Win With Wellness- Can you have a health problem without any pain or symptoms?
By Dr. Jeremy Faue
Over one million Americans have a heart attack every year and sadly, over one third of these are fatal. What is even more startling is that, in the majority of these cases, this is the first sign of heart disease in an otherwise “healthy” individual. The word ‘healthy’ is significant here because these people were obviously not ‘healthy’ the day before they had the heart attack. This is where the current standard of health in America is wrong. The current standard of health says that in the absence of pain and symptoms, a person is completely healthy. Wrong! The health of our nation is in very poor condition and that can be seen in the rising costs of health care and the increasing rates of disease. Not to mention that now, for the first time in history, the current generation of children is not expected to outlive their parents! How can we accept that?
If pain and symptoms are not a good marker of health, then what is? Pain and symptoms are the body’s response to a significant decrease in function: they are a warning. Think of symptoms just like the oil light in your car. That light does not turn on when the car is only a cup or two low on oil. The oil light turns on when the oil level is so low that there is serious danger of doing damage to the engine. The human body works in the same way. Symptoms do not show up at the first sign something is wrong. Instead, the human body adapts and changes until it reaches a point that it can no longer adapt and change without incurring serious damage to tissues, cells and organs of the body. This is why it is so important to find these functional issues before they become a problem presenting with pain and symptoms.
Health is not a destination that can be reached with a miracle drug, fad diet, or super-food. Health is a continuous journey that must be addressed daily with every decision you make. Everything you do affects your health in either a positive or a negative way. On a daily basis, you are in charge of making sure that the decisions you make are benefitting your health and not destroying your body. This means you are getting adjusted, eating nutritious foods, drinking plenty of pure water, moving your body and eliminating toxins from your life. If you applied these five things to your life on a more regular basis you will enjoy better health in no time.
