Heather Bedard, C.H.E.
HealthCARE is a popular term, which, ironically, doesn’t really mean to care for our health. It’s a word usually referring to people going to the doctor to get prescriptions for drugs that only make them more sick or that consist of terrible side effects. I wouldn’t really call this healthCARE, would you?!
Let’s define what real healthCARE means at Dynamic Health Freedom by stating what healthCARE is not. HealthCARE does not mean going to the doctor when you’re sick. It does not mean covering symptoms with pharmaceutical drugs and invasive procedures. It does not mean popping pills and supplements. HealthCARE means truly caring for your health in all areas. It means using preventative measures to keep yourself out of the medical mill.
We have been trained in this country to view doctors almost as a god. We often take their advice without thinking for ourselves or researching their opinions. We are bombarded day after day with messaging from drug companies and the whole idea that by taking what they offer we can somehow escape the ramifications of the lifestyles we have lived…without changing our lifestyle. We have been subliminally trained to think that our bodies are broken and that we need medical intervention to take the place of our weak and ineffective immune system. We go to the doctor every year for a well check because we’ve been conditioned to do this from birth. They look for something wrong and, voila! They find something! They recommend a drug that can help, and even though we may not have been feeling bad at all, we take it. The drug produces side effects which we then must take other drugs to fix. This cycle continues, until, somewhere down the road, our body just can’t take it anymore, and it gives out. I call this the medical mill.
Now, maybe this scenario is a bit extreme, but I invite you to take a look around at the people in your world. Do you see this cycle? Do you see it in your own life? I believe there is a better way and a way that gives us what we are really looking for…a free, full, and expansive life. This does not mean that having this life does not mean seeking medical help at times. There is a time and a place for that and there are questions we can ask ourselves and metrics we can use to help us make these decisions. I am going to outline 5 metrics you can use to determine whether or not what your experiencing is true health CARE.
The first is that your healthCARE should encompass the whole person. Our bodies are more than just physical components. We have emotions and a spirit. All of these things together can, and do, work together as one to create homeostasis or being at home...in harmony. Medical issues are not always just related to acute trauma. Whether you have acute trauma or a chronic disease that has developed over a long period of time, these things affect not only your body but also your mind and spirit. Experiences, whether physical or emotional, impact the development of the neural pathways in the brain. In other words, every emotional or physical response you have affects your hormones and neurotransmitters and in turn affects the type of physical response you have. Have you ever had your stomach drop when you heard bad news? Has your heart ever beat faster in response to anxiety? Have you ever had trouble sleeping because you were worried or had sickness come on after pushing your body too hard? All of these things that we experience throughout our life are expressions of the interconnectedness of our body with our emotions and spirituality. For example, serotonin is a neurotransmitter that influences not only your mind but your body and emotions as well. 95% of serotonin is made in your gut and any change in these levels can also affect your gastrointestinal tract. (1)
Secondly, when it comes to making healthCARE decisions, we approach things from a long-term health vs short-term health perspective. Blood markers or symptoms are relatively easy to change in the short term with drugs or fancy diets. But, the proof is in the long-term health effects. Pam Popper at Wellness Forum Health always says, that our clients are not looking for pretty bloodwork, but they are looking for longer lives. And I would agree! For example, many doctors believe that raising HDL plasma levels will decrease the risk of myocardial infarction but it turns out that’s not the case. A Mendelian randomization study showed that raising HDL plasma levels did nothing to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction. (2) Taking Aspirin may decrease the risk of blood clots but also increases the risk of new onset heart failure. (3) Many patients diagnosed with the fake subclinical hypothyroidism diagnosis are told to take iodine which, ironically can increase the risk of autoimmune hypothyroidism. (4) Likewise there is no consensus on what plasma levels of vitamin D should be or fasting glucose numbers etc. The history on that will be discussed in a different article. Biomarkers and blood tests are not always an accurate indication of health!
The third metric we use when we are approached with a health decision is determining what the least invasive option is first and then move on from there. Many doctors are quick to recommend surgeries for various health conditions when a change in diet or lifestyle would have done just as well. There are many treatment options that look to support the body’s immune system rather than take it over. Your body is absolutely phenomenal, and we want to see how we can support its function the best. Because, your body knows best! Rather than be afraid of what your body is doing, with some resources you can understand it and learn to work with it.
Fourthly, our approach is to question everything! So many of the health principles we take as written-in-stone, are based on flawed studies and industry funding. You may find along the journey that a lot of what you believe will be challenged. The good news is, that what you do end up believing will be based on truth and a deeper understanding of how things work. We cannot base our healthCARE decisions on stories from other people, the headline of the article we just read, or some expert’s opinion. Taking the time to ask questions and read the information for yourself can save you a lot of pain and heartache down the road.
And lastly, changes should produce rapid effect and affect the health of the whole person. Diet and lifestyle habits that cause disease can make quick turnarounds with the right changes. These changes aren’t trendy diets or hype. They are time-tested and proven principles. The changes that we make should not only improve how we feel, but will also bring joy and hope and connection into our lives. Everything is intertwined so everything impacts everything else.
To sum it up. We want to look at ourselves as a whole person with moving parts that all effect the other. We want to question everything and not just take someone’s word for whatever it is. We want long-term health, and we want to have as little intervention as possible. This philosophy must begin with a mind shift in us and then bleed over to impact the health professionals we encounter. True healthCARE is possible and it’s the most sustainable way.
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(1) Manocha M, Khan WI. “Serotonin and GI Disorders: An Update on Clinical and Experimental Studies.” Clin System Rev 2012 Apr;3:e13
(3) Mujaj B, Zhang ZY, Yang WY et al. “Aspirin use is associated with increased risk for incident heart failure: a patient-level pooled analysis.” ESC Heart Failure/Early View Nov 2021
(4) Laurberg P, Cerquira C. Ovesen L et al. “Iodine intake as a determinant of thyroid disorders in populations.” Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 2010 Feb;24(1):13-27