Who’s Leading the Way?

Wouldn’t it be great if during ‘election fever’ we were able to really gauge the VALUES of our future leaders?

Wouldn’t it feel prodigious to know just how congruent the “personal lives” and the “public lives” of our leaders really are? After all, these are the people who will potentially influence large sectors of our future.

Examining how ‘congruent’ someone is – is perhaps the only way to wade through the ‘political hoo-har’ so readily seen in the lead up to an election.

As a mother and health practitioner I am curious about what value our future prime ministers and their health ministers ACTUALLY place on their own health.

WHY? Because our health influences every aspect of our lives…

If we are not healthy we can not focus on the issues at hand and we cannot think clearly.

If our bodies are not working efficiently we are unable to adapt to the stressors we place on them and progressively our health will deteriorate. If our health is taxed and deteriorating, then our energy is likely to plummet and most of us will mask this through chemical stimulants such as caffeine or sugar.
With time, unless we invest in our health, pain messages are likely to surface and the easiest solution then, for most people, is to mask these inconvenient symptoms with drugs. Our health is then further compromised as our nervous system attempts to work within these poor conditions, whilst chemically burdened. Unfortunately, the longer we leave this unaddressed it affects our overall health, our ability to listen, to communicate, to learn, our productivity and our judgment.

So my concern is not whether our politicians have a SNIFFLE, my concern is how well their nervous system is functioning and how “clear headed” they are.

“The health of people is really the foundation upon which all their happiness and all their powers as a state depend.” Benjamin Disraeli
It is fairly easy to see the impact “health” can have on one individual and their life. Step back and imagine how the health culture of a corporation influences the productivity of its employees and its work environment. Now imagine how the health culture of a governing political body influences the health of a state or a country…………??

I love seeing footage of Tony Abbott cycling the streets in the early hours of the morning. Fitness, we are told, for Tony Abbott is a “9”. Anyone who gets up at 5 am every morning during one of the busiest times of their lives and rides a bicycle for several hours and then runs a marathon in his spare time has clearly experienced the benefits of “good health.”

Now I am not wishing to endorse Abbott over Gillard; but I think it is important to know whether the future leader of our country, the individuals who are going to direct the future health care of this country, see value in good health. I am also curious about how much time the health ministers spend investing in their own health or how often they dig a little deeper to examine what lifestyle habits may strengthen their health and that of their children.

As a mother and a health practitioner I pray that all our leaders across the globe also seek holistic advice on how to proactively tackle the world’s “very real health issues”.

Most people believe that drugs and surgery are the answer to health issues. There are 25 million pills consumed every hour of every day, in the US. ¹ In fact the US consumes 60% of the worlds drugs and spends a staggering $2.3 trillion annually on health care – far more than any other country spends on health care – yet the World Health Organization ranks U.S. health care only 37th among nations, on par with Serbia. ² Further to this, America spends twice as much per capita on health care as European countries, but it is twice as sick with chronic disease.³

So who is leading the way??

Which country is making “headway ” to strengthening their nations health, above and beyond “prevention.”

Few, if any, I imagine …. Why ??

Because no one teaches us how to be truly healthy and we have forgotten the basics. Most awareness people have about health is driven by pharmaceutical companies, the Dairy Board or the Wheat Board. Most of us can not decipher what the “real health principals” are anymore. So is it any wonder our government leaders (unless they have had the initiative to investigate “real health”) simply listen to loudest voice…

YES, Governments are moving away from our current unsustainable “sick care system which has severely failed us, but have they simply latched onto “preventative health care strategies”. Acts that focus on “preventing health problems” are not what “real health” is about.

Achieving ‘REAL HEALTH’ is a process, it is a commitment to a wellness lifestyle. For most people who commit to wellness this involves:

• highest quality nutrition we can source as often as possible – supporting the earth and organic farmers
• highest quality water to drink
• a well functioning nervous system – which governs overall body function
• regular sweaty exercise and body strengthening work
• resting or fasting our busy minds, connecting to spirit
• quality sleep away from white noise
• minimisation of consumed toxins – artificial colours, hormones, alcohol etc
• reduction of stress, planned holidays
• learning how to be greener – utilising non-toxic cleaning products, recycling etc
• positive, happy thoughts
• conscious parenting
• feeding the mind daily with empowering books or audios
• personal developmental seminars (health, spiritual, parenting or financial) throughout the year

Just because Tony Abbott rides a bike doesn’t mean he necessarily understands the difference between PROACTIVE or WELLNESS health care strategies and ‘wishy-washy’ preventative health care initiatives. I do know though, that by his actions he demonstrates a keen interest in health and I also know that exercise supports overall health and cognitive (brain) function – two things which could be handy to have in a prime minister, in fact in my book they are fairly imperative…

Why ????? Because we have very real global health issues at hand:

• Currently more than 1 billion adults are overweight, with at least 300 million clinically obese.⁴
• An estimated 17.6 million children under five are overweight worldwide.⁵
• According to the US Surgeon General, in the USA the number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has trebled since 1980.⁶
• These problems even extend to the developing world…
• Obesity has led to a dramatic increase in the incidence of type II diabetes among children and adolescents in the past two decades. The extent of the epidemic of childhood obesity is increasing such that children are suffering chronic complications that were once only seen in adults.⁷
• Most children with Type II diabetes are overweight or obese at diagnosis.⁸

Too many of our children have allergies, asthma, are overweight and generally unhealthy!* Mental and environmental health issues are also on the rise. ⁹

No question, comprehensive health reform is an extraordinarily ambitious undertaking. And everyone agrees that the current system is broken. It is so important to remember that how we live determines how healthy we are, with ‘wellness’ being the sum of all our activities and daily rituals. Leaders need to understand the fundamentals of health and their importance if we are indeed to protect and strengthen the health of our children and our world.

So rarely does this type of leadership come from above. I believe that as parents we need to be the ones to empower ourselves with knowledge on HOW TO STRENGTHEN HEALTH. Sadly teachers are also misinformed or given out of date health information, so it is up to us to educate our children about health.

And while we wait to see what “health awareness” our future leaders may or may not have, there are many holistic health practitioners, websites and invaluable books within reach that can empower us and our children with knowledge. It is my every wish that together as parents we are able to raise a generation of conscientious and HEALTHY young individuals.

“Claiming our power as consumers means we need to challenge assumptions we have about products, the companies that manufacture them and the government bodies that regulate them”
Dingle ¹⁰

So lets ‘step up’ and learn as much as we can about health, who knows, we may even inspire a politician.

Yours in Health

Jennifer

 

References