Colleen M. Faltus* wonders why we have an obsession with pharmaceuticals, when so many of our ills can be cured by simple lifestyle choices.
If we were given a medicine, recognised universally, that gave us the power to reshuffle our genetic deck of cards, would we use it?
Likewise, would we use this medicine, with its bountiful resources and minimal risks, frequently enough to make an impact?
This is lifestyle medicine and with current sick-care trends and data, it seems as though the answers to these questions would be no.
In the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study findings show that more Americans than ever are taking prescription drugs.
Regrettably, the prominent use of these pharmaceutical impositions encompasses a mindset of disproportional dependency on morbid living.
Such a mindset and outcome can be mitigated through the regimented and frequent use of lifestyle medicine strategies.
These impact long-term behaviour modification while concurrently optimising our longevity.
In a culture dependent on pharmaceutical interventions to extend years of morbid health, the necessity for substantial and prominent lifestyle medicine strategies is more critical than ever.
Comprehensive lifestyle changes may be able to bring about regression of even severe coronary atherosclerosis after only one year, without use of drugs.
The insurmountable and irrefutable research-backed evidence for lifestyle medicine has always been a cornerstone and building block for constructing a health-promoting lifestyle.
Even more is the effective and powerful ability of lifestyle medicine to not only keep chronic disease at bay but also reverse such maladies without the often dreadful and compounding side effects.
To have this practical, life-saving ability to add quality years to your life and cash in your wallet is certainly one to not miss out on.
Unfortunately we are missing out, even though the resources we have available to us today via lifestyle medicine are all we need to add quality years to life and life to years.
We continue to sit back in chairs that redeem a pathetic power to mould and direct our deteriorating health and well-being.
We sit back and provide the opportunity for scientifically devised junk and addictive food to fight for our stomach space.
We sit back and allow digital connectedness to rob us of sleep-thriving nights and stress-free minds.
We sit back and wait until the research perfectly aligns, a magic pill comes into play or the simplicity and convenience of a fountain of youth dissolves over us.
*Colleen M. Faltus writes about lifestyle medicine. Her expertise lies in the design and implementation of people-centric health and well-being programs. She tweets at @cmfaltus.
This article first appeared at the Huffington Post.
