Hippocrates Knew

Let’s go back in time – over 2,500 years ago. Hippocrates (the father of medicine) wrote in 400 B.C., “All parts of the body which have a function if used in moderation and exercised in labors in which each is accustomed, become thereby healthy, well developed and age more slowly, but if unused and left idle they become liable to disease, defective in growth and age quickly” (https://www.nuigalway.ie/media/schoolofpsychology/KDowd_21Feb2018_NUIG_Health-Behaviour-Change_Final.pdf).

The best thing a doctor can do for us today is to write out a prescription – much like Hippocrates – “Practice exercise and good nutrition!”  The path to good health is typically a more modest one: eat well, eat less, and move more.
  
Yet despite this advice over the centuries, we are still searching for beauty and health secrets. We are bombarded with all sorts of formulas and “magic bullets” that supposedly will lead us to good health and good looks, only to be disappointed by the lack of results. Many drug companies try to sell us pharmaceuticals as a solution to health problems and we have become a nation of pill-poppers. Certainly some of our drugs are lifesavers, but we have to remember that many health problems are simply preventable. People are fooled into thinking that prescription drugs treat diseases. Realistically, most drugs simply treat the symptoms and/or they boost the body’s systems to heal itself.

Despite the facts, Americans are still being manipulated:

• Americans still spend a fortune looking for the “fountain of youth” approach to health and good looks.
• The United States still spends more money on healthcare per capita than any other nation, and yet does not have the highest longevity nor the quality of health of its citizens
• The United States consumes more and spends more on prescription drugs per capita than any other country

            (http://www.livescience.com/health/091013-life-unexpectancy.html).
 
We would be much better off if we stayed away from our obsession with prescription drugs and magic bullets and follow the basic formula for longevity and
quality of life: Eating well + exercising = good health
    
In summary, it helps to keep it simple and avoid being fanatic in your approach: find joy in eating well, eating less and moving more. Then reap the rewards with better health and a longer, higher-quality life – filled with doing things that you want to do in everyday life! The Father of Medicine knew this over 2,500 years ago.