A couple of years ago, I wrote an article about taking a holistic approach to understanding and addressing Mature Onset Diabetes. This particular article found it way into over 3,000 citations around the globe. Our PR firm is still scratching its head as to how this happened but suspects social networking magic is how the article was so abundantly shared – ah, the magic of back-linking! The article has been and still is very popular. I will be sharing it with you in installments over the next few days.
Here is Part I:
Holistic health and Whole Health Education promote new thinking and a plan of action for taking control of your health and wellbeing. Do you ever wonder why, in spite of all your good intentions, you just cannot seem to take control over your health and wellness the way you really want to?
The answer to that question can be found in the words of Albert Einstein, who reminded us “you cannot correct a problem with the same thinking that created it.” In other words, you cannot change old behaviors without new information.
The Institute of Medicine published a study that indicates ninety million Americans are “health illiterate,” which means we do not know how to interpret or use health information to control or improve our health, or prevent chronic disease. “Lack of information” was cited as the number one root cause of death.
Understanding that there exists a cause and effect relationship between what we know and how we behave, we need a model of integrating this important information to change the behaviors that lead to chronic disease.
According to a seven-year Harvard Medical School study published in 1996, approximately 70% of all cancers and chronic conditions can be prevented through lifestyle changes. Furthermore, our diseases and conditions are primarily a result of stress, food, environment, attitude, emotions or beliefs that keep us perpetuating behaviors that lead to illness. Are we consciously choosing to be unhealthy, or do we just not understand sufficiently the relationship between what we think, how we behave, what we put into our bodies and how we keep ourselves well or make ourselves sick?
Part II The Need for De-Mystified Health Information
With all good wishes,
Georgianna
Copyright 2010 G. Donadio