Saving & Investing in Health

In the realms of political economy and personal finance, we all know the difference between "Borrowing and Spending" vs. "Saving and Investing." The former provides some short-term relief, but tends to impoverish us over the long term, while the latter tends to empower us, both today and tomorrow! The same principle applies to nutritional health and lifestyle medicine.  We can save and invest in health by acting today in a way that both enhances our current sense of well-being and optimizes our future prospects for good health and longevity, or we can mortgage our future health for the sake of present indulgences and then look to modern medicine to bail us out in the end--with pills and procedures, health screening(s) and surgeries, etc.

Unfortunatley, there have been a couple a stories in the news, recently, which remind us yet again that our confidence in modern medicine is sometime little more than wishful thinking. The first has to do with the safety and effectiveness of cancer screening, the second with the safety and effectiveness of anti-depressants.

While I am not qualified to advise anyone as to the propriety such measures, I do think that such options are often pursued more out of fear-- or in desperation --than in the rational pursuit of health and well-being. We hear advertisements touting the mood enhancing effects of medicines for depression and anxiety, and we are willing to ignore the long list of side effects in the hopes of a quick and relatively easy solution to our emotional dis-ease. Likewise, we know we are eating junk, not getting enough rest, indulging in other self-destructive behaviors, and living in fear of cancer--and we hope that the promise of "early detection" along with the surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy which follows it, will 'save our bacon', as it were, without our needing to make any serious changes in our life or, for that matter, without ever having to come to terms in any meaningful sense with our own mortality.  Unfortunately, the research discussed in the articles, below, suggests that these conventional approaches to depression and cancer may well be doing more harm than good. So while deciding whether or not to pursue them is a very personal decision, patients should be fully informed of both their risks and benefits--and also of the benefits available to them through changes in diet and lifestyle, whether such changes are made instead of, or along with, conventional treatments, screenings, etc. So whatever your personal decision in these regards, you can begin saving and investing in health, today, by 1)  by eating a predominantly whole foods, plant-based diet, 2) getting sufficient rest and exercise, and 3) avoiding obviously self-destructive behaviors.  Remember: "...your health is largely in your own hands, and no one else's. What needs to be understood is that health is the natural, spontaneous consequence of healthful living. It is rarely the consequence of expensive or complicated medical care."  ~ The Pleasure Trap -- for more information, see What Is Lifestyle Medicine

See also:

The Depressing News About Antidepressants Studies suggest that the popular drugs are no more effective than a placebo. In fact, they may be worse. [Read Article]

Cancer society casts more doubt on prostate tests...  Months after experts discounted the importance of routine mammograms and Pap smears for many women, the American Cancer Society is warning more explicitly than ever that regular testing for prostate cancer is of questionable value too, and can do men more harm than good. [Read Article]

Early Detection Testing?
Chance of Harm Is 100%
Chance of Benefit Is < 1 in a 1000 [Read Article]

For a Lifestyle Medicine approach to depression, see Dr. Fuhrman's Healthy Times Newsletter on this topic.  You can get one free (electronic) copy by signing up for his free mailing list.  All newsletters are downloadable for FREE with a subscription to his Member Center.  Or you can order select hard copies from WayneShop.Com for only $2.99 each.  The issue on depression will be available there, soon!

 Cancer Alert: Your Best Defense - Go Cruciferous Getting medical screenings is certainly a personal decision, but if you want to know what you can really do to protect yourself - eat lots of colorful vegetables, specifically including lots of green cruciferous vegetables. Eating a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables is your best defense for fighting and preventing cancer. [Read Article]

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