As we venture through our pathology coursework, I feel like most of the diseases could be and could have been prevented. There are genetic issues to consider, but I feel strongly that we are products of our environment.
Take this example - as a kid I was working at my father's auto body shop, smoking cigarettes, drinking beer excessively and eating the crappiest diet you could imagine. The lifestyle of this workplace advocates these behaviors. It wasn't until I met my lovely wife Sadie when I finally began making changes. Some of the changes occurred before I met her but she held my feet to the fire by making me want to be a better person. The habits I had to quit were difficult, to say the least. And eventually I found myself racing my bicycle at the elite level. Now, if I stayed in the negative, suppressing environment the auto body shop advocated, I would not be writing this beautiful essay today. :)
I feel like we do have a choice in whatever it is we want in life. Too often I see copouts that prevent people from finding a life worth living with passion.
As doctors, I think our job is just that, help people gain control of their lives so they can extract all that there is to obtain from this short life on Earth. And the one thing everyone could have control over is their lifestyle and from making proper choices they could prevent disease in its entirety or at least push it off until the genetic clock decides it is time. Food for thought.
Thanks for reading
Check out this article in the Globe and Mail - a Canadian national newspaper
ReplyDelete"Organic tastes good, but better for us? No"
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/organic-tastes-good-but-better-for-us-no/article1214614/
That is a thought provoking article Shereen ... What is the answer?
ReplyDeleteI guess it comes down to whether you want to put herbicides, fungicides or pesticides in your body. Personally, I don't want those extra chemicals in my body anymore. Also, there are a number of peer reviewed articles showing the use of organic foods/extracts on cancer cell repression and immunity that claim the heightened nutrient content and structure of the nutrients plays a role in disease prevention and disease promotion if looking at conventional foods.
ReplyDeleteI will find the website with the links a bit later tonight and post it as a comment.
Lastly, I am not saying pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are causing all disease, I am saying people eat like shit and if they started eating more fruits and veggies, organic or not, their chronic problems would go away eventually. Personally, I am replacing higher pesticide retaining fruits and veggies with organic. Look up the Dirty Dozen through google. This helps select organic fruits and veggies better without going broke. There are some conventional fruits and veggies low in pesticides - nutritionally equivalent is another story.
I have no doubts that people eat like shit. Given that, how do we as doctors change that? Obviously that is a huge precursor to disease, yet what and how we eat is intimately ingrained into us. Food is much more than a means to survival. I do not doubt that people can make major changes, but I wonder if we will be able to effect those changes. Ignorance and habits on my patients part will not keep me from trying, but I feel there is something greater and more that can do and should be done.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It is more than just eating well, isn't it. Food is really just a base to grow from. There are ways to convince the unconvincable they need to change (i.e., health psychology principles).
ReplyDeleteThere is more than just eating well that can be taught. It just seems the typical lifestyle in America is to over-consume everything! Food is one aspect that makes them sick and one we can help them overcome. We can't expect to change their entire outlook unless they really want this to begin with. I think that will be the hardest part of our new job.