Reflecting on my own life experiences, I notice that, just as indicated in the book, I have become dependent on medicine. With the help of medication, I am carefree. I know that a lot of aspects of my lifestyle are not good for my health and are going to lead to severe problems in the future, but I cannot help but indulge myself. Because even if I overeat, there are some pills that can help me to digest and avoid weight-gain; no matter how late it is, I can always have some coffee to boost my energy; even doctor advise me to avoid eating food that are heavy on oil, I do not bother to pay attention to my food choice, because I have been prescribed magic pills that can prevent me from getting acne.
It seems like that the development of pharmaceuticals is at a surprisingly fast pace. And a lot of us have this illusion that medicine is soon going to be able to cure everything. I do not know whether that day would come or not, but currently, even doctors are not sure about all the effects a drug is going to have on our bodies. Anything we do and anything we take is going to affect us one way or another.
Also, relieves of physical problems are not the full picture of long-term health. Social health is another crucial part of individual health. Not to mention these unhealthy highly-stressful lifestyles and environments which most of us are aware of, a carefree and undependable life can also lead to increased mortality rate. And unlike the field of pharmacy, where no matter who you are, the same kind of drug is going to be prescribed to you to treat a certain disease, when talks about lifestyle, there is no ultimate formula assure a healthy long life. So many things are interacting with each other: genes, personality, relationships, catastrophe, fitness, masculinity and femininity, and potentially many others.
I think one of the things I have learned from reading this book is that do not listen to everything “experts” said about health. We all have limited time and energy, and it would ridiculous if we pursue health for the sake of health. I cannot imagine myself spending a large amount of money and time to follow professional instruction on doing exercise, wear sunscreen, avoid certain food that is “not healthy,” and put down all my stress. Before I read this book, I had already sensed that something is wrong with all the health advises and the lifestyle promoted by them. This book provides scientific evidence that it is not feasible to follow these recommendations. And it explores why some people are healthier just by following their natural life path.
I agree. Some ‘experts’ are financially driven and there have even been some reported cases in which researchers from prestigious universities were swayed by companies to produce a certain result in a study that was intended to misinform the public in order to generate sales of a certain health product. It just goes to show that not everything one hears is necessarily true and for many of the health related benefits one would want to achieve is not necessarily tied to one specific behaviour or change in lifestyle. There are so many different ways in which one can go about living a long life and because we are not cookie cutter in nature, there is much freedom in how we can pursue good health.
Hi Jialun!
It’s interesting that you begin your blog post talking about how there are pills for everything. I never thought about this, most likely because I usually avoid taking medication unless the problem is really severe. Since my mother is very health conscious, she encourages me to eat well. If I eat pasta or bread, they have to be wheat. She also always puts greens on my plate, even though she knows I hate vegetables. (I’m anemic so it’s for the better, but I still hate the taste).
It’s true that everything we do and the foods we eat is going to effect us in the long run! I think many of us have the illusion that because we are young, we should eat the junk food and bad stuff for our bodies while we can. I have many friends who have this mentality.
There are many myths about health. The media is always telling us not to eat junk food, to exercise more, and stress less, but these things are easier said than done. Health can not be improved by a checklist, but rather by internalized behavior. After reading this book, I think we are all more aware of the aspects and positively influence are health and can hopefully make the decision to change our current mindset and behavior to improve our lives!