Prevention over Intervention is the key to health

I am so excited to launch this blog with one of the topics I can't stop stressing to all my patients, family, and friends: PREVENTATIVE CARE! I truly believe that our culture focuses primarily on intervention...What to do once illness or disease has afflicted you. What would be much wiser is focusing on what to do to PREVENT the occurrence of disease all together. A big part of my practice is patient education. I focus a lot of time and energy on empowering my patients to play an active role in their health by making the right choices based on their individual needs to keep their health in check and ward away health issues down the line. Though most of us live on strict budgets we often exercise spending cuts on the wrong things. We start to fret over the high cost of healthful eating and lifestyle habits when we are truly missing the point. For example, though choosing a life style of organic foods can mean spending a little more on our groceries, it is by far the cheaper alternative to paying high medical bills down the line. If we chose to fill our bodies with genetically modified and pesticide-laden foods we enjoy a low cost living now but end up paying higher bills correcting the problems these foods created. Truthfully, most of us could benefit greatly just by buying the organic version of "dirty dozen" foods at local farmer's markets. I have attached a link to help you shop so that you can avoid the fruits and veggies most sprayed with pesticides. However don't let the label "organic" fool you either. A lot of foods that are labeled "organic" can contain a long list of "extra" ingredients that are bodies can simply do without. This is a topic that requires a blog of its own but I do desire to take the moment to warn my readers that the best way to shop in the supermarket is to always take a peak at the list of ingredients. More on that later. Another example of preventative care that we chose not to spend on is wellness care. We wait till we have to make a sick visit to the doctor rather than spend time supporting our healthy selves. A few examples of wellness care involves acupuncture, chiropractic care, nutritional support, and psychological wellness/therapy. All of these are integral parts of supporting the health and wellness of both mind and body. Please find some relevant articles posted below to help you further understand how these wellness visits can help protect your body from disease and avoid expensive,side-effect laden, and potentially unnecessary medical interventions. The dirty dozen: http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214 Diet and your immune system: http://www.alternativemedicine.com/alternative-medicine/departments/holistic-tips-boost-your-immune-system Acupuncture for total wellness: http://www.acupuncture.com/Conditions/pulse_prevent.htm