Healthcare Reform Starts With You

Enough of the rhetoric. It’s time to cut to the chase and talk about how reform starts with you.  I think it was Ghandi who said, “Be the change you want to see in the world”.

So we can talk and talk about what needs to happen, and agree and criticize that the government is out of touch with the general population.  But all this talk isn’t getting us healthier.  Unless you have lived in a box for the last 5 years, you have to be aware that as a nation we are living with more chronic disease and conditions that, believe it or not people consider “normal”.  What and who designate anything as normal, and what parameters do they use to measure that?

It is a very simple and yet complicated situation.  The more we grow and develop new technology for diagnosing illness, the more the costs increase.  The more we utilize a disjointed system of care, the more we become a product of pills and surgeries that end up compounding the problem.  The more we allow the medical providers and insurance companies to dictate our treatments, and costs, the more we remain pawns in a broken system.  The more we ignore, as consumers, the statistics and research that tells us we need to change our lifestyles, the less likely a solution will be forthcoming.

What is meant by stating this is a simple solution? Industrialization of our food, has stripped it of its nutrition. Our bodies function at a cellular level, and those cells need specific nutrition in the form of vitamins, minerals, and water to function properly.   Without these nutrients, the cells suffer damage, and replicate at that level which causes them to decrease in their efficiency, and disease sets in. in order for our body to function as optimally as possible, it needs more fruits and vegetables, nuts seeds and whole grains.  We get these from real whole foods that grow without interference in nature. This is simple.

Why is it also complicated? Between the use of pesticides, herbicides, and chemicals, and the over use of corn, wheat, and soy, the food supply is being governed by those who really don’t see the connection.   We need to eat the food in its most natural state in order for our bodies to assimilate and utilize the nutrients properly.  It’s complicated because food is not seen as medicine, and therefore, nutrition or natural therapies are not “covered’ by health insurance companies.  It’s complicated because despite years of research and unimaginable amounts of dollars spent, we continue to get sick, and no one seems to want to admit that what we are doing is wrong.  It is not working and we need to take drastic measures to change the outcomes.

Pharmaceuticals and disjointed care (specialization) have and is the mainstay of healthcare.  What if, instead of taking a statin drug  to lower your cholesterol (these are known to cause heart attacks and more) you eat some walnuts, and fruits and vegetables (which help balance out your cholesterol), or decrease the amount of red meat you eat, which is known to increase cholesterol. Does the doctor prescribing the medication ever explain how to lower your cholesterol or reverse your Diabetes through eating a plant based diet?  My guess is no.
The point of this article is that we as consumers can participate in healthcare reform, by starting with our selves. We can let the food companies know how we feel through our wallets. What you buy, and spend money on is the key for their understanding what we want and how we want it. The supplementation industry is a multibillion dollar industry, and this speaks volumes, that people know they need more than what their food is giving to them.  We need our farmers to start farming again, free from chemicals, and genetically modified seeds. We need to speak through our wallets and take baby steps in our own lives to make the changes that will decrease your risk of having to participate in chronic illnesses that are NOT nor should be NORMAL!

One step in Healthcare reform should equal using the money designated for research for medicine, to distribute to farmers to grow healthy vibrant food!  This can be our medicine!

About the Author

Theresa has been a Registered Nurse for more than 25 years, with experience in Pediatrics, emergency medicine, and trauma. She always knew, she would be a nurse, in order to fulfill her purpose of being of service. She loved it, and was passionate about it. In 1990, with the emergence of her own health challenges, her path took an unexpected turn. She met a nutrition counselor. Using food as medicine, and experiencing the benefits of eating fresh whole foods she realized there was a void, in our health care system’s approach to health! Why isn’t nutrition a component of everyone’s goal for health? Her question was laughed at by most of her colleagues.

Theresa is Certified as a Health Counselor from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and Columbia University, in New York City. She also has Certification as a Colon Hydrotherapist, specializing in cleansing and detoxification and a Chelation and IV therapy Technician. Add to that, her Registered Nurse credentials; the result is a recipe for healing.

Theresa’s passion continues to be of service and guiding people to be happy and healthy through food and lifestyle. She believes that health and well-being depends upon both good nutrition and healthy lifestyle. She LOVES her work and lives in gratitude every day for the opportunity to combine both her passion for food and her medical knowledge into a program for well being.