Three Major Factors

Our health is determined by three major factors—our genes, our environment, and our self-care. One of these, our genetic makeup, is pre-determined. The environment in which you grew up, plus the environment in which you live now contribute to your state of health. The self-care we select; and the degree to which we live a healthy lifestyle, are the most controllable aspects of our health. The amount of good nutrition, exercise, the quality of our relaxation and our level of stress are largely determined by—ourselves. But how many of us really feel in control of either our lives or our health? We scurry here and there and run errands on autopilot while we jabber mindlessly (oh yes, have you listened to other people’s cell-phone calls?) while we drop our kids off for this, that, or the other, without ‘having time’ for either ourselves or our loved ones. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Health care and attitudes toward it are undergoing changes in the U.S. We do lag behind the rest of the world in openness toward new/old therapies, largely because the conventional health care industry is so strongly protected from competition. But, I suspect, enough lawmakers themselves have experienced outside-the-mainstream healthcare and found much of benefit, that the rigid restrictions are beginning to relax.. The conventional medical industry has had to allow cooperation to the extent that many insurance companies now cover at least some ‘alternative’ treatments, therapies, and prescriptions.

One new/old attitude regards acceptance of our mortality. Part of our health environment is intellectual—we are conditioned to trust anyone in a lab coat and regard death as an enemy. But this too, is beginning to change. With a greater acceptance, hospice care is becoming widespread and some people who prefer it are being allowed to die at home.

Much of our attitude is conditioned by the media, which has generated a lot of hype and fear. How many times must we be subjected to the phrase, ‘Heart disease is America’s #1 Killer’? Oh please, stop the hysteria. Mortality is a gift we inevitably receive. The number one cause of death is—dying. How old were most of the people who died as a result of ‘America’s #1 Killer’? We need to concern ourselves with how we live, not how we die. If we take good care of ourselves and don’t get hit by a bus, and choose the right genetic background (joke alert), we will live until we die—of something. Eventually one or the other of our vital functions will shut down and we get to find out what happens next. It will happen to you. I promise.

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