The Problem With Western Medicine
From the Western Medicine side of things, I can sum up almost all the advice as this: if I eat okay, exercise some, maintain the right weight, don't smoke, don't drink too much, and have "an absence of disease", then Ta-Da! I'm healthy.
Not a bad start, but I'm going to have to label that list as inadequate. I could easily achieve all of these things and not actually be healthy. (Wait a second. I AM achieving this list! Huh. Well, I can tell you, I don't think I'm at optimum health.) And, is it possible for someone to not do all those things and be in peak condition? Probably. There just seems to be a huge chunk of the puzzle missing.
Okay okay, I understand that one can't expect it all. (Isn't there some kind of quote out there about the only way to be 100% sure you're healthy is to get an autopsy?) I get that there is no way to know for certain that there isn't cancer growing inside me until I start to feel the symptoms, or that my bones are strong enough until one of them breaks. But I DO think there is more to knowing that you are in optimum health than institutional medicine is willing to give me. I give them props for not wanting to stray from the easily quantitative into the ambiguous world of the qualitative, or to give quantitatives that they believe are not examined thoroughly enough and could be passing fads. I also give them props for constantly stressing the individual person, and encouraging people to see their doctors for personalized advice. The theory is that your doctor will know your individual case better, and be able to prescribe the best healthy lifestyle for your needs. But, I gotta say, I think this is copping out, or simply impractical. WHO has a doctor that knows them that intimately?? (I'm talking to those who are not married to doctors, or are doctors themselves.) I'm talking about normal people who are healthy enough to not need to see a doctor except once a year at their annual (if that), but know that they need some improvement (and aren't living with a trained professional).
No, I think Western Medicine either doesn't have all the answers yet, or it's hesitating to give much substantial advice. There's also a little bit of losing the forest for the trees--it specializes much more in the diagnosis and treatment of disease than on the overall holistic health of the entire body.
This is where I start turning toward other philosophies. So what do they think being "healthy" means? I will start with one with which I've had a really good experience: naturopathic medicine.
Nutritional/Naturopathic Medicine
The basis of nutritional medicine (or naturopathy) is the philosophy that the body can heal itself better than drugs can from most diseases, as long as you listen to its needs and respond with the right tools (like nourishment and vitamins). So, being that optimum health is the ultimate goal, there was a lot on the subject.
Unlike Western Medicine's unwillingness to be specific, natural medicine has a tendency to swing in the opposite (and also frustrating) direction--instead of hesitating to give any advice for fear that there is not enough evidence, it can both give so much advice one gets drowned in it and be a little too open-minded about alternate points of view and throw support behind theories before they've had a chance to gain substantial evidence. But still, there is a sound foundation of scientifically-based theory and practice to get me started.
I decided to go with what is considered THE resource of information on nutritional medicine, Prescription for Nutritional Healing. They have a whole section at the beginning about optimizing health, so I sifted through and picked out anything I considered "big picture". (Forgive me for not including how many milligrams of bioflavonoids are necessary for optimum health...I may want a complete list, but I ain't crazy.)
Here's what I ended up with...
1) Drink at least 8 8-oz glasses of purified water a day
2) Always select unrefined, unprocessed foods (fruits, whole grains) over refined and processed (sugar, candy, white flour)
3) 60% of your diet should consist of unrefined, unprocessed whole carbohydrates
4) Eat a minimum of 25 grams of fiber a day (which you should reach easily if you accomplish 2 & 3)
5) Protein is necessary for good health, but most Americans eat too much. 50 grams is all you need.
6) Daily intake of saturated fats should be below 10% of total caloric intake
7) The recommended daily allowances (RDAs) for vitamins and minerals that are listed on nutrition labels are ONLY the amounts necessary to avoid deficiency diseases (like scurvy), not the amount necessary for optimum health. [Seriously!? I never knew that!] Therefore, most people should take a high-quality multivitamin, or a specially-tailored vitamin regiment for their needs.
8) Exercise is an important element for preventing disease
9) A positive attitude is an important element for preventing disease.
10) Food should be organic or free from harmful additives, and prepared in a way that preserves its nutrients (less cooking, less canned, less processed, etc)
11) Avoid foods that contain artificial additives and artificial ingredients
12) Increase your consumption of raw produce
13) Most fruits and vegetables should be eaten in their entirety (including skin). When eating citrus, try to eat the white parts when possible (but still don't eat the rinds). Whole fruits are better than fruit juices.
14) Avoid overcooking or burning your foods
15) Limit your use of salt
16) Whole raw vegetables are a good source of digestive enzymes. If you are not eating enough of these, consider taking digestive enzymes as a supplement to assist with the breaking down of food in the digestive tract.
17) Maintain a normal balance of intestinal flora
18) Do not drink too much caffeine or coffee, as it can interfere with calcium metabolism
I think there are some good things here to add to my criteria (or narrow it in some cases), but also some things that are still disappointingly vague (like exercise). To be fair, I'm looking at a nutritional handbook, so the other parts of health are probably not going to be talked about much. I think I will need to look elsewhere in natural medicine to get details on the rest. There are also a lot of "avoids", which are too vague for my comfort. How many artificial additives can I have in my diet to be considered "avoiding" them? What is "too much" coffee (a very important question for me)?
One key here that I like and want to emphasize is the idea that I should be able to listen to my body--to know the signs before I become full-blown sick, and correct them before that can happen. It's preventative medicine, preventing chronic illness. But, how do I listen to my body? It seems like something that most modern Americans would need to train themselves to do? How does one do that?
Perhaps I can find another resource to get a more rounded understanding.
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