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Seven Silly Health Mistakes Smart People Make
Written by Wellness Club on February 16, 2012 – 1:25 pm -Seven Silly Health Mistakes That Lots Of Smart People Make
By Nurse Mark and Dr. Myatt
Even Really Smart People make mistakes sometimes – here are some o fthe more common ‘Oopsies” that we see here at The Wellness Club:
1 – Lots of smart people don’t bother to update their supplement and drug protocol annually. In fact, some go for years and years, taking the same drugs and supplements. Those drugs and supplements might have been right for them way back then when they were prescribed, and who knows – maybe they are right for them now.
But, and this is a big “but, ” people change, and their needs change. They might need more, or less, or different altogether.
Heck – you get your car checked over once a year (you do, don’t you!?!), if you have an investment portfolio we’ll bet you review that annually, if you are a pilot your skills are reviewed regularly – so why don’t folks do an annual health and supplement review? We don’t know, but it can be a costly mistake in terms of expensive drug prescriptions that may no longer be needed or have even become harmful, supplement protocols that could be tweaked for maximum benefit or to have supplements removed or added as necessary.
2 – A lot of otherwise really smart people don’t bother to get updated blood tests every year. Yes, we know, nobody likes needles – but it is all over before you know it, and the information that is gained could literally be a lifesaver. Basic blood tests are inexpensive – even if you pay for them yourself – and your doctor can help you to know what they mean and to spot any irregularities or changes from last year.
For those using hormones (even “bio-identical’ hormones or hormone precursors,) shame on you if you aren’t getting updated hormone tests each year!
3 – Why are so many smart people “penny-wise and pound-foolish” when it comes to their supplements? We like a good bargain as much as the next fellow, but sometimes folks work just a little too hard to save a nickel. Remember, the most expensive supplement (or drug for that matter) is the one that doesn’t work!
So you saved a few bucks on those discount vitamins at Super Bob’s Big Box Discount Emporium – but if they don’t get the job done, or are made with nasty synthetics or chemicals, you really didn’t save anything – you wasted your money on junk.
Or, lots of folks will see their holistic doctor, get some great advice and recommendations, and then ignore that advice and buy some unproven wonder-product based on it’s marketing claims.
Which leads us to the next item:
4 – Lots of smart people like to take some really esoteric stuff and don’t bother to cover their bases with the “essentials” – good, solid, basic vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, and nutritional supplements like fish oil and CoQ10.
It’s great that they use a wonderful immune-supporting formula, or take the finest of ginseng, or the latest, greatest antioxidant formula, or a super-duper bone-health product – but if they are not getting their daily basics it’s all for naught. If someone is deficient in the basic vitamins and minerals all the ginseng or calcium in the world is not going to make them healthy!
If you want to see what an optimal daily multiple vitamin should look like, please see the label facts for Dr. Myatt’s Maxi Multi. And to see what an optimal plant-food / phytonutrient formula should look like, see Dr. Myatt’s Maxi Greens.
Oh, and here’s a money and time-saving trick – don’t buy Dr. Myatt’s vities – print out the label facts and hop on down to your local health food store and find something just as good or better there, and probably cheaper. Really. Go ahead. Good Luck.
Interestingly, we’ve seen a lot of people who were taking bunches of separate products, each intended to address some need or other, who were able to reduce the number of supplements they took (and reduce the cost too!) by simply covering the basics with some good, solid, daily “essentials.”
5 – Then there are smart people who get most everything else right, but forget about the really, really basic things that can make-or-break their health: Sleep, food, water – little things that many of us take for granted, but that can turn around and bite you in the health if you don’t pay attention.
Sleep – are you getting at least eight hours (or more!) of quality sleep each night? With no lights on to disturb your circadian rhythm? Oh, right – you are too busy and there’s just not enough time – we’ve heard all the excuses, and none of them wash. You can do without sleep for a little while, but it will exact a toll eventually – in altered hormone levels, unbalanced neurotransmitters, and more.
No problem, you say – I can get to sleep any time I want – I just take that really great little sleeping pill my doctor prescribed for me… Um, here’s a dirty little secret for you: drug-induced sleep is not the same as “real” sleep.
Many of the popular sleep drugs can result in somnambulism – sleep-walking – and people have been known to drive automobiles, eat uncontrollably, even commit serious crimes, all while asleep under the influence of these drugs.
“But I gotta get some sleep – I need those drugs to make me sleep – I can’t sleep any other way!” you say. Well, that does seem to be a problem for a lot of smart and successful and wealthy people like, oh, say, Michael Jackson… and how’s that working for him?
Insomnia can be corrected – primary insomnia (“can’t fall asleep”), secondary insomnia (wide awake in the “wee hours”), each responds well to some basic holistic sleuthing and natural remedies. A good naturopathic doctor can help – no spooky drugs required.
Food - sure, you get plenty to eat, but is it clean, wholesome food? Or is it meat that is filled with antibiotics and growth hormones from the farm, or laced with chemicals and preservatives. Here’s a nasty little secret about preservatives: they work by halting cellular respiration. They stop the cells of the meat from using oxygen and they can do the same for your cells. And those hormones? Do we really think it is a good thing to be dosing ourselves with unknown amounts of hormones with each forkful? Or, howzabout those farm-raised fish, swimming through their own excrement? Mmmm… tasty!
And your vegetables – were they sprayed with pesticides or chemically treated to prevent spoiling? A lot of that stuff just doesn’t wash off…
It is well worth spending a little extra for organic produce, free-range eggs and poultry, grass-fed hormone-and-antibiotic-free meats and dairy products and the like wherever possible. But beware: with the increase in demand for these foods, the scammers have been busy. We often see products with phrases like “All Natural” and “Healthy Choice” emblazoned on them that are anything but natural or healthy. Get into the habit of actually reading the nutrition facts box and the fine print – you’ll be amazed at what some manufacturers will try to slip past your notice!
Now, your water. Yep, plain ol’ water. We take it for granted – but it is vital to life and unfortunately it is often not as healthy and pure as it should be. Many municipal water supplies contain massive amounts of chlorine, or bacteria, or both. Fluoride is still a fact of life in many water supplies despite it’s toxicity. And our water supplies are increasingly tainted with industrial pollutants and even you neighbor’s drugs – after they have passed through your neighbor that is…
But a lot of smart people buy bottled water to drink (which is often just municipal water put into plastic bottles) or use a water filter for their drinking water (which is probably better than buying bottled water…) So? What about the water (and other chemicals) that they absorb through their body’s largest organ, the skin? Yep, there they are, enjoying that nice, hot shower with the pores of their skin wide open and soaking up all that chlorine and fluoride and who-knows-what-else…
A whole-house water filtration system is a great solution, but can be expensive. A shower-head water filter is a lot more economical, and a good drinking water filter in the kitchen will likely not break the bank either. And don’t forget the cooking water! Aquasana is a water filter company that we are familiar with and recommend.
6 – It seems like a lot of otherwise really smart people (like doctors!) fall for the Big Pharma promise of instant symptom relief instead of thinking their problems through and addressing the cause of the problem. Got a headache? Do you really believe that it’s because you have an Aspirin or Tylenol deficiency? Got high blood pressure? Are you sure that it’s a medicine deficiency? Are you sure that “hyperglycemia” is an Actos (diabetes drug) deficiency?
We were not born with all these drugs in our body keeping is in normal health – and we do not become deficient in drugs as we age.
We do become deficient in vitamins and other nutrients when our diet is not optimal, and stress and overweight and even wear and tear can cause our body’s delicate chemical balances to be thrown off – but these are things that can usually be corrected with diet and careful supplementation of things that nourish the body. There is usually no need to hammer on the body’s systems with the brute force of drugs.
7 – One more mistake that smart people make frequently, probably because they really are smart and they are accustomed to researching and finding information on their own, is that they get their medical advice from a variety of sources.
Unfortunately, those sources are usually not trained in medicine – they are the proverbial “butcher, baker, and candlestick-maker” who, while experts in their own fields, and filled with anecdotal stories of the miraculous cure experienced by the next-door neighbor to their Aunt Effie’s daughter-in-law, they really have little more to offer than “try XXX – it really helped my friend, and he had something kinda like you do…”
When you need tax advice do you consult your car mechanic? When you need to diagnose a car problem do you ask your accountant? When you need someone to look after your books do you call on a carpenter? No? Well then, why would you get and follow medical advice from any of those people? Especially when there are highly trained medical people available who would be happy to help you…
Or, better yet, there are some really smart people who actually go out and earn themselves a medical degree – from the “University of Google.” They plug their complaint into the Google search engine, push the button, and Voila! – instant education!
Try using the search term “hypertension” – we just did and Google gave “About 65,500,000 results”. For the math challenged, that is sixty-five and a half million results. Everything from scholarly articles from the National Institutes for Health (N.I.H.) to “advertorials” promoting Viagra for hypertension in women. Yikes! How is a person to know what is real and what is hype?
Then there are the really, really, really smart people:
These are the people who recognize that they are very smart in whatever field of endeavor they are really smart in, and they know that there is not enough time in a day for them to become really smart in every other subject – especially one as complicated as medicine. These are the people who are smart enough to know that there are other people who are really smart at medicine (though they might not know much about tax law or hotel management) and they seek out those smart medical people when they need medical advice.
They carefully and faithfully follow the advice that they receive – though there is always some give-and-take, and much discussion about goals and strategies. After all, really smart people want to be actively involved in they medical care and demand to be a part of the decision-making process for their health regimens and strategies.
Those are the people we like the best, here at The Wellness Club!
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