Why Do I Care?

I have been interested in health and fitness since beginning martial arts training as a teenager. At age 21, I joined the U.S. Navy intending to become a Navy SEAL, and ramped up my exercise regimen accordingly- running, swimming, calisthenics. In the 40+ years since then, I’ve maintained consistent exercise habits and never had significant problems with my weight. I thought I was in pretty decent shape.

After 9 years in Naval Special Warfare, first as an operator, then as an instructor, I entered the Navy Physician Assistant program. This was an opportunity to further my health studies and to fulfill a desire to help others maintain and improve their own health. I continued to maintain a consistent fitness practice, including martial arts training, calisthenics, running, and outdoor activities and continued to maintain weight well within navy uniform standards.

So it came as a bit of a surprise when at the age of 37, I was diagnosed with “high cholesterol.” Working at the time in the family practice clinic, I knew what that meant, and dutifully began my prescribed statin treatment for hyperlipidemia, as I expected my patients to do when I presented them with the same findings in their own labs. But there was always this nagging question in the back of my mind: How is it that someone who has lived what most would consider a very active and healthy life requires prescription medication for the rest of their life?

I began to learn that many other factors contribute to heart disease and that addressing them was more effective than statins for reducing risk. Instead of being told that chronic conditions like hyperlipidemia were “just hereditary,” or “normal at my age” and that the solution was lifelong prescriptions that typically increased in number and dosage over time, I was learning that chronic metabolic issues could be improved and even resolved through nutrition and lifestyle modifications. I began to realize that the level of health we have currently is the culmination of years, even decades, of daily habits- what we eat, how we move, how we relax, how we sleep. Have you ever wondered why there are so many treatments for chronic conditions, but no cures? It’s because the pills treat the symptoms you have without addressing the cause. Great health does not come from the pharmaceutical products we take; it comes from practicing the habits that result in great health.

And that means we have a great deal of control over our own health. This is at odds with the typical approach to “healthcare,” where you do whatever you do until you get sick, then go to the doctor to get a pill. And once that starts, you can count on getting even more pills later.

Rather than taking increasing numbers of prescriptions to address increasing numbers of symptoms and conditions, my goal is to optimize the lifestyle habits that determine whether you will end up with those symptoms/conditions. Things like eating single-ingredient whole foods and avoiding grains and refined sugar. Getting some kind of movement daily, from simply walking to high-intensity training such as weight lifting. Making sure to manage stress and getting sufficient sleep.

The goal of “health care” should not be simply avoiding the symptoms of disease. What if you could make your goal to become as healthy as you possibly can? Increasing energy to do the things you enjoy? Improving your sense of well-being, your happiness, and your health span? You can do it by getting to the root of chronic illness: improving your lifestyle and avoiding disease in the first place.

I believe that this is not only possible but that it is the only way to live your best life in terms of health and longevity.