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JUST AN ORDINARY PERSON TRYING TO LIVE HEALTHY

Thanks for tapping in to this latest blog post about living a healthier lifestyle. In my last two posts I attempted to explain why I write this column; and so the ongoing multi-faceted explanation continues:

I will start this post by being brutally honest and stating right up-front that I am just an ordinary person; NOT a medical doctor, nor am I a minister; so it may seem a bit odd at first to think that I could ever begin to write/blog about overall, well-rounded, God-grounded, health issues.

In reality though; the simple fact that I am not a doctor nor a minister is the very best part of the point I’m trying to make.

ORDINARY PEOPLE MUST LEARN HOW TO THRIVE IN THE MEDICAL WORLD OF OUR MODERN CULTURE

We all should grow up, be adults; and educate ourselves on good health issues.

Our doctors could never be as well aware of what we do day-in and day-out as the ordinary people that we are ourselves.

The medical doctors, no matter how educated and experienced, could never know all the little things in our daily lives that tend to improve or deteriorate our health. This is simply because they are not with us every breathing moment that we live.

GOOD HEALTH STARTS AT HOME

No one is closer to the truth of you than YOU. It is up to each of us to search these things out. Good health, just like good worship; starts at home.

For the most part our doctors are really more specifically employed to run tests, treat specific symptoms, issue prescription drugs for maintenance reasons, and confirm our suspicions about all the uncertain issues going on inside our bodies that we do not understand.

The rest?

Well these days; for daily, routine maintenance; it is pretty much up to us.

EVEN AS AN ORDINARY PERSON; YOU ARE PROBABLY YOUR OWN BEST MEDICAL ADVISER

We CAN understand so much of our daily health maintenance issues ourselves. This means we do have much of the capacity to become our own best medical advisers. Of course, this is only true if we remember to consult our physicians for backup, progression of testing information and emergencies.

THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE GENERATIONS

My mother is over 80 years old. I’m always amused at the fact that she seems to think if her doctor said it; God has spoken!

All of the people her same age seem to agree with her; but the younger you get in this culture the more you notice people actually questioning their doctor’s opinions and authority.

There are certain routine tests that my mother takes that I would never consider for myself. I have educated myself enough to understand that the percentages of prevention in relation to the testing are not relevant to any cures. She takes these tests like clockwork however, simply because her doctor advises them. No questions asked.

This isn’t said to under-rate the doctors (I happen to love my Mom’s doctors and am generally satisfied that they have her best interest in mind); but there seems to be a cultural revolution that we must adjust to.

SOMEONE SHOULD BE MONITORING AND ASKING QUESTIONS

In reality; someone SHOULD question the doctors from time to time.

The drug industry also needs to be monitored and questioned.

We all need to be better educated and learn to ask better questions.

The ways of the past generations, who lived their lives depending solely on the words of “the family doctor,” seem to have disappeared from the mainstream of our culture.

People seem to want to be better educated and more able to diagnose their own problems; especially the basic issues.

CONSIDER CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE FAMILY DOCTOR

In the current medical world there are probably very few physicians practicing who are able to give a complete medical history and health analysis for a patient all the way from the days of his birth straight through to the date of his death.

Health histories like this are now all divided into different seasons of a person’s life. Such a person might see many different doctors over a long period of time, instead of one specific doctor all the time for everything. Most of them have not communicated with one another.

Almost every medical practice, besides the emergency facilities, are becoming more specific and catering to only one specifically focused area of healthcare and expertise instead of an overall well-rounded and balanced menu of total family healthcare.

Let’s face the facts. A good experienced family practitioner is very hard to find. Most family practitioners are new to the field; fresh out of med school and just working out the time they need before they gravitate on over to the field of their specialty. This doesn’t mean they are not good doctors; but it does mean it is up to us to keep up with our own charts and needs a bit.

WE MUST LEARN TO MONITOR OUR OWN HEALTH NEEDS

That is why I think it is VERY important for all of us to educate ourselves in general health matters. We should all monitor our own health issues as closely and as carefully as we can.

Our doctors are a necessary and very important part of our total health maintenance; but we should also be doing a lot of monitoring on our own.