Preventive Medicine

Why Preventive Medicine?

Do you eat a healthy diet, exercise frequently, have great stress coping mechanisms, and get a good night's sleep, every night? The answer to one or more of these questions is most likely going to be, no.

We live in a busy society, especially in the Western part of the world. We are consumed by convenience which likely stems from our obsession with time. We are always on the go, trying to balance families, careers and education. We are constantly working towards the next big thing (a house, a car, a new boat), while we work many hours to pay for these things that we cherish. 

We are stressed out by deadlines, not having enough money for the lifestyles we believe we deserve, health issues, and numerous other issues that may or may not be important. 

We are starting to become overweight and obese as we place our own health needs, on the back burner. Sooner or later, our health starts to decline and we start to develop health problems like, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. When we look back, we realize that we were the cause for much of our own health's decline. 

This is where preventive medicine comes in. We can achieve optimal health even after a decline in health if we focus on the prevention of future illness, instead of just focusing on the treatment of the illness in the moment. 

Why wait until we find out that we have type II Diabetes, before we make a change in our diets and increase physical activity? 

We are responsible for our own health. We need to be alert to changes and ask ourselves questions such as, am I experiencing more fatigue than normal? Am I experiencing pain? (Pain is not normal and is often an indicator of an underlying problem, even in the elderly). Have I ate a balanced diet and am I active?

Preventive medicine focuses on achieving optimal health (balance of mind, body, spirit, community) within ourselves. We can achieve this balance by focusing on a healthy diet, exercise, good mental health and, community or networked support systems. 

Preventive medicine is essential in preventing the occurrence of disease, and can also be used to maintain or cope with a disease that is already present. In some instances, preventive medicine may even reverse illness.  

The beauty about this healing practice is that it costs little money to maintain. A healthy diet can be maintained on a tight budget (as I am doing it). Instead of thinking about food in terms of quantity, think about in terms of quality. A bag of chips will be cheaper than a bag of apples. In Ontario, you can buy 3 cheap bags of potato chips to one bag of apples. While you may think that the chips are a better option because you can get more for the same price, you would be incorrect. Their is no nutritional value in a bag of chips. Your energy will not be sustained for any length of time, and you would be increasing your risk for future illness like, cancer. These are things we need to consider when purchasing food, Remember, Quality over quantity. Most times, we are eating way more than a suggested serving size.

Preventive medicine is our responsibility. We cannot blame our declined health on a health system if we are the cause of our own illness. We need to be aware of our bodies and give it the nutritional content it deserves. We need to focus on eliminating stress by prioritizing the more important things in life. We need to increase our levels of physical activity and maintain a healthy weight.

By making these simple changes, we will safeguard our own health.