Benjamin Franklin once wrote that "Nine men in ten are would be suicides." Perhaps we can go further than he did, and say that they are not only "would be" suicides; nine men in ten (or more) actually commit suicide, albeit in a slow and gradual way. A strange statement? It's a matter of definition - and of seeing things for what they really are. Given the human self-destructivity, it is no exaggeration to say that only few humans actually die of anything else than suicide.
I'm not talking about hanging, drowning or otherwise killing oneself; I speak of the slow gradual suicide caused by eating food that undermines health, despite knowing how dangerous it is; by using tobacco, alcohol, or narcotic drugs, in spite of general knowledge of their dangers to health; by not giving the body enough exercise, although being fully aware that a sedate life-style is destructive; by using chemical hygiene products despite knowing they are contributory causes of degenerative disease; and much, much more. This is conscious and deliberate suicide. It might take 30, 40 or more years to commit, but it is nonetheless suicide. You can never escape your own responsibility for your health.
Most of you will die by the consequences of your own lifestyle, probably many decades earlier than would have been reasonable otherwise. The worst is that these are lifestyle errors you are fully aware of but for some reason don't change to the better. If you choose to ignore them, that's fine, it is your choice. Most of you probably want to live in a better way, however, but cannot take the initiative of really doing something about it. It's easy to postpone it to another day. Perhaps after the next vacation, perhaps after summer, or next year...
This is your life, do you want to postpone its saving until it is too late? When you already have diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, or some other self-inflicted illness it is too late. Perhaps you can still be cured, but it is not the same as never having these diseases, as never allowing any degeneration to take place. Do you want to spend decades with reduced capacity, physically and mentally? Are you consciously prepared to create this degenerated version of yourself, to break yourself down to such a miserable state?
Is that all, you may ask, is it just to eat right, exercise right, avoid drug abuse, and then I'll live longer and stay healthier? Longer and healthier, yes, probably, but of course it is not all. Genetics, environmental factors, mental attitudes, general behaviour, emotional and social factors, and if you are really serious there is much more than that (but whatever you do, there can never be any guarantees). What I have mentioned is the basics, heavy-weight factors you can control yourself to the best of your ability and level of knowledge. It is not difficult, you just need some determination. But by choosing not to do so, despite knowing better, you commit suicide. If you choose suicide, okay, it is not for me to decide, but be aware of what you are doing.
If you feel this as a slap in the face, yes it is. A slap to wake you up to the fact that to a large extent you control your health, how rapidly you age, and your life-span. It's nothing just happening to you, you create it; it's time to do something about it.
...continued in "Better Health - How to Begin".
(This article is based on material previously published in Meriondho Leo and in my e-book “Paradigms of Health”, 2019.)
Copyright © 2019, 2020 Meleonymica/Mictorrani. All Rights Reserved.
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Where would you put vitamins and supplements not derived from plant matter or bacterial byproducts/products under, as well as the medications taken for the very minor of health inconveniences. This is me asking out of curiosity and out of consideration with the fact that i look into way too much food processing because of my chemistry background;-;