Dr. Nammy Patel talks about health care changing to a preventative model instead of a reactive model of simply taking pills to prevent symptoms, and how we can take care of ourselves better so we thrive instead of just survive.
One of the things that we’re seeing now as a society in the health care model is, in my parents’ age, it was all about… popping a pill and there was a solution to everything. And now it’s more of a model where we are able to thrive. We’re no longer in the survival system, we’re in a thriving system. So we’re actually looking at, what can we do to take better care of ourselves? What can we do to start anti-aging? And really people think anti-aging should start at 60. It’s too late. Or 50, it’s way too late. You need to be starting at 35. So that way you’re taking the measures to make sure that you’re living a healthier, rich, full life. And that starts by making sure of what you’re eating, going out, exercising, sleeping, managing the hormones.
We as women go through something called estrogen dominance. It’s natural for us to do that, but instead of just naturally letting it happen, we can take measures to control our emotions. We can take measures to make sure that we are managing our body so it’s not breaking down bone. So that way we’re able to think clearly, we’re able to contribute to our society better, be a better mother, sister, friend, what have you.
So it’s really important to know that the healthcare model is preventative now. It’s no longer reactive, it’s proactive. And proactive means, I want to know now what I can do, so that at 50, I don’t have to deal with stuff. I don’t want to have to deal with frail bones. I’m going to do tai chi every day. I’m going to make sure I get up at 5:00 o’clock so that I can make my lunch, and so that I know that when I’m 80, I can walk and I’m not going to be hunchbacked. I’m going to do yoga every week so that I know I can stretch my muscles.
Because there’s one thing it’s really obvious for all of us, right? We’re all going to die at some point, it’s a given. What we can do is really make sense of how we’re going to go. Do we want to go in a hospital bed or do we want to go like this and say, “Thank you, God, it’s been a great ride. I haven’t had to deal with disease and dysfunction.” Because in all honesty, if you don’t have health, you don’t have anything. It is the one area of your life that impacts everything. It does not matter how much money you have, does not matter how many relationships you have, if you don’t have health, you can’t enjoy any of it.
