According to the CDC, heart disease and stroke costs the US healthcare system $216 billion per year. Obesity costs the US healthcare system $173 billion per year. Between medical costs and lost productivity, diabetes costs $327 billion.

 

That was in 2017.

 

How much worse is it now post-pandemic when routine medical care was pushed aside for two-plus years?

 

This is a rage-induced post, so feel free to skip this one and wait for the next educational post. Or maybe you want to pour yourself a glass of red wine (here’s looking at you, resveratrol) and read on in cynical anticipation. Because this healthcare professional has something very unprofessional to say…

 

 

 

 

Shame on you.

 

 

Shame on you, medical provider, for asking ‘what is the indication’ for my increased omega-3 recommendation instead of being inquisitive and asking to be taught a thing or two. Ever heard of inflammation? It’s a nasty bugger that literally is the root of all health evil.  I’m trying to help my people be proactive in reducing their inflammation and prevent diseases by recommending anti-inflammatory foods and supplements. But if you want to scoff at my recommendation and state ‘I am not in agreement’ with no explanation, then go ahead and leave your patient puzzled by conflicting medical recommendations. That’s on you. But I know my recommendations are backed by science and research, while yours are backed by pride and ignorance.

 

 

 

Shame on you, patient, for not being an advocate for yourself AND (gasp) for not taking some responsibility for your health.

 

“A pill would be easier”.

 

“It’s my thyroid’s fault”.

 

“I think I have low testosterone.”

 

 

Take some ownership for your actions, or rather inactions. Health science is constantly evolving, and the medical field is always learning. But no one can help you if you won’t help yourself.

 

Guys, I’m not saying this to be patronizing. I’m pointing this out to show you that tons of people say these exact same things you may be telling yourself. Yes, these situations occur, and yes, they are setbacks. But they aren’t your destiny.

 

They are just reasons to work harder. Persevere.

 

 

As humans, we are prone to make excuses for our behaviors. It’s easier to excuse away our thoughts and actions than to actually work through the WHY behind them.

 

“I have X medical/mental health condition which is why I act like that”

 

“I can’t do anything to improve my pain. Just give me a pill”.

 

“I have this medical condition so I’m destined to take these pills and have this surgery.

 

If this is you, please talk to a mental health professional. Not because there is anything wrong with you, but because your brain has been tricked to think you have no control over how you feel or react. You need someone to help you retrain your brain because these thoughts will not help you. You need to learn to work with what has been thrown at you and weave it into your story. It (whatever it is) does not define you. But it will if you let it.

 

 

 

 

Most of all, shame on YOU, healthcare system, for being so VERY outdated and close-minded. You are more worried about quantity than quality. You care more about the dollar than you do the human life.

 

You are a corporate feedlot in human form.

 

You would rather allow your provider 5 minutes to tell a patient what to do than to allow 30 minutes for those same two people to build a relationship. I get it – wait times matter. But so do people’s stories. And if you don’t allow your providers the time to listen to their patients and do a thorough chart review, you are failing. And you know what? Shame on you for not promoting the little things in life that can make the biggest impact in our patients’ health. Nutrition? Obviously. Time with animals? Duh. Quality relationships? Absolutely.

 

But those don’t earn money for the guy upstairs.

 

 

Why do I bring this up?

 

Because my knowledge, years of experience and hours of extracurricular reading have been questioned lately. Questioned by people who feel their knowledge is superior because they’ve spent more time at a university. Questioned by people who spent their entire academic careers learning how to fix a symptom rather than how to identify the cause of the symptom. Questioned by people who earned prestigious credentials while they belittled mine.

 

Their schooling allowed them to become educated about a whole slew of problems and how to put a band-aid on them.

 

 

Mine allowed me to become a Registered Dietitian. I worked my tail off to become an integrative and functional nutrition certified practitioner. I spent my own free time learning how to treat people with food and get to the root cause of their problems instead of learning about which pills to throw at them next. And now, I dig through my patients’ charts to find what the original issue is. It takes time, and it can be redundant. But when a colleague tells me my patient shared in group ‘she knows more about me than I do’, it’s worth it.

 

I may not know a lot. But I know one thing  p r e t t y. d a m n. w e l l…

 

 

…nutrition.

 

 

I may not know which antibiotics work best for your symptom-specific illness, but I know nutrition well enough to dream about it. I know it well enough to look you over, ask you a few questions, and come up with a palatable solution.

 

I know it well enough to offer you hope.

 

So yeah, I get offended when my recommendations are questioned with no explanation. I get offended when my science-backed recommendations are brushed off. I’m especially offended when the system won’t consider proactive recommendations because they cost an extra dollar upfront but save hundreds down the road.

 

So what now?

 

Be proactive about your health, educated about the provider you choose to see, and vocal about what our healthcare system needs.