Seeking the Right Health Solutions

Seeking the Right Health Solutions

August 3, 2024

Joy Stepinski, MSN, RN-BC

As a bedside nurse for many years, I often felt perplexed and concerned that so many patients lived with chronic medical conditions. I remember caring for older adults who suffered dire consequences as a result of their diseases, including complete immobility, not being able to communicate, loss of swallowing reflexes that prevented eating and drinking, and the inability to use the toilet. Many patients had a list of illnesses, such as cancer, dementia, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bowel disease, Parkinson’s, and more.  Sometimes the medication record was equally as long. Why were so many people chronically sick at the end of life? Was this a random occurrence? I did not accept that people aspired to have such difficulties as they aged.

In the article Looking for Health in All the Wrong Places, authors Alan Goldhamer and Doug Lisle shed light on this very issue [1]. The article delves into the problem-solving abilities of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes recognized key facts that other people would overlook, and sometimes the absence of a detail was just as important as its presence. 

The issue to solve today is the astounding number of life-altering diseases that afflict society. Chronic conditions lead to premature death and disability. In 2024 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes the top premature deaths in the United States as cancer, unintentional injury, heart disease, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory disease [2]. Contributing lifestyle factors are identified as obesity, insufficient physical activity, drinking alcohol in excess, and tobacco.

When searching the internet for answers, patients find experts making health claims by recommending various pills, supplements, and treatments. Unfortunately, advice is rarely backed up by evidence, even if touted by the best experts. Seeking the right fix may lead to inconsistent conclusions and flawed information.

Moreover, the public is frequently informed that genetic make-up is to blame for health problems. This leads to the assumption that the body is poorly designed, disease is inevitable, and there is little to prevent chronic conditions. The prescribed solution to a faulty body is frequently a medication or procedure. The patient is rarely asked to fully examine life stressors, lifestyle, diet, and other behaviors.

In general, neither medical nor alternative health treatments yield sufficient solutions. When high blood glucose is discovered, an oral hypoglycemic medicine or injectable insulin is given. If the issue is heart-related, a cardiac pill is prescribed. Alternative practitioners, such as naturopathic healthcare providers, recommend vitamins, supplements, and other concentrated herbs in pill form. As a result, the message is interpreted as the body is lacking. Pill prescriptions or supplements suggest that the issue is solved. Yet treatments often manage symptoms and do not remedy the culprit. While medication or supplements are necessary for certain matters, the root causes of health problems are repeatedly disregarded.

In their article, Goldhamer and Lisle relate that Sherlock Holmes-style sleuthing shows that current health conditions are often the result of dietary excesses, and not because the body has a deficiency. They write, “it is the subtraction (i.e., reduction or elimination) of these excesses that will solve most health problems, not the addition of medications or supplements.” One example is heart disease, which we discussed last month. The authors share that a dietary overload of fat, cholesterol, and animal protein leads to clogged arteries that cause heart attacks, congestive heart failure, or strokes. Decreasing fat consumption to 10% of calories (instead of 40% typically ingested) removes excess and restores arteries, as shown by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn [3].

Although the elimination of certain dietary choices may seem straightforward, the removal of excess is not an easy feat. People are taught from a young age that more healthcare (i.e., medication, procedures, appointments) is best. Culturally, people expect that an addition of a certain treatment is the solution. In years past, humans dealt with deficiencies such as scurvy, rickets, beriberi, and pellagra. However, deficiencies no longer plague the population. Excess prevails.

Instead, now society suffers from conditions like ever-growing obesity rates, which the authors state is the “ultimate evidence of dietary excess.” The overlooked solution is not adding, but subtracting. When oil, dairy, refined carbohydrates, and overeating of animal products are subtracted from the diet, food grown in the garden is the end result. Fruit, vegetables, legumes, tubers, and whole grains are low in fat, high in fiber, and filled with vitamins that aid in healing.

Without excess food damaging the body, restoration of balance is possible.  The evidence is clear. The work of Dr. Esselstyn shows this, as well as the research of T. Colin Campbell. Campbell’s China Study demonstrated that coronary artery disease and other illnesses decrease when more plant food is consumed [3]. Dr. John McDougall discovered that a low-fat plant-based diet reduced rheumatoid arthritis symptoms [4] and improved fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis [5].

Goldhamer and Lisle share “The power of the body’s ability to recover its health is remarkable, once the true culprits have been identified and effectively eliminated.” Nutrition is an important piece of the puzzle when considering health conditions, and has the potential to reverse, halt, and prevent disease. A low-fat diet high in plant food contributes to a more resilient body, which can be game-changing in chronic disease.

References

1.    Goldhamer, A., & Lisle, D. (2010). Looking for health in all the wrong places. https://www.healthpromoting.com/learning-center/article-learning-centers/looking-health-all-wrong-places

2.    García, M. C., Rossen, L. M., Matthews, K., Guy, G., Trivers, K. F., Thomas, C. C., Schieb, L., & Iademarco, M. F. (2024). Preventable premature deaths from the five leading causes of death in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan counties, United States, 2010 – 2022. Surveillance Summaries, 73(2), 1 – 11. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/ss/ss7302a1.htm

3.    Campbell, T. C., Parpia, B., & Chen, J. (1998). Diet, lifestyle, and the etiology of coronary artery disease: the Cornell China study. The American Journal of Cardiology, 82(10), 18-21.

4.    McDougall, J., Bruce, B., Spiller, G., Westerdahl, J., & McDougall, M. (2002). Effects of a very low-fat, vegan diet in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis. The Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 8(1), 71-75.

5.    Yadav, V., Marracci, G., Kim, E., Spain, R., Cameron, M., Overs, S., ... & Bourdette, D. (2016). Low-fat, plant-based diet in multiple sclerosis: A randomized controlled trial. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 9, 80-90.