Personal healthcare

 I totally believe in the new healthcare swing away from pharmaceutical products. I however have a problem with indulging in alternative medicines without still seeking expert advice. But even experts can be a little wonky. Lets break that skrimp down.

First things first, they're the realest. Natural altrenatives that is. After starting a classic novel the other day, it seems folk medicine was once believed to be incredibly effective. In The Scarlett Letter, Hester Prynne's huband gives folk remedies to her and her baby after being ransomed from Indians. The description of the potency and immediacy of the concoction was impressive. Since then, nature's products have been broken down, and I mean big time, so that each chemical element is not only calcuable, but also we now know how different elements work together within a structure. 

By "we" here, I actually mean the greater public  has access to this information. Unfortunately, on a very deep level, this information is near impossible to digest, lol, ... but really ... with science being what it is, you may be looking at some seriously technical writing and formulaic descriptions that can be made use of by 2% of the population.

That's why we look to professionals, traditional and non traditional, to be sure we have a safe plan of action to tackle the big stuff. And maybe the small stuff is just as important. Even simple and everyday vitamins like A and E can cause complications and endanger your health. 

Since now we have established that healthcare professionals are a necessity,  let us take a look at how we need to be knowledgeable to protect ourselves and our individual needs. Not all human beings were created equal, nor educations, or insights. Finding a doctor of value may take a little shopping around. 

Conventions are still the enemy of the good. Within the commonplace is always a sort of hit or miss place for popular conventions of the times. Humanity has before thought that they knew all there was to know. A hundred years ago this was the case. And it is the case now.

 However, we tend to view the world through science as dynamic. If things like climate change and the dietary value of our produce are at issue, as well as hormones changing the size and strength of entire populations, there will be new needs and opportunities to develop different strategies for healthcare. 

Currently, people want to take a step back from medication and cure everything through clean diets and exercise. This is a good idea, but not entirely curative. We still will seek health care for both disease and injury. And the alternatives are sometimes more complex than simple, especially when we are exposed to new things that may be harmful, like electricity at our fingertips, or chemicals in our water bottles. 

We are aware of dangers cropping up, but do we blindly fall for all hype and ignore our personal needs in some cases? For instance, water grains and vegetables. It has become clear that whole foods are an important part of a healthy diet but consuming a certain amount of plant compounds can be hard on the digestive system. Some plants are dangerous to some consumers, nightshades induce illness in some folks and so do cruciferous vegetables in others. A diet too high in fiber can be hard on the digestive system, and even while we recognize that our bodies receive more than enough vitamins and minerals, we take supplements. This too is dangerous. Yes, dangerous.

We deny ourselves certain meats and increase others immediately following a trend. We drink enormous amounts of water when our bodies get water from fruits and vegetables and, personally,  I think it can be harmful for some people. Drinking too much water can deplete the salt content in the body, it can be hard on the kidneys. We take the time to put bacteria back into our bodies, do we wash it away? We believe that our diets should limit carbohydrates when they are an essential fuel for everyday. Water is injurious to total intestinal health. It is not necessary to drink water in excess unless your body is losing fluid due to illness or activity.

Another suspicious product is probiotics. They can cause adverse reactions like intestinal bleeding. In fact, unless you have taken a antibiotic it is unclear what the average person needs them for. Our bodies can have a lovely flora with a healthy diet of prebiotic and probiotic foods. There's a little method to it, and most likely it is not necessary to pay a great deal of attention to this dynamic duo too often.

One thing that should be of the utmost importance is stress control. Our bodies under stress are doing incredibly altered things. From your head to your toes, chemical reactions are taking place. When we consider ongoing stress, we should expect damages that need repair. 

At the bottom here are links to articles that share my intuitions about my own personal healthcare values. I hope this helps someone.

On stress and autoimmune diseases-

 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/autoimmune-disease-and-stress-is-there-a-link-2018071114230

 On probiotics and potential harm-

https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/probiotics-what-you-need-to-know

https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/probiotics-risks-benefits

On water-

https://www.gutsense.org/fiber-menace/why-eight-glasses-of-water-harm-your-body.html

https://www.kidney.org/content/6-tips-be-water-wise-healthy-kidneys