A Wake Up Call For Wellness

With yet another election campaign in full swing, our political leaders are once again making promise after promise of what they will do for Canadians, how much money they will save, and how much money they will spend. I know, promises, promises…we’ve heard this all before. What’s caught my attention this time are the promises they’re making yet again to pump millions and millions of more taxpayers dollars into healthcare. Does this really make any sense? Is healthcare what’s really needed, or should our focus be on prevention and wellness?

Doctors, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry seem to have formed the basis of healthcare and the health industry. However, it is a well known fact that pharmaceutical drugs, whether prescription or over-the-counter, are making people sick and killing them each and every day. Shouldn’t the health industry really be called the illness industry? The billions of dollars spent each and every year on healthcare seems to focus strictly on treating the symptoms of illness, rather than prevent illness and help people live a healthier life.

Now that’s not to say we don’t need doctors, nurses and hospitals. Of course we do. We need them to help people who are experiencing acute life-threatening illnesses and injuries. We need them for people involved in accidents, or are experiencing a heart attack, or some other trauma and need immediate medical attention. And also the drugs designed to kill pain work very well in an emergency situation. The problem is, there is not enough attention given to the prevention of illness and disease in the first place.

Government on all levels seem to support companies that create products that make us sick such as pharmaceutical drugs and environmental toxins, however, If they would shift their focus to human health and made it a priority, think of the money that would be saved on healthcare.

Many holistic, alternative and complementary practitioners provide services that work very well to keep us healthy. They take a natural approach to healing and emphasize prevention rather than just treating symptoms of disease. Many of these were also once subsidized by the government, but no longer are. Acupuncture, chiropractic care, massage therapy, herbalists, and homeopathic or naturopathic doctors now have to be paid for by the individual seeking their services and it’s getting that most people can no longer afford these alternative therapies. Even nutritional supplements and natural health products have been hit with higher costs since the implementation of the HST last July. Yet, we can go to the doctor, be referred for some treatment that costs an exorbitant amount of money, be prescribed drugs that are subsidized (or free), return for subsequent visits to the doctor or treatment facility, and all of this paid for by the healthcare system.

Not to mention the fact that our governments are continually sneaking through laws to ban natural health products while giving drug companies a free reign. This is unfair, undemocratic, killing people…. and they know it. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a government that actually worked for the people, instead of bending over backwards for big pharma and big business, and made wellness a priority?

Our right to choice is continually under attack by governments on all levels. We need to stay informed and keep pressure on the powers that be to do the right thing. We don’t need more healthcare. What’s really needed in this country is a wake up call for wellness.

“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition”. ~ Thomas Edison