Enhance Your Health
Health Tip of the Week: Health Care or Sick Care?
Here is a very interesting statistic to start this week’s health tip. Tobacco use in the United States has caused an estimated 500,000 preventable deaths in 2020. The number of tobacco related deaths is just under the same amount of deaths caused by the covid-19 pandemic. This is an amazing statistic, since it seems that less and less people are smokers.
That being said, even with educational efforts by the federal government and non-profit organizations to help stop tobacco use, 14% of Americans still smoke. And we also have warning labels on tobacco telling us that it can cause cancer and kill us. Deaths from tobacco are at such a high level, the World Health Organization has labeled the situation an epidemic.
An epidemic is a disease that affects a large number of people in a community or region. A pandemic is an epidemic that has spread over multiple countries or continents.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over 650,000 people died of heart disease in 2019. Also, in 2019, close to 600,000 people died of cancer. 170,000 people died of preventable injuries, 150,000 died of respiratory disease, 80,000 people died of diabetes and 48,000 people died of flu related illness. On a non-disease related note, in 2020, 41,000 people died in the USA of gun related violence.
These are some sobering statistics. With the addition of Covid-19 in 2020, an estimated two million six hundred and fifty thousand people have died from the illnesses listed above (not including gun violence).
Based on numbers like this, I think we can come to a logical course of action. More effort by individuals need to be placed on health care not sick care.
What is the difference between health care and sick care? Sick care is the treatment of disease and illness. Healthcare is the act of preventing disease and illness.
Sick care involves waiting till one is sick or diseased. Sick care is reactive care and relies on drugs and emergency surgeries.
Healthcare is preventative care. Healthcare is proactive, not reactive and relies on good whole food nutrition, vitamin and mineral supplementation, exercise, positive mental well-being and stress reduction.
Sick care means that you are reliant on medical doctors and hospitals.
Healthcare is your responsibility as an individual and you rely on yourself to take the steps to be healthy.
Only you can help yourself to be healthy.
The point I’m making is that if we want to slash the numbers of disease and illness related deaths in our country, deaths from Covid-19, heart disease, smoking, cancer, diabetes, etc. We must, as individuals, take responsibility for our own health.
It means eating right, exercising, reducing stress. It even means reading and watching. Huh? Yes, read diet and nutrition books, watch health documentaries. Take the positive steps to be healthy and you will be healthier.
Use healthcare as part of your healthcare program. There are healthcare professions that help your body to be healthy and maintain health. Healthcare professionals like chiropractors, acupuncturists, nutritionists, massage therapists, yoga instructors, personal trainers and life coaches all help your body to stay healthy and should be an essential part of your healthcare program.
It’s all about you taking responsibility to build a healthy body with a healthy regimen. If you put the effort in the steps listed above, death rates will fall in all categories. Yes, even in Covid-19. Building your immune system with proper nutrition, supplementation, positive neural impulse flow and regular exercise will make you less likely to acquire severe Covid-19 and end up in a hospital.
To borrow a quote from Apollo Creed in Rocky III, “There is no tomorrow.” Healthy living needs to start today. Waiting till tomorrow is a day too late.
SMH Department (Smacking My Head Department)
According to John’s Hopkin’s Medical University, young adults and children are less likely to develop severe cases of Covid-19 and be hospitalized from it. According to the CDC, fewer children have been sick with Covid-19 than adults and most children only have mild symptoms and are asymptomatic from the Covid-19 virus.
So, why am I smacking me head? The news reports that the Pharmaceutical Industry is going to start vaccine trial testing (the same shot given to adults for Covid-19) on infants and children. I can’t imagine a parent would submit their infant or small child for vaccine safety testing, especially if children are in a category of people who are less effected by the Covid-19 virus.
The vaccine manufacturer is trying to determine if the vaccine is safe for children, by testing the vaccine on children. SMH.
COVID-19 Vaccine Information
As part of informed consent for your personal information here is the latest reported events from the CDC vaccine adverse reaction reporting system (via their website) to help you make your own health care decision concerning the vaccination.
As of 3/21/21, over 1 hundred million people have been given at least one dose of the vaccine and at lease 2 million people a day are now getting vaccinated.
Adverse reactions total 38,303 (of the 38,303 reported events, common reactions such as arm soreness and swelling, fatigue, fever, body aches and headache are included. Also included are the more severe reactions such as anaphylaxis (308 reported cases). The most common reactions are chills (over 5775 cases), headache (8154 cases), shortness of breath (4,057 cases), nausea (over 4869 cases).
Also, 995 people contracted the covid-19 virus after receiving the vaccine. In addition, it has also been reported on the CDC web page that 1349 people have died after receiving the vaccine.