What is your Legacy? Your health report card....
I’m going to ask you two questions about our health….
#1 If you could guess…, what percentage of diseases do you think are preventable?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that eliminating three risk factors would PREVENT: 80% of heart disease and stroke; 80% of type 2 diabetes; and, 40% of cancer. (Read article HERE)
#2 What do you think the (3) risk factors are that the CDC says can prevent most of America’s chronic disease?
– poor diet, inactivity, and smoking –
Did you guess them right?
Those of you that have been our patient family for a while might have; those that are new, welcome to our (5) core Essentials, and where these three factors interrelate:
Mindset
Nerve Supply
Nutrition (poor diet)
Exercise (inactivity)
Minimizing Toxins (smoking)
If the CDC is right, then why don’t Americans do something to change this and prevent the 80% of chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and 40% of cancer?
Do they not know HOW to prevent heart disease?
Are they too LAZY?
Are Americans depressed and just don’t care?
What do you believe the reasons are? If COVID didn’t wake us up in the regard to taking MASSIVE action on our health to prevent sickness and disease, then I’m not sure what will. The highest risk of death from COVID 19 is OBESITY, that means that anyone that is overweight should be taking MASSIVE action right now to:
Eat Cleaner
Exercise More
Reduce Sugar
Reduce Sedentary Lifestyle
But do you think Americans are?? Absolutely not, they are jokingly calling it the Quarantine 15 and thinking this is acceptable, and then want to complain when they are sick. Well, who put you there? My hard hard honest question is this………
What will it take for you to take massive action in your life to get your health in order, for the sickness and disease that is coming?
I want to be there to see my daughter run to me when I walk in the door and hug me, and tell me how much she missed me while I was serving patients. I want to see my daughter show me her artwork from school, I want to see my daughter laughing, playing and joking with her cousins and grandparents. I want to see her accomplish her dreams (right now she wants to be a doctor just like “daddy”, as to which she will be the best doctor in the world because of her heart for people). I want to see her raise her children. How can I do all of these things if I don’t take action, hundreds of times DAILY, to work on my health so that sickness and disease doesn’t strike me down?
You have to define your own life goals, and leave your legacy on this world. So, what does that legacy look like?
In today’s “Functional Medicine” series newsletter, I’d like to share with you what I see as a doctor when it comes to America’s preventable health report card, and how we can help with a Functional Medicine approach.
The functional medicine model of care offers a patient-centered approach to chronic disease management. It seeks to answer the question, “Why are you sick?” so you can receive personalized, effective care for your needs.
We spend time listening to you and gathering your medical history. We then use this information to identify the root cause(s) of the illness, including triggers such as poor nutrition, stress, toxins, allergens, genetics and your microbiome (the bacteria living in and on your body).
Once we identify the triggers, we can customize a healthy living plan for you. Your plan will address many aspects of your life, from physical needs, including nutrition, exercise and sleep, to mental and emotional stressors related to social, work and community life.
The foundation of functional medicine is the use of food as a first-line therapy. The right nutrition, combined with lifestyle and behavioral interventions, will help you take charge of your health.
My observations over the past 15+ years
Chronic diseases are one of the biggest reasons people go to the doctor. A condition that lasts a minimum of one year, and requires continuing medical attention or a limitation of activities (or both), is considered a chronic disease.
Common chronic diseases include heart disease, cancer, diabetes, lung disease, kidney disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Six in 10 adults in the United States have a chronic disease, and 4 in 10 adults have two or more chronic diseases at the same time.
Many of these chronic diseases are caused by risky behaviors that are lifestyle choices: smoking, poor nutrition, alcohol use, lack of physical activity, and more.
I see the detrimental effects of these habits on patients every day, and ask each time, “why” haven’t you made a change in your lifestyle?
The answers are discouraging, but real in today’s society.
Smoking: If you’re trying to harm your health, smoking is one of the best things you can do. It leads to disease and disability, and causes damage to almost every organ in your body. More than 16 million Americans live with a disease caused by smoking. Smoking can cause cancer, stroke, lung diseases, heart disease, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), just to name a few, and it increases the risk of other diseases as well. If people could stop smoking, they would immediately improve their health and start accruing the long-term benefits. But, they are addicted, and are having a hard time kicking the habit. PLEASE don’t let your kids start smoking! It’s VERY difficult to stop…..
Drinking too much: We all know the short-term dangers of alcohol abuse, but long-term damages can also build up over time if you’re using alcohol excessively. It can cause chronic conditions such as heart and liver disease, strokes, and cancer of the esophagus, breast, mouth, throat, liver, and colon. The good news is, if you stop drinking entirely, or at least reduce your consumption to 1 drink per day, you substantially lower the risk of these long-term problems.
Poor nutrition: Eating a healthy diet is one of the BEST things you can do to fight off chronic disease. Good nutrition habits help you prevent, delay, and manage conditions such as heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Most people are confused as to what a healthy diet consists of. It includes balanced portions of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and unprocessed whole organic foods. Along with nutrition, your weight plays a role in your health as well. Many patients have tried to lose weight with little success. If you’re already overweight, losing just 5%-7% of your body weight can go a long way toward preventing (or at least delaying) Type 2 diabetes. This we can certainly help with; it might not be WHAT you are eating, but HOW you are eating!
Lack of physical activity: Along with good nutrition, getting exercise is one of the best things you can do for your long-term health. Active people live longer in general, but only about HALF of adults get the activity they need to fight off chronic diseases. Getting enough physical activity can prevent 1 in 10 premature deaths. It can prevent 1 in 8 cases of breast cancer, 1 in 8 cases of colorectal cancer, 1 in 12 cases of diabetes, and 1 in 5 cases of heart disease. This is another area we have GREAT success in helping our patients; with a supportive network to create new habits, getting the exercise you need is simple!
No matter where you are in terms of your lifestyle habits, it’s never too late to make a change. If you know you need to improve your health and want to lower your risk of chronic disease, keep reading….
The Future Is Healthy: How can America shift to a more Preventive Care model?
After reading, you now know the drill. Eat right. Exercise. Don’t smoke or drink excessively. And … that’s it. This advice is largely the extent of preventative medicine today, at a time when 70% of deaths in the U.S. are caused by chronic diseases and 80% of them avoidable through lifestyle changes. Many people wait for a stroke, heart attack or diagnosis before they make lifestyle changes, and that’s because we’ve typically taken a reactive approach to health. It’s why 51.8% of U.S. adults have at least one preventable condition. But things don’t have to be that way.
Growing up, I was fortunate to have naturopath doctors in my life. Unlike most people, I had ongoing access to health care professionals who could inform me of my good and bad lifestyle choices. When I started Med school, I saw a difference in the approach to health care by non-naturopath doctors. I realized that I needed to share my upbringing, and the need to shift from the “treatment” of disease, to the “prevention” of disease. Today, I’m one of the few doctors focused on making prevention at the forefront of my practice.
Most people often lack knowledge, infrastructure and habits when it comes to making prevention a part of everyday life. That’s where I suggest taking advantage of our health team on a weekly basis, plus incorporating the health tech industry to help you keep track of your progress.
What is Health Tech?
Today, various health indicators can be measured with basic, affordable health tech (apps, mobile phones, etc.). It’s time we put these tools to use, and help people see that their health isn’t a mystery. In terms of preventable illnesses, it’s a set of metrics you can use to track — and improve — from home.
Smartphone health tech, from basic apps like habit trackers and calorie counters, all the way to complex facial and body scans, is at a point where it isn’t just simple, it’s accessible and easy to understand. Along with connected hardware like health bands, it’s accurate, and affordable. It democratizes access to information and empowers individuals to understand their bodies. And it can be a lot cheaper than a cure.
Health tech can empower us to track our daily activity and consumption, remind us to be our better selves, help us measure progress and guide our next steps. In my opinion, that’s the real power of health tech: understanding, personalization and guidance. I’ve seen people successfully turn their health around, overwhelmingly through understanding and habit-building powered by tech.
How can you get started on a better lifestyle?
We can now count steps, track calories, find out how many minutes we spend in deep sleep, check our blood glucose levels, and more. But what is this raw data good for if you don’t know “WHY” you aren’t feeling well? During our consultations, we will discuss steps you can take to feel better. For some people it may be food changes, for others it may be more of an exercise routine; their are multitudes of health steps, and they are different for each individual.
As your doctor, it is my job to place a higher emphasis on education and actionable insights so that my patients know what all this information amounts to - and so they can actually use it to better their health. In my view, health management is a right, not a privilege. It’s my responsibility to not only give patients a better understanding of their bodies, but to take it one step further and also help educate them on what it means — today, and for their future health.
One of the things I’ve learned from speaking with our patients is that they really appreciate us helping them make “realistic” changes and helping them each step along the way. It’s when we equip them with the steps they need to take next, to better their health that we really help. It’s simply not enough to say here’s what you need to do, come back in 6 months. Can your health be improved with a simple lifestyle change, or is your health challenge different? What is the potential health outcome if no changes are made? These are some of the many questions that we help with in our offices — and precisely what all health professionals need to be answering.
THE BOTTOM LINE
In the U.S., 90% of the $3.8 trillion in annual health care spending is for people with chronic health conditions — a number that could easily be reduced. But health is so much more than cost. At its core, it’s about helping people to extend their lives and making those lives fuller and happier. People are not lazy, gluttonous or weak-willed. They’re ill-informed. They’re ill-equipped. I’ve seen that when we give people the chance to understand their health to lead better lives, they take it.
Preventable conditions can pile up as we age. Every day 10,000 Americans turn 65, and 27% of the nation already has two chronic illnesses. I believe we need to see a change in paradigm from “cure” to “prevention” in health care and public health. The average American possesses a tool that could help prevent chronic disease in the palm of their hand. Rather than approaching health from a reactive mindset, for the first time ever, I think we have the chance to focus on prevention.
From a Functional Medicine perspective, we help you uncover the root or core causes of illness and disease, as well as monitor your health over time. In this way, we can facilitate natural ways of bringing the body system and vital substances back into balance and thereby reducing and eliminating illness and disease without medications. The practice of Functional Medicine revolves around natural healing and long term wellness facilitated by living a healthy lifestyle. When everything is well nourished and functioning well, we come to that place of wellness and bliss.