Is The Health Care System Making You Sick?
'The health care system has failed in keeping us healthy.'
Many developed countries around the world follow a similar system of looking after and treating the ill and infirmed. Mostly, we refer to this as 'The Health Care System'. But is it possible that this system that so many people depend on, unquestioningly, could be actually making us sicker?
The current strategy of our health care system is to diagnose and treat sickness and disease. And there is no doubt that there is a need for this kind of intervention when you are sick.
However in order for the system to work you have to get sick first. It's like closing the gate after the horse has bolted, right? So in actual fact, this is really a sickness care system, not a health care system at all!
While this system is great once you become sick, it does nothing to promote or maintain better health.
In fact, there is now more heart disease, more cancer, more diabetes, more arthritis and more chronic disease in the world than ever before! Even though we are living longer than we ever have, we simply are not living better.
Now we want to be perfectly clear right up front, HealthySpines.org is in no way anti-medicine or anti-doctors. The things that modern medicine can do now are miraculous, and the bottom line is that it can, and does, save millions of lives.
But the reality is this. The ‘health care system’ has failed in keeping us healthy.
Billions of dollars are poured into medical research every year, and we continually develop newer machines and better, more accurate medical tests that enable us to detect disease at it's earliest stages. And lets be very clear here, it still means you have to have the disease first.
Too often we place our trust in the hands of the system that has been developed by the pharmaceutical industry (read 'big business') to basically get us taking their products. That is, drugs and medications, and to take them for as long as possible. And don't be fooled, these guys are out to make money. Full stop!
It is well known now that most medications are simply designed to cover up the symptoms, and not actually affect the underlying cause of the disease, or offer any kind of cure. eg. Statin type drugs will lower your cholesterol. No doubt. But why would your body be making all that extra cholesterol in the first place? And who determines when it is too much? (Not to mention that there is NOT ONE scientific study that shows that statins have prevented even one heart attack! However, there is plenty of research that shows having LOW levels of cholesterol are linked to higher incidence of dementia!) Did your doctor forget to tell you that?
It is also well known that all medications also carry associated risks, which have been labelled as 'side effects'.
What does that even mean? Are they the effects of the drug that happen to the side of the effects that we want?
NO! Side effects are just the other effects that the drug has on your body. It's like saying bleeding is a side effect of being stabbed in the leg! Side effects are a result of taking the medication, full stop!
For example, if you take enough anti-inflammatory medications, you run a real risk of a gastrointestinal bleed. That is because one of the effects of the drug, as well as decreasing the inflammatory response (that is really just a part of your bodies healing process, read more here) is that it also eats away at the lining of your stomach. And ALL medications have some kind of so-called 'side effects'. Statins (cholesterol medication) are well known to cause body aches and pains. Sorry, they don't 'cause' it, it is a side-effect. Apparently.
Unfortunately, the health care system response to this is usually more medication to counter the 'side effects' of the other meds you are taking! It seems ridiculous, but this is the way it works. And all the time your health is going down hill, because the pills are not improving your health in the first place, they are only hiding the symptoms of being sick.
It is for this reason that by becoming dependent on the 'sickness care system' you are only going to become slowly sicker.
So how do you beat it?
Frankly, you have to take it upon yourself to learn about health and well-being. What it is, and what you need to do improve and maintain good health. Then you have to take action on what you have learnt. Make some changes if you need to.
It is completely up to us to take the steps to stay vibrantly healthy. And it is simple, old-fashioned advice that rings true. Remain active and get regular exercise. Eat lots of fresh, healthy foods. Simple as that.
You can read more about healthy choices here.
Unfortunately we can't rely on a system that is so entrenched in it's way of thinking about sickness and disease. And because that system is worth trillions of dollars, the government is not going to rock that boat any time soon, you can be sure.
All we are really saying is that you need to make informed choices about your health.
Only when we take it upon ourselves to become educated about health, and then take the necessary action to be truly healthy, can we become less dependant on a 'sickness care' system (that will leave you stuck on the pharmaceutical roller coaster).
That is a true health care strategy!
If you have any questions, or would like to share your own experience, please leave us a comment below.
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