Healthcare or Sickcare?
In the United States, we have an epidemic of obesity and disease. As a nation we are developing heart disease, diabetes and cancer at alarming rates. Believe it or not, there are countries where there is virtually no heart disease. In addition, they also tend to have less cancer, diabetes, obesity and depression. People eat better, they are socially connected and have higher levels of satisfaction with their lives. This, by the way, does not mean that they are the wealthiest places in the world. These places are called the Blue Zones. We also have places in our country that are considered the healthiest places to live. For example, Loma Linda, California is considered the core of America’s Blue Zone. In Loma Linda there is a community of Adventists numbering 9,000. They are a great cohort to study as they are concentrated in one area and practice similar lifestyles of vegetarianism and exercise, social connection and complete avoidance of alcohol and tobacco use. This group lives up to a decade longer and better than the average American. It is not luck or better genetics that dictate their health. It is the focus on daily health habits and rituals that build the foundation of good health. Your body is better able to stave off disease if given the building blocks of good health. As we know too well, a pill cannot substitute for this effort.
With this in mind, I want to express my disbelief in the mindset of some of the professionals and administrators who are in the healthcare industry in our country. We know that we can avoid and improve disease with proper diet and lifestyle. This is an indisputable fact. Yet, I continually get feedback from patients and those that have contact with doctors and hospital administrators they are being told that what people eat doesn’t matter. They tell patients to eat what they want because it won’t make any difference in their disease treatment or progression. Doctors tell patients that the concerns with inflammation caused by poor diet is untrue and that fast food is okay. Are they kidding?
What I want you all to know is they are dead wrong. Do nothing different is the wrong advice to give to people at a venerable time where they are open to change. When you have a cancer diagnosis you are ready for modifying your life and the people caring for you should provide the venue for you to learn evidence based answers to your questions. If they do not have the answers, they should at best refer you to someone who does and at least not offer wrong information to steer you down the same path that may have gotten you in to trouble in the first place. Most physicians have virtually no nutritional education. None. You are generally taking the advice from someone who may have less information about nutrition than the person living down the street. So when your doctor and hospital administrator do not provide or recommend services that we know will improve your chances of survival and optimally progressing through treatment they are doing you and your community a huge disservice.
Generally, I would tell people their best advise on lifestyle would come from primary care doctors and providers. Yet, this is not always the case. Like I said, there has been virtually no nutritional training in medical school. We are finally seeing some enlightened residency programs and medical schools revolutionize their programs and provide teaching kitchens and dietary education. We are fortunate enough to have forty years of research from many of the leaders in medicine who have returned to the roots of lifestyle medicine such as Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Michael Greger and Dr. David Katz to name a few. We know that food is medicine as well. In daily increments food can lead to disease at its worst and health at its best. Please reach out to your hospital systems and request that they up date their practices to serve healthy food and provide not only medical but also proper nutritional counseling for diabetes, heart disease and cancer. This remains an area in hospitals that won’t make them money in the short run, but in the long run will reap benefits greater than the all mighty dollar.
