By Mike Tarrolly for Crushing Iron
It’s unbelievable how people can blabber for years without actually doing anything to solve a problem. Health Care is one of those things, so I thought I’d throw out a few thoughts on how to fix this mess.
The problem starts at the top, but I think the best way to solve it is from the bottom.
The combination of Congress and Big Pharma make Pablo Escobar look like a high-schooler selling weed on the corner. The money involved in this legalized drug ring is legendary and the only real way to stop it is by shutting down demand.
The body is dying to heal itself and but we continue to “hack” the symptoms.
In most cases it’s as simple as fertilizing the body’s landscape and letting miracles of nature happen . . . over time. Here are some ways I think we can do it while actually saving money on health care.
Get Real With Prescription Drugs
Doing Ironman races has taught me something very valuable: Pain isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Pain is a clue telling us something is out of whack. By taking the right steps, the human body can fix a lot of our pains. We can swim, bike, run, walk, and/or rest through it. Pain often goes away when you do good things for your body and don’t obsess over it. We don’t need to chase a pill every time our ankle, belly or head hurts. And don’t get me wrong, an occasional pill isn’t the problem, it’s what happens when that pill becomes our first thought.
Make Gym Class Mandatory for Life
We’re all wrapped up in having the government pay for health care, but I think they should take a prevention approach with exercise incentives. Can we incentivize exercise? I know that’s a tricky one, but if we put some thought into it and employers got on board with flex-time I think we’d all be a lot happier and more productive. Besides, most people don’t work a full 8 hours anyway.
Make Water More Attractive
I realize some countries don’t even have drinking water, but the US has plenty. The problem is, it is often polluted with prescription drugs (see above) and who knows what else? There has to be ways to make out drinking water more plentiful and pure. Maybe installing filters becomes a tax write off. If the government is serious about health, this is one major step they can take to save them money in the long run. Water and sodium are the keys to creating electrical impulses in our body. If an organ or cell doesn’t have enough water, it becomes defective or dies. The body naturally protects the heart and brain first, but if dehydrated, other parts of the body suffer and eventually meet the scalpel of a hungry doctor who wants to hear nothing about water.
I’ll Sleep When I’m Alive
I personally think lack of sleep is the cornerstone of our obesity problem. Poor rest is the beginning of the carb, caffeine and simple sugar cycle. You wake up tired, pound a bunch of caffeine, reach for a donut or two to soak it up, then grab a Snickers and Coke in the afternoon. I know because I’ve been there (and often still am) but I also realize it’s a problem. I know when I’ve slept well because I will literally forget about coffee and sugar for the first hour or so. I’ve learned the best way to combat this cycle is to exercise more than normal so you’re actually tired when you go to bed.
Food Is Not Medicine . . . But It Is
I saw a post recently touting things like Avocados, Celery, and Spinach as “Medicinal Food” and I almost puked. I can already see it coming, they are turning food into medicine so they can sell it for more. I retweeted it with a scoff because, I mean, how long have we known food is the best medicine? I kinda feel like I’ve known that for, oh, 40 years? Who doesn’t know that we are what we eat by now? It’s ridiculous and I’m not sure where the problem is, but the food most people eat (including me often) isn’t even food. Here’s the thing, though, I realize eating “right” all the time is difficult, especially when changing your diet in a major way, but the body is an amazing machine. I just think if we maybe ate less, drank more water, and had some fruit and vegetables on occasion we’d all be better off.
All I Need Is The Air That I Breathe
Ahh . . . take a deep breath, man. If you listen to the podcast, you know I’m a big fan of Wim Hof. He’s done some amazing human feats. He’s run desert marathons with no water, climbed Mt. Everest in shorts, and sat in a tank of ice water for nearly two hours while raising his core body temperature with mentally induced adrenaline. He claims most of them are possible because of his deep breathing and cold exposure practices. In essence his philosophy is to get the most possible out of the human body and he says oxygen is the key. It’s about getting oxygen into all your cells to make them function right. I don’t want to paraphrase but he’s doing it all with science and they are now proving breathing exercises and cold water therapy are “curing” many modern day ills. His style can be intense, but even deep, purposeful breaths do wonders.
Don’t Let Health Bankrupt
Personally, I think most of this country has a major drug addiction problem and it’s fueled by doctors who have to make tremendous amounts of money to pay off med school. And of course health insurance is the biggest of businesses and the cost to insure families (or yourself) is insane. Can we start with a way that insures we’re not going bankrupt is something serious like some kind of accident that requires surgery happens? I don’t want to go into disease because I think that whole thing is out of control and much of it can often curtailed by the above points. I’m talking about the real stuff like saving lives in the moment. Bike crashes, whatever. Can we get that part covered?
All of this sounds nice, but as many of the wisest people have said, “If you want the truth, follow the money.” I’m not really sure these are realistic solutions unless a boat load of money can be made with a preventative approach and I’m pretty sure there’s more profit in pain killers than water filters.
The only real solution to huge problems like this is to start with one person at a time. And usually, that one person winds up being yourself.
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