If you were travelling from Auckland to Wellington, would you choose the latest Ferrari or a 1974 Skoda. Hmmm, let me think. Yet when it comes to what we choose to move our brain and organs around in, so many of us choose the Skoda. Up to 65% of our population is either overweight or obese. It is not just about how we look, it is abut how we feel. So many people have to drag themselves out of bed in the morning and keep themselves going through the day with shots of caffeine and sugar.
But we are a healthy nation. Are we? New Zealand has the:
- Highest rate of bowel cancer in women
- Second highest rate of strokes
- Second highest rate of hip fractures
- Second highest rate of obesity
- Fourth highest rate of diabetes
- Fifth highest rate of breast cancer in women
- Sixth highest rate of heart disease.
We are also doing extremely well when it comes to diabetes, mental illness adrenal fatigue, infertility, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, asthma and Alzheimer’s.
Just reading the statistics can cause depression. In my view, the questions that needs to be asked are “Why, when we are spending more on health now than in our entire history are the rates of disease the highest they have ever been?” and “What is to be done to stop the ever increasing statistics?”
Fortunately there are answers to both questions.
Try this little experiment. Get that Ferrari, put some sump oil in the petrol tank, spray it with acid and keep your foot on the accelerator with the handbrake on. Well sink me! The car is not performing as well. I wonder why? This same scenario is being played out in our bodies, on a daily basis. We eat foods that are marketed to us as healthy and which our bodies were never meant to eat; we innocently put toxic chemicals on our face and on our bodies; we ingest herbicides and pesticides in our food; our food is depleted of vitamins and minerals, because they are no longer in the soil; we are constantly in the state of confronting that sabre tooth tiger; and we do not move our bodies enough. There is a domino effect, which eventually leads to premature aging and disease. Why would you put an expensive cream on your face to hide a wrinkle or drugs to treat a symptom, when a healthy lifestyle may take them away.
We need to go back to giving our bodies the nutrients they need, reducing the toxic load and living a healthy lifestyle. This is not about joining a monastery. Life is to be enjoyed, but if you are going to abuse your body then do give it some support. For example, with some people smoking is not negotiable. Okay, so let’s measure the free radical damage and support the body with the right antioxidants.
We live our lives thinking that we will not be one of the above statistics. The reality is that they are getting harder to dodge, particularly if you are unhealthy (objective definition).
At the Be Well Clinic, we conduct a full case history. In consultation with you, we design appropriate tests to gauge your body’s current state of wellness. Problem areas are identified and a treatment plan designed to suit your needs and tolerances. The treatment plan may consist of supplements, herbs, lifestyle changes, diet, exercise and therapies to rebalance you.
Go on, be a devil. Live your life fully for as long as you were meant to and not in dependent care.