I ran into an MD on an elevator today.
He asked what I do and I told him I’m a Chiropractor.
He then asked if I do ‘wellness’ too.
I paused for a second. Wellness?
Wellness is one of those broad terms we through around. It means different things to different people.
He then asked if I do allergy testing.
To him wellness was allergy testing. Who knows what else wellness meant to him.
I once took care of another MD that was into wellness. For him it meant do regular blood pressure screenings and monitoring medications.
If you go to Walgreens wellness means getting vaccinations.
It’s clear to me the world of medicine doesn’t really have a definitive identity for wellness.
I hear wellness and I think about lifestyle choices.
Why?
Your lifestyle choices determine your health outcome.
To me wellness is not about getting a bunch of tests and screenings done to see if the doctor can give you more medications.
We have more tests, screenings, and free vaccines than ever before. Yet Americans are pretty damn sick.
Why are we getting sicker from chronic disease, allergies, or autoimmune issues? That’s the important question.
Medicine has tried to solve these problems with more doctors visits and specialized tests.
Heart disease and cancer are climbing. Diabetes is climbing. Allergies, asthma, autism…climbing.
The only thing not climbing is infectious disease but it has nothing to do with medicine.
You can thank sanitation and cleanliness for that.
Plumbing, clean water, and garbage removal have had the greatest impact on health over the last 150 years.
Medicine as the study of disease has only resulted in more disease.
“Wellness” is a billion dollar industry. It’s about marketing more than anything.
Bottom line: your choices will determine your health. Not luck. Not your genes. Not your parents. Not germs. YOU!
Why spend another day not living and experiencing your best?!
Take care.
Be epic
Dr Jeff