Take Back Your Health!

Recently I read an article about several Florida hospitals that were discovered price gouging their patients. Incredibly, after they were caught and the names of the hospitals were publicized, they actually continued to drastically increase their bills! Do you think that there were any protests or lawsuits? Not that I could tell!

To say that these are the only hospitals that take advantage of their patients would be the understatement of the millenia. It is a known fact that all areas of medical care inflate their prices so they can get at least a fraction of it back from insurance companies. And the insurance companies, of course, have to recover their “losses,” so they hike their rates up to the stratosphere.

In the end, the real one left suffering are the patients and their families. They get unwillingly sucked up into the giant scam that we call modern medicine, and allow themselves to have treatments and procedures that, many times, may not have even been necessary. Why do I call it a scam?

Well, let’s remember that medicine is a business. And like every other business, it’s in the business of making money. No one can deny that. Take, for example, the cancer industry, which raked in $124 Billion in 2012 alone. That number has been increasing every year as more and more people get cancer. I urge you all to read the article that I linked to. There are facts about cancer that will leave you speechless.

So, with all of these amazing technological advances in medicine, we, as a society, are sicker than ever. We have more chronic diseases, allergies, auto-immune diseases, obesity, a ridiculously huge spectrum of hyperactive disorders, etc., etc. Yet, we still place our full faith in the doctor and his unquestionable recommendations.

To me, this is the modern version of idol worship. Most of us don’t question what the doctor tells us, because we don’t have the years of training and experience that he has. We also don’t have the free perks such as vacations, bonuses, and cars from the pharmaceutical companies that he has, either.

Here is how I believe the evil inclination manipulates us. I gotta give him credit; he’s brilliant. But I’m ‘bout to bring him down.

First: he plays on our fears. We are deathly afraid of not listening to our doctor. G-d forbid we don’t take his advice; it’s like we’re basically killing ourselves. Can it get any more anti-emuna than this?? A person is never supposed to make any decision based on fear. So why do we consistently do so when it comes to our health?

Second: he exploits our ignorance. These days, there is absolutely no reason we can’t go online and research all sides of a medical issue. If we could just pull ourselves away from Facebook for a few minutes, we could find tons of information about any health issue, and all types of *gasp* natural treatments for it! But again, when we compare our miniscule little selves to the larger-than-life doctor, then we may feel pretty stupid for even thinking to question his judgment.

Third: he takes the pure root of medicine and corrupts it. In reality, I believe that we all have such faith in doctors and medicine because we instinctively know that medicine should be connected to healing. The Rambam was the greatest doctor of his time, and would be even more so if he were alive today. He was the embodiment of healing, both of body and of soul.

This is what we feel; this is what we yearn for when we visit the doctor. We want to connect to that energy of healing, and for most of us, listening to the doctor is the only way we can do that. But, the reality is not like that. Pharmaceutical companies are not in the business of making people healthy. Otherwise, they would go out of business! These are agents of the evil inclination! They wrap up every pill or treatment in the hopes that maybe this one will really fix the problem.

Any logical person would realize that this is completely ridiculous, because why would an uber-profitable business seek to put itself out of business? But, they sell us false hopes and fantasies that if we would just take their magic poison, we will feel so much better.

It is time to take back control over our health! I am urging anyone who is serious about being healthy to take their health seriously! And how can we do that?

First: eat a healthy diet. Good nutrition is 90% of the cure. Get off the sugar, processed flour and manufactured foods. Eat as naturally as possible and strive to get maximum nutrients for every calorie you ingest – that means loads of veggies and fruits. Raise your fat intake with healthy fats, such as avocado, wild salmon, walnuts and fresh coconut.  Whole grains, seeds and nuts are a welcome part of your diet. Prefer kasha, quinoa and whole-grained rice to pasta and other manufactured starches. Stay away from cookies, cakes, candies, soft drinks and ice cream. In short, give your body full and nutritious calories and stay clear of empty calories, which are the hallmark of processed and fast foods.

Second: exercise! Sweating rids the body of toxins, and all of that heavy breathing forces oxygen into the cells, which cancer cells in particular hate. Do I really need to list more benefits? You already know them, so get moving!

Third: use your resources! I can’t stress this enough. Go online and read, read, read! You can find all types of natural cures that actually work, in particular for things that traditional approaches may have no lasting treatment for. Parents, that means you, too. Did you know that a few drops of warm mullein garlic oil can relieve your child of the pain and swelling of an ear infection?

Fourth: strengthen your emuna! Hashem made the body “in His image.” That means that the body has its own innate wisdom, and it knows how to take care of itself. We have to believe in this miraculous creation that we call “us,” and focus on building up our bodies’ defenses and immune systems, not breaking them down when we get sick.

Let’s stop letting our fears guide our decisions, and start believing in our right to make our own informed decisions!

There is a famous Gemara that states (Bava Metzia 107b): “Rav visited a cemetery…. and said, ‘99 die through an evil eye for each one who dies from natural causes.’”

Here is my updated version: 99 die through fear, ignorance, and unhealthy lifestyles for each one who dies from natural causes.

Many, many illnesses are preventable. The problem is that we’re not creating a proper foundation for a healthy body. So treating one illness while creating other side effects that need to be treated, which will create more illnesses and more side effects, well, you understand. There is no end to this downward spiral. But, if we can get to the cause of the problem, then we have a shot at curing it. And many times, the cause is in our diets and lifestyles.

It is my sincere wish that we start taking responsibility for our health, and Hashem should bless all of us with complete and perfect healing, for our bodies and our souls.