And The Future is Now.
As a boomer, it has become evident that the only way to remain healthy in this toxic world is to take responsibility for my own health. I confess, sometimes I enjoy over indulging in some of the sinful stuff, like too many glasses of red wine, or a mindless binge on organic chips and salsa at my favorite Mexican cafe. However, I must also admit it may be considered healthy, but when you’re not mindful about what you are putting into your body at this age, it will undoubtedly go right to the middle. Over consuming dessert like gourmet raw chocolate bliss balls, a pint of coconut milk ice cream, and even Bulletproof Coffee can be overindulged to the point of excess. Suffice it to say that the old adage, “you are what you eat” has now been proven!
On a good day I’m teetotaling with my GT’s Kombucha Ginger tea, and it’s my substitute for a cold beer on a hot day. The only problem is that it’s way more expensive to be health conscious these days. However, not being in tune with your body can cost you a lot more in the end. Someone once said that while we cheat ourselves by not going on a relaxing vacation or visiting a spa or healing retreat for a massage and steam, when we get sick it costs way beyond what we thought we were saving by not indulging. The truth is we really do need that respite from the stressors of everyday living.
The exciting news is that we in fact are visiting more healing retreats and spas and learning how to take care of ourselves preventatively. However, after a few days at a health spa, we can quickly unlearn all the good we were taught when we get back home to our unconscious lifestyles. So before we get too out of touch with our bodies, we must remember to educate ourselves and become intimate with our own bodily functions in order to really bring the lessons learned home.
There are many well respected medical doctors who have become ‘enlightened’ and have spent their career empowering folks to take their health back into their own hands. One luminary in this field, who is the author of several groundbreaking books, is Dr. Christiane Northrup. A recent newsletter from the Sacred Science Team recently commented about Dr. Northrup’s research: “Long before it was politically correct to talk about alternative medicine, she showed us that our bodies can heal themselves if properly cared for. She has written some of the most respected books on women’s health ever published and is not afraid of straight-talk about the root cause of illness….Her message is simple: we are the medicine that we’ve been looking for — and I happen to agree”
There are many well renowned medical practitioners who are including integrative protocols to encourage their patients through books, websites and seminars to become educated in how to be the CEO of their own wellness. Dr. Andrew Weil is a U.S.-trained physician, successful author, spokesperson, and broadly described ‘guru’ for holistic health and integrative medicine, whose name also constitutes an emerging brand of healthcare services and products in these fields.
The popularity of online medical information has created a whole new way to wellness, with websites such as Dr. Joseph Mercola, who operates mercola.com, which he has described as the most popular alternative-health website on the Internet. While his critics may consider him controversial, he has certainly paved the way for many of us to learn about ‘optimal wellness’ through natural healing modalities.
We all need to become empowered to take back our health and not rely on the medical establishments and institutions to ‘do it for us.’ Twenty years ago I watched my aging parents in Florida rely solely on their doctors to keep them alive. It was painful to see them deteriorating rapidly, with a tray piled full of pharmaceutical drugs on the kitchen table. With several prescriptions from different medical professionals who had no monitoring system for what drug combinations could have radical effects when blended together — in the end they both experienced fatal complications.
Twenty-first century medicine is very promising for my generation because there are so many new modalities, devices and ways of healing that have been discovered to prolong and even reverse the kinds of symptoms and illness my parents suffered.
Unless we are privy to a concierge medical practice, we are just one of the many in the waiting room, where the doctors have carved out a millisecond to meet with us to plea our case for some potion, pill, or treatment. However, there is hope for many of us. Now that technological advancements are popping out new methods of tracking our health, we can play a part in our own health care.
The doctors have accurate and exciting new equipment in their medical practice, with many linked to computers to diagnose and treat our symptoms and hopefully get to the root causes. Even if you are most comfortable with the established, mainstream medicine, there are many ways to become a co-pilot with your doctor while observing your own health. In fact, we have now got to the point where companies, such as Biotricity, are producing monitoring solutions, whereby doctors, healthcare professionals and individuals will be able to monitor vital bodily functions using portable and wearable technology. Whilst as a health and wellness expert, I usually like to reserve judgement on such advancements until I have experienced them myself, it seems that if is indeed accurate and reliable, then the future is here and the era of ‘self-care’ can begin.
Healthcare Dr.mercola Self-care Dr.andrew Weil Dr. Christiane Northrup
Originally published at www.huffingtonpost.com on February 24, 2016.
Originally published at medium.com