fingertips.
We must, however, understand their limitations.
We need to educate ourselves—when is the time right to seek conventional medical advice? When should we look elsewhere—to functional/integrative physicians, naturopaths, strength and conditioning coaches, nutritionists? One needs the right tools for the job.
Slapping ‘band-aid’ solutions on everything that walks through the door is no way to create health.
Reversing a lifetime of unhealthy behaviours with a magic pill is neither clever nor realistic.
And why wait for such sad endings when there are simple and effective strategies for building robust health and vitality.
Do not be fooled, though—it’s no easy task. Not everyone will take ownership. It requires courage, persistence, accountability, and going against the grain.
One must first do the honest, hard work of understanding the long-term consequences of, and embracing responsibility for, our daily actions.
As you probably know, our lifestyles and daily habits are largely responsible for deciding our health outcomes.
This should be encouraging, though, as they are largely in your sphere of influence.
Find ways to address the biological, environmental, social and spiritual factors that work synergistically to build your long-term health.
Don’t wait until it’s utterly broken before trying to fix it.
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References
Bauer, UE, Briss, PA, Goodman, RA & Bowman, BA 2014, ‘Prevention of chronic disease in the 21st century: elimination of the leading preventable causes of premature death and disability in the USA’, The Lancet, vol. 384, no. 9937, pp. 45–52.
Eriksson, M & Lindstrom, B 2008, ‘A salutogenic interpretation of the Ottawa Charter’, Health Promotion International, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 190–199.
Lindstrom, B 2005, ‘Salutogenesis’, Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, vol. 59, no. 6, pp. 440–442.
Lipski, E 2010, ‘Traditional Non-Western Diets’, Nutrition in Clinical Practice, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 585–593.
Potvin, L & Jones, CM 2011, ‘Twenty-five Years After the Ottawa Charter: The Critical Role of Health Promotion for Public Health’, Canadian Journal of Public Health, vol. 102, no. 4, pp. 244–248.
Price, WA, 1939, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration: A Comparison of Primitive and Modern Diets And Their Effects.
Young, J, McGrath, R & Adams, C 2018, ‘Fresh air, sunshine and happiness: Millennials building health (salutogenesis) in leisure and nature’, Annals of Leisure Research, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 324–346.
Vos, T, Barber, RM, Bell, B, Bertozzi-Villa, A, Biryukov, S, Bolliger, I, … Murray, CJ 2015, ‘Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013’, The Lancet, vol. 386, no. 9995, pp. 743–800.