27 Dec It’s Not the Health Service That’s the Problem, it’s Us!

The news talks incessantly about it, the government throws more and more money at it, and we all moan about it. But the truth is our health service is on its knees, not just because it is badly organised, but because we, as individuals, are putting way too much pressure on it.

The Truth About Hospital Beds

It is understood that up to 1 in 4 hospital beds are taken up by diabetic patients, with varying degrees of symptoms, 99%, if not more, of which could be avoided with the right diet and regular exercise.

Around 50% of weekend A&E patients present with alcohol or drug-related issues, which, of course, could be totally avoided.

And because modern medicine is, rightly or wrongly, keeping older and sicker patients alive for longer, this adds extra pressure because these patients return to hospital frequently. Over the years, bad lifestyle choices have led to three or four conditions being managed simultaneously, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, usually requiring urgent and often intensive treatment or long hospital stays.

Who’s Really to Blame?

Admittedly it is not our fault completely, the huge profit-making food industry and big pharma have a whole lot to answer for. Although ultimately what we put in our mouths is our choice every time and we need to start taking responsibility for that if we don’t want to become one of the above statistics.

I know it’s not that easy, as I am writing this my Christmas chocolate mountain beckons, however, if we ensure the majority of what we eat is healthy, nourishing, and life-supporting, rather than disease-creating, we can still afford to have some ‘treats’ from time to time without causing too many issues.

Choose Wisely

The health service is currently just mopping up the illnesses caused by our diet and lifestyle choices so surely if we can make better choices now we can avoid an old age full of sickness, immobility, and hospitalisation, which is all pretty miserable.

The hospitals are not going to get any less full, it will not become easier to get a doctor’s appointment and the paramedics are not going to arrive any quicker. They are all stretched to the max dealing with things that in the most part could easily be prevented, or at the very least nipped in the bud, by us.

Prevention is the Cure

It is about time we take responsibility for what and how much we are eating, for our alcohol consumption, and also how we self-medicate. Prevention is always better than cure, as many Eastern practices, such as Ayurveda, strive for.

For some reason, we do not subscribe to this and instead treat the symptoms as they arise with more unnatural products that create yet more symptoms and problems until we are on a cocktail of drugs by the time we reach old age.

There has to be a better way. Don’t you agree?

Feed Good Habits
Kathy Mac
xx