#08 The Health Dilemma

The history of healthcare is riddled with mistakes and misbeliefs. For thousands of years, physicians have studied humans and their illnesses. Always in the pursuit of health and well-being. Due to limited resources, practitioners invented methods and treatments that were widely accepted then but shudder us today. Who would blame them? They didn't know any better.

The scary truth is: We still don't know any better.

We like to believe that modern medicine is highly sophisticated and that technological advances will accelerate this process even more. Almost weekly, we read about new findings, new gadgets, and new apps that imply having found the answers to the million-dollar question, “How to live a long and healthy life?”.

What we don´t read is that physicians are not as knowledgeable as we would like them to be. A recent study shows that 9 in 10 healthcare interventions are not supported by high-quality evidence. Meaning we don´t know whether the treatments work or not. Furthermore, the study suggests that harms are under-reported. Which is a diplomatic way to say that there is a good chance you have received treatments that didn't work but caused harm.

So I wonder why physicians keep prescribing treatments that don´t work.

The short answer is, like hundreds of years ago, they just don't know any better.

History Repeats Itself.

For hundreds of years, bloodletting was used to treat a wide range of diseases, although practitioners had no hard evidence that it was an effective cure. They believed it worked. So, to their best knowledge, they were using this treatment to help people.

Bloodletting killed Georg Washington, the first president of the United States.

They didn't know any better.

Today doctors prescribe drugs to their patients because they trust the process pharmaceutical companies have to follow to get their products approved. In theory, obliging companies to follow a specific protocol to guarantee that treatments are safe and beneficial sounds great. But reality shows that companies develop an incredible sense of creativity when it comes to securing profit. There are voices in the medical field that claim that as much as 90 percent of the published medical information that doctors rely on is flawed. And a study from 2014 showed that about 328,000 patients in the U.S. and Europe die from prescription drugs each year.

Prescription drugs kill hundred-thousands of people every year.

It´s a health dilemma.

Humility, please.

A wise man once said, “The only thing I know is that I know nothing”. His name was Socrates.

He basically meant that nobody can know everything with complete and utter certainty. And I would wish that Big Pharma with their drugs and Big Tech with their apps stop pretending that they know it all.

People need to wake up and start thinking for themselves. Take responsibility for themselves. You don´t have to keep track of every step you took today to know you have not moved enough. And you shouldn't need to have your blood tested to know your cholesterol level is too high. Eat real food, and you don´t have to worry about your cholesterol. Eat things that actually look like food instead of taking pills. And as Sheldon Cooper says, taking supplements is nothing more than producing expensive urine.

Unfortunately, too many companies earn good money with health gadgets and apps, and too many restaurants make profit from processed food. And with the global dietary supplement market expected to reach a market size of USD 163.9 billion in 2022, I´m afraid a considerable amount of Golden Pee will be flushed down the toilets.

Living in the Age of Golden Pee

Like you, I am completely lost in the health jungle. Like you, I don´t know much about how and if drugs really work or if they cause any harm. Like you, I have no clue what chocolate does with my body.

But I know I feel fitter and healthier than ever. And happier than ever.

I have no magic formula for achieving a happy and healthy state. And as mentioned already in other articles, I don´t believe in shortcuts or an “easy way”. There is no such thing as a magic pill or one solution for all. Life is complex, and so are we.

However, some elements in my life proved crucial, at least for me.

These are the top five aspects of my life that make me feel happy and healthy:

Boring life

My daily routine is incredibly boring and follows the motto “less is more”. And I have zero stress in my life. This means I could definitely do more, create more, teach more, and earn more, but I choose happiness instead. I choose my health, my partner, my life.

Movement

I move every day. Sometimes it´s some tough stuff, and sometimes it´s a slow beach walk. But I move. No matter what. I usually try to be active in nature within the first few hours after waking up. If I start my day outside, I feel energized and alive. Being physically active is a vital cornerstone in my life, as I described in "My Love to Move".

No alcohol

I used to love drinking. But I hated the way it made me feel the following day. There was a time when I drank all night, slept a few hours, and went for a run first thing in the morning to sober up. This requires mental strength. Today I use this strength for more productive things. I haven´t touched a glass of alcohol for 17 months, and I don't miss it.

Simple food

My diet is as boring as my daily routine, and yet I enjoy little sweet treats almost daily. The human body is incredibly efficient. I have days I only eat two bowls of plain oatmeal, and on other days I eat three full meals and a cookie. Or two. But I keep it simple.

Community

Tony Robbins famously said, “Who you spend time with is who you become,” and I believe it is true. I am not a very social person, but the very few people I spend time with are individuals I look up to. I surround myself with people who inspire me and from whom I can learn something.

I have no idea if that´s the right way to live or not. But I don´t care.

I feel strong. I feel healthy.

Life is good.