As you know, I am a firm believer in the power of nutrition and health practices to keep us in a state of good health for as long as possible.
An approach to life that sees us take control of our own outcomes.
Personal responsibility, as it were.
A plant-based diet can be a force for good at the centre of this, and it’s something that has served me and countless others very well.
But of course, the medical establishment exists and can serve to provide assistance for us, particularly in life-threatening situations.
Often we hear the question ‘are doctors trying to keep us sick’ mentioned time and time again.
It’s a multi-layered question, with so many different approaches and schools of thought.
I believed that they did for many years.
That they were glorified drug dealers with no interest in helping people, and every interest in keeping population health down and lining their own pockets.
And while in some regards this is true, I’ve changed my overall view on this somewhat.
Here are some truths that I think are worth highlighting.
Do we overmedicate in society? Yes
Do pharmaceutical companies see individuals in society as merely a number in their quest to maximise stakeholder profits? Yes
Is the amount of training in nutrition that doctors get woefully inadequate and nowhere near acceptable for a health professional? Yes
These are things that are undeniable in my opinion, and have been demonstrated countless times over the years.
It’s estimated (in the United States at least) that doctors get around 4 hours of nutrition training as part of their studies.
Given what we know about food and it’s impact on human health, that seems quite strange.
Numerous large pharmaceutical companies (such as Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer and more) have been fined billions of dollars for immoral practices that have led to the ill health of humans worldwide.
These facts generate a deserved amount of scepticism and lack of trust in the modern medical establishment - but there is just one thing that seems to stick in my mind that trumps this all…
Personal responsibility.
Despite all of the things out there regarding doctors (not all of them by the way) and pharmaceutical companies that may be out of our control…
there is PLENTY that is in our control that can contribute to better health.
And it is our responsibility to find, learn and implement the strategies to do this.
What we do from the moment we wake up — in terms of what food we put into our bodies, the amount of sleep we get, the training and exercise habits we lean into daily — is really what is going to count.
It’s our personal ticket to a higher chance of a healthier life.
And as such, I find the blanket blame of doctors a bit of a lazy position to take.
If someone winds up in a doctor’s office from an entirely preventable lifestyle disease (think cardiovascular disease, Type 2 Diabetes etc), that’s not the doctor’s fault is it?
If the doctor — and I personally know many who do this — are aggressive advocates for healthy and sustainable lifestyle change, but the patient doesn’t care and wants to eat processed food all day every day, what can the doctor do about that?
With the amount of information that is out there and how easy it is to find the information around simple, healthy eating, is it the doctor’s fault that people aren’t leaning into this?
In our attack on doctors, we’ve perhaps forgotten that the individual is the agent of their own health and life.
The reality is that for the most part, doctors are some of the most selfless and helpful people you will find.
A genuine desire to be a force for good.
But admittedly they aren’t given the best toolkit from a holistic standpoint to really change the world.
But that’s where we then have to take responsibility for their shortcomings, and find answers ourselves.
If you are someone who is proclaiming that doctors are trying to keep us sick — but not taking a front-foot and active approach to improving your own health — then you need to re-direct your frustration towards yourself.
Instead of waiting on a saviour to change your health outcomes, be that change that you want to see.
Stay healthy,
Jeffrey
*a sidenote, there will be no newsletter next Friday, as I’m on honeymoon :)