Good Health?

“The American Health Care System is the best in the world”. I am sure you have heard that said. But, is it true?

Americans spend more per person for their health care than any other country in the world. In fact, nearly double. Yet our country does not rank in the top ten on any statistic measured by the World Health Organization ^[[1]]. How can that be called "good" health care?

The United States ranks 24^thin percentage of low birth-weight babies, 20^th in infant mortality, 17^th in maternal mortality, 17^th in rank of overall health and 11^th in life expectancy. . Approximately 85% of the money spent in the health industry goes to prolong ill life; while only 15% goes to prevention and cure.

So who is saying that our health system is so wonderful? As one might expect, it is the very people and institutions who stand to gain from it -- medical doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and lawyers. These could lose power and wealth if the public ever discovered the real truth – that they are not providing good health care and charging too much for it.

Of course, we must also point a finger at ourselves. "We the People" have been living our lives and doing our jobs as if good health can be obtained merely by taking a pill or having a surgical procedure. Just get rid of the symptoms. That is what most consumers demand and that is also all that most care givers are able to offer. Take these medications - for the rest of your life. 

What does it mean to be Healthy?

The word“Health” comes from ancient roots in words that mean “whole” and “holy”. It does not mean the absence of symptoms. Instead of focusing on symptoms and avoiding outright death, we would be wiser to define health as “wholeness” – physical, psychological, spiritual, intellectual, ecological, economic, and social well-being.

Some people realize this and are taking different (more wholesome) approaches. They know that good health involves avoiding illness in the first place. They want to be cured and return to normal life. Can a scalpel prevent a heart attack? Can it soothe our wounds, rebuild damaged tissue or calm a troubled mind? Can drugs help us adapt to our surroundings, clean up our environment, or enlighten our spirits? Probably not!

Consider the ten most common causes of death: heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, Pulmonary (Lung) Disease, Accidents, Pneumonia & Influenza, Diabetes, HIV, Suicide, and Liver Disease ^[[2]].  For each of these there are many preventative things that can be done to avoid becoming ill. Instead, modern medicine waits until after the symptoms appear and then try to apply quick fixes.

For more than 3,000 years, the Chinese system of medicine ^[[3]] has been keeping people healthy and curing their illnesses. It is based on the belief that all living things (people, animals,plants, etc.) have an inborn drive towards self-repair, wholeness and unity. Health is treated as the condition where the energies within the body are kept in balance and that, under normal circumstances, the body will keep this balance within itself; naturally.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is fundamentally different from Western medicine. It is primarily focused on preventing disease and illness. It aims to cure and return the entire body to its normal wholeness and balance.

This should not diminish the value and importance of Western medicine for situations where it is needed, as in cases of crisis and emergency care. It just means that Western medicine cannot help us with most of our health problems.

Maybe we should think long and hard about how we are spending our healthcare dollars and spend far more for prevention

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[1] World Health Organization, “World Health Report 1999”
[2] Source: www.cdc.gov
[3] Archeological evidence indicates that acupuncture and Qi Gong were practiced as early as the Xin Dynasty (2205-1766 B.C.)