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;void(0)) This has been a year of multiple and varied health difficulties for my circle of friends and family. As the presidential candidates continue to debate solutions to the health crisis in America, even many of the relatively affluent are strapped with exorbitant medical bills. We are definitely living longer and have conquered many of the causes of death and disease – lack of sanitation, infected water, and grossly overcrowded housing, for example – but there are new threats to our health. The new threat to many of us consists of the so-called “degenerative” diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis, chronic stress and diabetes, all of which now kill and cripple more people than in the past. In fact many more people are suffering with the effects of these diseases for longer periods than they did in the past. It seems that the longer people live in particular industrial (or technologically urban) conditions as we do today, the more likely they are prone to develop cancer or heart disease, but this does not make such diseases an inevitable part of the aging process. Alterations in lifestyle have a lot to do with this. Studies show that mutations in our DNA can be inherited or acquired. Acquired mutations are changes in the DNA that develop throughout a person's life. They arise in the DNA of individual cells, either spontaneously, or in response to environmental factors such as radiation or viruses. In fact, many scientists sometimes refer to modern curative medicines as “cultural adaptations” in that they try to help (post hoc), for the ill health resulting from ecological contradictions. While all men and women from all races may have become to some extent maladapted to their environment, this has not affected everyone equally. There is a clear indication that there are differences when it comes to occupation and lifestyle. 200 years ago many of the degenerative illnesses mentioned above never existed to any substantial degree. There is no evidence to indicate that our bodies have changed. However, there is every indication that like the earth's susceptibility to global warming (which is man made) so too, our bodies are reacting to the alterations that we have impacted upon our environment. We have to stop and read the labels on some of the products that we love to consume without wondering why they taste or look so good. Keep in mind that the lowering of our taxes has come with the price of a shrinking federal government, which means that the Food and Drug Aministration and OSHA are not as powerful as they once were as far as making certain that the foods we eat and the jobs that we work at are as safe as they should be. Success in protecting our health will depend upon knowledge of our environment, and how our bodies interact with all aspects of our environment. Man's organic development has been built around movement, and it is necessary for growth and bodily functions. Exercise is a part of man's whole being and his integration into his social order. Walking is exercise. Yoga and Tai Chi are exercise. Meditation is exercise. Proper nutrition is a major consideration. Instead of the New Years resolution to lose weight or to stop smoking we need to resolve to be healthy. Recent studies have shown that many people that are considered overweight tend to be healthier than those that may be “fashionably thin” (near cadaverous) or morbidly obese. Above all else it is important to understand that the well-being of any person is related not just to the absence of physical injury or disease, but to their own experience as a human being living in a particular natural and social environment. An examination of specific types of stress as well as a general exploration of the effects on health of the more subjective and phenomenological aspects of life must be a central attempt to understand health and illness in our own and any other socio-cultural circumstance. May you have a Happy and Healthy 2008. Please e-mail me and let me know your thoughts on this matter. Oh yeah, don't forget your autographed copy of “The Ackee Chronicles”. Tony VanSluytman - the Author  Newsletter Directory The Aton Project - Home Page Tony VanSluytman info Tony VanSluytman - the Author | Return Home | The BOOK DOCTOR | The BANYON NETWORK | The Banyon Buzz Newsletters | The Aton Project Newsletters | Contact Us | |
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