Three Reasons to Take Charge of Your Health

The health care system that we are used to is changing. The food we eat contains more chemicals and genetically modified products than ever before. Doctors wary of lawsuits and Obamacare are retiring, cutting their hours, or even turning away certain types of clients. The doctors that are left are heavily influenced by the makers of pharmaceutical drugs. It's more important than ever that you take a proactive approach to your health; if you don't, you may end up with health care that you don't want. Here are three reasons why taking charge of your health is more important than ever.

What's in Your Food Can Make You Sick

Years ago, I never thought twice about the food that I was eating. I knew, of course, that too many calories was not good for you, and that you need to eat enough vegetables, fruit, and protein, but I didn't know that some of the foods sold in the grocery stores actually contained chemicals in them that could make you sick. About seven years ago, I thought that I was getting Alzheimer's disease. Now I had heard of early onset Alzheimer's, but not with people in their 20s. I was also very cold all the time. I thought that I had thyroid problems, but my tests came back fine. It turns out that my symptoms were probably caused by aspartame. Since I have been aspartame-free for years, I now can remember things and feel a lot better. My doctor never brought up aspartame poisoning. If I had not taken the initiative and researched my problems on my own, who knows how poor my memory would be today. It had gotten so bad that I couldn't keep track of characters in a movie, and it was getting worse.

Doctors Are Influenced by Big Pharma

Another reason that it's important to take charge of your own health is that doctors are influenced by the big pharmaceutical companies. Often, rather than curing a problem, these drugs simply mask the symptoms. You can't really blame it on the doctors though. Doctors just don't have the time that it takes to sit down with their patients and track the root cause of a problem, and often patients will go to their doctors asking for Ambien or some other medication that they saw advertised on television. Doctors will sometimes add medications to treat symptoms that may not really be bothering you. One of my close relatives has diabetes; she was prescribed several medications, many which are not related to her blood sugar levels. She doesn't really question the amount of medicine that her doctor prescribes. Perhaps all the medicine is essential to her health; perhaps she is taking more than she needs to. Rather than blindly taking any medicine prescribed, it is important to research what you are taking and know why you are taking it, at the very least.

Your Doctor May Not Accept You as a Patient

A third reason to take charge of your own health is that you might not be able to find a doctor that will take you as a patient. Recently, some doctors have started to turn away patients because they were obese. Some pediatricians will not take your child as a patient if you do not believe in getting all of the recommended vaccines on schedule. One of the biggest problems going into the future is that there may be a doctor shortage. Many doctors mentioned in a recent poll that they may cut back their hours when Obamacare takes over. The doctors that are left will be able to afford taking on only the clients that they want. While you may not be obese, if you aren't the model patient, you may find yourself without a doctor. Now is the time to take on more responsibility for your health, while it is still relatively easy to find a doctor.

When you're sick, it's nice to have a doctor around to help diagnose the problems that you are having and to help you get your health back; however, they are not all-knowing gods, and are not responsible for your health. It is your responsibility, as the person that has to live in your body, to make sure that you do everything that you can to take care of it. Whether that means learning about nutrition, getting enough exercise, researching medicines that your doctor prescribed, or learning more about any medical conditions that you have, it is important to take responsibility for your own health. Nobody cares about your health more than you. As health care changes, it will become even more important that you become your own best health advocate.