The title of this blog is a pretty profound statement, huh? Of course we all know that mosquitoes don’t cause swamps. There wouldn’t be an National Institutes of Health research grant for millions of dollars to fund a study on the “development of swamps where there are mosquitoes”. There wouldn’t be a “Breaking News Alert” on CNN Health, MSNBC Health, or WebMD stating to be “cautious of the spontaneous development of swamps since the recent sighting of some mosquitoes”. Mosquitoes thrive in these areas because the environment already exists for them to grow, nurture, survive and flourish. When the conditions are right the mosquitoes move in.
- Mosquitoes don’t cause swamps!
So if we wouldn’t do this with mosquitoes and swamps, why would we do this with health? Why are there millions of research dollars spent on trying to find a drug for diabetes and neglect on looking at the lifestyle that allowed the diabetes to exist. Diabetes doesn’t cause poor lifestyle; poor lifestyle causes diabetes! We look for the “fat gene mosquito” in a swamp of obesity as if this is the only factor that leads to our current epidemic. Physicians like Dr. Mark Hyman (UltraMind Solution, UltraMetabolism), Dr. Alejandro Junger (Clean), Dr. Diana Schwarzbein (Schwarzbein Principle), Dr. Daniel Amen (The Amen Solution), and many others strive to, in essence, explain that mosquitoes don’t cause swamps!
In the July 5, 2002 issue of the Houston Chronicle, Dr. Dean Ornish poses a powerful question. He asks, “How did we get to a place in medicine where it’s considered radical to ask people to stop smoking, meditate, walk, and eat a healthy diet, and conventional to cut people open and blow balloons up in their arteries and put radioactive stents in there?” Great question. We’ve stopped looking at what is causing the chronic disease affecting Americans.
“Health will occur where the conditions for health exist. Disease is the product of conditions which allow for it.”
Jared Zeff, N.D.
Dr. Alex Vasquez states, “optimal health does not and never will come in a pill or tonic – the human body and the interactions that we each have between our genes, outlooks, environments, and lifestyles are far too complex to ever be addressed wholly and completely by a simplistic paradigm or single treatment.”
What choices are you making? What environment are you creating? If you continue to eat too much sugar and fat and avoid fruits and vegetables you are making a choice to have an increased probability of developing diabetes, cancer, heart disease, arthritis and obesity. But that is the good news! You have a choice! You can alter the environment you are in, bathe your genes in life-promoting messages and avoid the decline in your health and vitality.
Start with some small choices and start today. Here are a few small starters you can try right now!
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator at work.
- Eat a salad with free-range chicken or an organic egg added.
- Walk passed the pop machine and drink pure filtered water. Add some lemon or lime slices for a great taste.
- Rather than eating the candy bar or using a “5 hour energy drink” for that mid-afternoon slump try a short, brisk walk and a healthy snack consisting of protein, unrefined carbohydrates, and healthy fats. For example, a fresh apple with some almond butter.
Remember every day to live the Magnificent Seven lifestyle. This is one of the greatest things I have learned from my mentor, Dr. Robert Rakowski. You need to Eat Right, Drink Right, Move Right, Sleep Right, Talk Right, Think Right and Poop Right every day.
Realize that every decision you make will impact your health in a positive manner…or in a negative manner. If you are swatting mosquitoes flying around you, take a look at your lifestyle, stop the blame game and realize that mosquitoes don’t cause swamps!
