Aloha to you all!
It seems so fitting that the December 1 issue of Time magazine sports the title “Annual Checkup: The Sorry State of American Health” just when I am launching my health blog for the first time.
The article points out:
- 67% of Americans are overweight or obese
- 96% of Americans rarely eat enough vegetables
- 40% of Americans get no exercise
No wonder that the US ranks 34th in the world in life expectancy at 77.9 years despite the fact that the US spends more than any other nation on health care, a whopping 16% of the GDP, $2 trillion in 2005. We are not getting the bang in health for our buck!
That’s where I feel I can help. After spending 30 years as a psychiatrist prescribing medication and about the same number of years making forays in the pursuit of “natural health”, I believe this blog can offer ways for you to spend less money on your health and be healthier for it.
I will be focusing on the two main avenues for health, diet and exercise, but will approach them in ways that are more holistically-oriented rather than simply scientifically based.
For example, the Time article says “The biggest problem with the U.S. health-care system is that it has long been designed to respond to illness rather than prevent it. By prevention, however, it cites vaccinations, cancer screenings and blood-pressure checks. Well, I’m all for prevention, but my idea of prevention is to get at the source of the illness before it has a chance to develop…not just to get by with a quick vaccination, not to learn after the fact that a cancer has already started, nor to find your blood pressure has risen.
The Time article goes on to point out that millions of Americans are at risk because they don’t have insurance or easy access to a doctor. Access to health care is no problem when you take responsibility for your health; I call this self health. Are you doing as much as you can to make yourself healthy? And if not, why not? Think diet and exercise again.
I will be making weekly entries to this blog and I welcome any comments or questions related to my entries. Here’s to your health!
