Cures and Continuations

I saw a meme online a few days ago.  It had some pills on it and the phrase, A patient cured is a customer lost. I agree.  You can't not agree with this.  It applies to almost every industry.  If there is no need for a service or product sold, there is no customer.

Moving forward, I'm not a doctor.  I didn't go to medical school.  I only speak from my experience as a certified Primal Health Coach and what I've read and heard in interviews from many doctors and health experts.  This also isn't an anti-medication post.

Not long ago, there was a stigma in the medical community that made you feel bad for doing your own research.  When mass information started becoming readily available on the internet people began playing doctor and trying to diagnose themselves online.  They'll query their symptoms and become convinced they have "x".  In America, people don't even need to go online. Drug manufacturers are allowed to advertise in magazines, on tv and in other media formats.  They'll paint a picture of something that you "might" have.  And then you'll go to their doctor and say, "I read online or saw this commercial...." only to be met with an awkward stare as if the doctor was insulted.  Today, the information, research and science is so good and so available, many doctors encourage their patients to take ownership of their health and do some quality research.   Doctors only have 8 minutes to spend with you.  They only have time to treat your symptoms to you get some relief.  They don't have nearly enough time to actually help you figure out how you got those symptoms or what they are.  That's not the doctors fault.  You can look to the insurance industry as to why they only get 8 minutes per patient.  And big pharma loves it.   I don't believe any Doctor sets out to see a patient for 8 minutes and prescribe a drug to treat their symptom and never get to the root cause of it to heal the patient.  I honestly believe most doctors would LOVE to have the time to treat, manage, and potentially be able to cure their patients. 

Don't we owe it to ourselves to figure out what is causing certain symptoms?

Example, if you are trying to fill up a 5 gallon bucket, you wouldn't use a bucket with a hole in it.  It's counter productive.  You won't be effective.  You'll have to keep the water flowing into the bucket to keep it full.  Medication, and even some forms of therapy shouldn't be like that.   Unfortunately though,  there are some diseases that may require long term treatment options.

But what about things like type 2 diabetes?  I use this as an example because type 2 diabetes is one of the quickest growing auto immune conditions in todays America and anywhere a western diet is adapted.  The most common treatment is metformin.  Other treatments include insulin injections.  But what is Type 2 diabetes?  It's a condition where over time your body can't produce enough insulin to keep up with the demands.  What demands?  High blood sugar.  How does your blood sugar get high?  You consume carbohydrates.  See where this line of questioning is going?  There isn't enough time in the 8 minutes for you to fully understand what Type 2 diabetes is, how it's caused, how's it's treated and how you can manage it without medication.  You may be genetically predisposed to T2, but that doesn't mean you will develop symptoms or that if you do you have no choice.  You do.  But you are going to have to do some legwork of your own.

But remember, a patient cured (or not requiring medication) is a patient lost.  And if you lose patients, you lose income.  And a business wouldn't be around long if it's primary goal is to lose customers.  So are pharmaceutical companies really in out to cure us?

Back to T2.  It's not a virus.  It's a disease caused by overuse of your organs.  Eat carbohydrates (and there are many in a western diet, almost every 3 hours) and your blood sugar rises.  Your pancreas releases insulin to signal your liver and muscles to store it as glycogen.  If your liver and muscles are full, it's then stored as body fat for later use as energy.   This is a system.  It's controlled by what foods you put in your body.  Food.  Proper nutrition can go a long way to helping you treat and manage like many have done without medications or injections.  But remember, a patient cured is a customer lost.  So why would a business want to lose a customer?  That's a loss of income and it would effect the family of the income producer.

It's not just Type 2.  Our bodies are made up and function entirely off of what we eat and react to environmental stresses.  Our brains also run on this fuel.  It effects all the bacteria and microbes living in our body.  If attention isn't given to what you eat, it could be causing your body to do so much more work than it would like to.  Just because stuff is sold as food, doesn't mean it's digestible and will work with your body.  Years of eating the wrong food will lead to all sorts of autoimmune diseases.  Bottom line, todays western diet is a slow and silent killer.  It's rich in excessive carbohydrates, added sugar and soybean oil that all lead to oxidation, inflammation  and obesity in your body.  The big three drivers of disease.

I'm not saying just start any random diet.  Even most "diet" plans are a business and wanting to keep you on their plan just like big pharma wants to keep you on their drug.

Ask your doctor how they would prefer you eat to provide maximum health and longevity.  But then also go do your own research to see if what your doctor says lines up with what all the current science says.  Like it or not, Doctors self admittedly claim they do NOT have very deep nutritional education.  And that's not a fault, that's just the way it is.  They have so many other responsibilities to keep us feeling well and healthy.  It's on YOU to patch all the holes in the bucket and put yourself in the best possible position to stay healthy.

Except in a few circumstances, you shouldn't NEED to be on medications for the rest of your life.  Perhaps they have a place in the short term.

What's the point?  You don't always have to settle that you are just "sick".  You should always look for the causes of how you got where you did.