Wednesday, April 16, 2014

What is “Health”? by student intern Zach Simkins

Health care is at the forefront of many of our minds due to the political battles being waged in Washington concerning the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”). Whatever side of the fence you my fall on, you know many loving and well-intentioned people on both sides of the debate.  I am writing this not to outline the differences in political affiliations or who I think is correct in all of this; I am writing to define what true health is and why none of the legislation out of the capitol will fix the current health care crisis this country is experiencing.

America has a Gross Domestic product of 16.24 Trillion in 2012 with 17.9% (2.7 trillion) of that figure going directly into health care(1). For those of you playing along at home, that is $8,680 per person. This number would be impressive if it wasn’t yielding such disappointing results. The US ranks behind virtually every major industrialized country in categories including life expectancy, quality of life and satisfaction with care(2). The shocking part to all of this is that we pay TWICE as much for HALF the product. Imagine a scene where Americans were paying $25 dollars for a movie ticket and being told they could only watch the first hour! There would be riots in the streets with Hollywood reformists storming the mansions of studio executives! Yet we have this same scenario with our “health” care and most people are either ignorant to the facts or feel powerless to stop the medical industrial complex from rolling on unabated.

Some of this information may be frightening news but what should comfort you is that there is a better way to live.  A small but growing sector of the population is revolting against the status quo and living lives of true health. People are making health decisions that are rooted in choices that respect the intelligence of our bodies rather than forcing solutions onto our bodies. Many of these people are flooding the marketplace in search of wellness and have grasped a hold of chiropractic as a non-invasive and conservative way to ensure their body is working to the best of their abilities.

So what can you do? You can join the ranks of those who have decided to take responsibility for their health by getting adjusted by a chiropractor, eating a clean diet and living a life of motion. Myriads of studies have shown that those who care for their health through lifestyle changes show longer life expectancy, higher quality of life, decreased incidence of debilitating diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and various forms of cancers.  Your health is in your hands, go out and grab it!


Resources.
1) http://www.chcf.org/publications/2013/09/health-care-costs-101

2) http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/health-costs-how-the-us-compares-with-other-countries/