The Cost of Being Sick
In the 14th Century "Black Death," also known as "The Black Plague," killed roughly 30 percent of the European population. But what if I was to tell you we are facing the greatest threat today? Chronic illness in today’s society is now killing 80 percent of the industrial world. We as a human species have literally become the sickest species on the planet. Never in history has a species suffered so much illness, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, infertility and the list goes on. Chronic illness is the leading cause of personal, corporate and government debt and bankruptcy. By 2017 chronic illness will cost 4.3 trillion dollars in the U.S. alone. This represents nearly 8 million dollars per minute. Chronic illness is responsible for up to 91 days of lost productivity, per employee, per year and nine days of absenteeism per employee, per year.
Since 1900 rates of chronic illness have risen exponentially while our genes have remained virtually unchanged. Remember, success leaves clues. How can we ever get the right answers if we don't ask the right questions? So what questions should we be asking? Instead of asking how to diagnose and treat the symptom, we need to be asking why are we getting so sick and what do we need to do to get and stay healthy. The reasons traditional researchers and clinicians have not asked or answered these questions is not due to a lack of caring, intelligence or effort. It is due to the gene-centric sickness and treatment paradigm. We as clinicians and people need to shift towards a more accurate lifestyle-centric wellness and prevention paradigm.
The greatest determining factor in your overall health and wellness is lifestyle choices. So who is your health and wellness coach source? From where are people getting lifestyle advice? Is it scientifically sound or dogmatically biased? For example, did you know the RDA amounts on the back of every label are the minimum amount necessary, not the amount necessary to be sufficient and pure? Did you know grains (the base of our food pyramid!) are acid, leach calcium and phosphorus from your bones, and spike stress hormones like cortisol that negatively affect your health? Documented benefits of a brisk 30 minute walk daily include; reducing risk of breast cancer up to 60 percent, preventing up to 50 percent of all stroke deaths, prevent up to 50 percent of colon cancer, prevent 91 percent of cases of obesity and type II diabetes and the list goes on. What pill, drug, or surgery could ever compete with that? How much does a walk cost? How many lives could it save?
Beyond any financial burden or fiscal number, the greatest cost of being sick is loss of quality and quantity of years. Take health into your hands today, live it to its greatest potential. Chiropractic is not about creaks and strains, eeks and pains. It is a health, wellness and preventative encompassing form of care. Start dictating your health today, so your health doesn't dictate your lifestyle tomorrow.
