Longevity and quality of life
I could still remember some years ago while myself and a fellow coworker were discussing different kinds of health foods in the break room and then one other coworker standing there said sarcastically, “what is the use of all these things, eating healthy and exercise talk, after all we all going to die anyway”. Well that got me into my soap box and I responded to her that that while I know we are all going to die but at the same time, you want to have a good quality of life while you are still living and hence the need to pay attention to what you are putting in your body.
Well now to present day, am glad to say that a week ago specifically July 3rd, 2020 I joined the 40s club and celebrated with joy and happiness with my family and friends in a “quarantine style” way not the way I had planned but still enjoyed the day. I also had the opportunity to interview some amazing women on my Instagram platform on this topic on longevity and quality of life which you can find the Instagram videos here of the replay. https://www.instagram.com/gabyu_healthhub/channel/ It is worth checking out as they shared a lot of vital topics that can be helpful. It one of the ways of me celebrating my birthday and it was surely fun.
However as the days approached to my birthday, I started looking back to the previous years of my health in terms of physical and mental and had to pat myself on the back that hmm this girl has done good for herself. Of course, I still have some health things to deal with, am not all that perfect, its work in progress every day.
I am forty now and I feel so good, more energetic and have increased hope for the future than few years ago. What would you think the secret to this is? Functional medicine! Yea you did not guess, that right? Well that was it. Functional medicine literally saved my life and I believe without it, it would have been a different story today. So what the heck is functional medicine? Functional medicine is an alternative form of medicine that digs to the root cause of the diseases or symptoms. It focuses on the why and not just what. I will give you a practical example. So, imagine you are having water all over your floor. You can spend your life mopping it up or you can go in search of the leak and fix it (not with duct tape) so in this instance with comparing it to functional medicine, which used the root cause approach, it would be that your medical provider would be able to figure the leak which is investigating thoroughly what is causing your symptoms instead of just stopping the symptoms by giving you prescriptions pill which is like a band aid and you still keep on getting the symptoms if you decide not to take the pills. This is just one example and hopefully it gives you an understanding what am trying to convey here.
You see in my own personal health, I had to deal with multiple gut issues going from one medical provider to another, on multiple antibiotics, lab work and still did not feel any better. So, it was like my medical providers were just helping me to mop the floor but not finding out where the leak is coming from. But when I found functional medicine and started implementing it principles, the leak (gut issues) got fixed. I saw the difference in my health and from physical health it led with a better mental health. This change led me to decide last year to fully switch from the traditional medicine to the functional medicine way which is what I believe is the way medicine should be practiced, holistic and progressive. This way ensures longevity and good quality of life.
I would like to conclude here with three questions. What are the barriers you see in making your health better? Is it money, not having the right medical provider to help you or is it you just do not care about your health? Think about these things, I believe we all deserve to heal, to have optimal health to enjoy life with our families, friends and the whole world. It could be better.