“The state of being free from illness or injury”
- Oxford Dictionary
People die, it’s a fact of life. However, most people prefer to live long, happy, healthy, successful lives. The vast market of dietary plans, the occult of health gurus, and ubiquitous inquiry into “how are you feeling” are all proof of this near universal preference (there’s always an outlier who prefers misery; even then, I’d argue that person is merely trying to cope with some pretty terrible demons and might find some light with the help of his/her compatriots). Though these three examples (dietary plans, health gurus, shallow metaphysical inquiries) will probably stand in some shape or form so long as self-consciousness roams the Earth, I’d like to focus more on the solutions for inevitable physical maladies and injuries rather than bandaids for poor choices and bruised emotions.
However, before I continue, here are my reasons for excluding the “bandaids” for now. As everyone knows, bandaids are easily self-applied, sometimes not all necessary, and, ultimately, up to the “injured” to use, overuse, or never use. In other words, it doesn’t require a team of scientists to solve the case of the beer-belly – fix the diet, pick-up a pair of shoes, start walking. It doesn’t take the world’s greatest minds to find spiritual health – drop to the knees and pray. A billionaires investment won’t solve the greatest of emotional despair – talk to someone who will intently listen, learn to trust. I am not discounting the effects these examples can have on someone’s well-being, I just believe that each individual has the power to decide. Simple, though not always easy, decisions can be made to remedy most of the above.
Back to the physical maladies and injuries. If you’ve ever been curious as to what are the leading causes of death in the United States, here are the top 5:
1. Heart disease – 167,127
2. Cancer – 599,274
3. Accidents (unintentional injuries) – 167,127
4. Chronic lower respiratory diseases – 159,486
5. Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases) – 147,810
(All data from 2018, source: CDC link below)
These are just the deaths, not how many people suffered and survived. Also, this data is from one of the most advanced and prosperous societies in the world (maybe a bit of personal bias there). Imagine the numbers in other countries, or the world writ large. Actually, no need to imagine, the World Health Organization posts these exact figures. Ischemic heart disease and Stroke account for over 25% of the world’s deaths, approximately 15 million people per year. That’s more people than most countries even contain. Imagine, every year, we lose an entire nation of people to two diseases. If these numbers aren’t a call to innovate, I’m not sure what is.
So, what makes Health a critical pillar in the house of mankind? Man’s fatal flaw – besides sin and susception to evil – is the mortal body. It degrades over time and will forever need to be checked, tuned-up, and repaired. Thus, investing and innovating continually in human Health will ensure longer, happier, healthier, more successful lives.
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