As a doctor, I know that my field of medicine is both glorious and simultaneously fallible. We don’t understand everything about the bodies that our souls carry around, and that can be humbling to us. At the same time we understand a lot. Certainly we know a lot more than we used to, and we are continually studying and trying to learn more.
I sit in exam rooms with patients and families, eager to partner. I spend my life reading and learning and thinking and re-thinking how to communicate what I find out with my patients. I listen and encourage and explain. I tell about how diet affects our insides. Our sleep, energy, attention span and our bones, our heart, our skin, and our mind. I explain about fiber and about how bacteria in your gut eats the fiber to make your own Ozempic – for free! I explain about processed food and upset stomachs and calcium in oranges and protein in potatoes. I explain about endorphins from exercise, and blood pressure lowering from meditation. I write “prescriptions” for outdoor time, positive social connections, and decreased electronic interactions. ALL of these recommendations have powerful health effects, are cheap and affordable, and-this is the best part-are given and taken by YOU. You don’t need me as the doctor, or the pharmacist, or insurance, or the surgeon general of the United States. You just need you. You have all the power.
Because I will always be honest with you, I will tell you what happens most of the time I give these recommendations. My enthusiasm is met with a half smile and nod and a request for the pill medication.
I happily believe in medicine, Jolly Hearts. I am a big fan of modern medicine. Birth control and immunizations are responsible for saving more lives than the best trauma surgeon. Antibiotics are amazing. And who even thought of a machine that uses magnets to look inside the body?? (The MRI) We should all welcome modern medicine.
But we should never step out of our own power. We own our body. We get but one body for our precious soul. It is the job of us to nourish it, connect it, rest it, and move it with love and intention. (The six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine)
Jolly Heart, I want to share with you the doctors’ best kept secret. We want you to know who has the most power over your health. It’s not us. It’s YOU!
I don’t know where my field of medicine is headed in the next few years. But I do know that I, as a doctor, will continue to learn, read, speak, and encourage everyone I meet toward good health. I know who I serve and I know who is in charge: It’s you. It’s us.
