By: Gordon Filepas
America must seem pretty dumb to the rest of the world when it comes to how we take care of ourselves. Here's why:
• America spends more per person on health-care costs than any other country in the world, by a huge margin, yet ranks 29th in longevity and has among the worst health outcomes.
• Americans and their children are still getting fatter and sicker each year.
• American physicians receive less than 24 hours of nutrition training throughout all of medical school.
• 90 percent of what U.S.-educated physicians learn in their careers is either directly or indirectly funded by pharmaceutical companies.
• President Obama's health-care plan and Mitt Romney's counter-proposal don't discuss prevention.
Everyone's complaining about America's increasing health and obesity issues and wondering how to solve these problems while also reducing health-care costs. They make it sound like a big, complicated mystery - how could this be happening? Giving everyone health insurance is the best solution anyone can come up with? It's a noble proposition but it won't solve the problem or do a thing to cure or prevent any disease.
Twenty years ago, I would have thrown up my hands in frustration along with everyone else. Back then, I was in the same place that most of America is today - uninformed, a little bit frantic, and wondering what to do.
But through two decades of common sense study, I've learned good health is easily attained and maintained - and it doesn't require either deprivation or a big change in lifestyle.
I know, now, that Americans aren't dumb about health. They're just incredibly misinformed about how to get and remain healthy and lean, and how to extend their longevity. In many other countries, such knowledge is simply part of the culture, handed down through the generations.
Here's what I've learned after 20 years of intensive research:
• The human cell is essentially immortal and humans should live to, at minimum, 120 years of age while being lean and healthy.
• To achieve this you must give your body what it needs biologically - oxygen, proper nutrition, adequate water and good drainage, freedom from toxins and adequate sunlight: The same things a plant needs to thrive.
• Genetics has little to do with your weight, health or longevity.
• Humans gain weight or get sick only when their body becomes out of balance because it is not receiving the raw materials to meet its biological needs.
• America can save $600 billion a year with common sense preventative practices that ensure individuals receive the proper nutrients.
• It is impossible to reform America's health-care "system." The only way to change the system is to change the health of the people within the system through proper education about health and wellness. As people become healthier and demand for services is reduced, the system will gradually adapt to reduced health-care needs, much like how the music industry adapted to the introduction of iTunes.
The key is proper education that emphasizes common-sense, time-tested practices focusing on how the human body works. High-tech gadgetry and man-made petrochemicals cannot replace what the human body needs biologically.
Rapid, mass health-care reform in America will result directly from individual self-care reform from proper health education.
Try it America. You'll like it.
About Gordon Filepas
Gordon Filepas spent 20 years researching for his book Lean And Healthy To 100 (www.adviceformychildren.com), interviewing physicians, attending seminars, and reading medical journals and other health-related literature. He is the founder of TGM Partners, a consulting and investment firm. Filepas says he was motivated to learn more about the requirements for optimal health following the deaths of his father and brother from cancer right around the time his first child was born. He hopes to ensure the good health of his family, including his wife of 25 years and three sons.
