WORLD HEALTH – Part 1

Dear World

Are you paying attention, we have World Health Day on 7 April 2016 from WHO.

Who is WHO?

WHO is the World Health Organization and their job is to inform us all what is going on.

So what does WORLD HEALTH mean to you and me – the average on the street?

Are we bothered about World Health really?

Do we really care about our world and its Health?

Are we aware of what the State of Our World Health is?

Who sets the marker for the word Health?
Who defines what true Health is in our world today?

Are those who run WHO healthy?

Do we think we are healthy if we haven’t got the ‘C’ word?

Could world Health actually have something to do with our own personal Health?

If you think about it, you, me and everyone else is the world, so all of our Health put together is WORLD HEALTH.

What does the Oxford English Dictionary say about this word – Health?
The state of being free from illness or injury.
A person’s mental or physical condition.

Let us look at some simple stuff about Diabetes, which is the WHO hot topic for this year.

Did you know that Diabetes is one of the oldest known human diseases.

Did you know in 1922, when insulin became available, it was seen as a ‘medical miracle’.

Did you know that there is a popular theory that processed foods, additives and certain fats in our diet can cause Diabetes.

Did you know that in the UK, 135 diabetes-related foot amputations happen each week, with most people dying within five years of having their foot amputated.

Well thank God you might be saying that they discovered insulin 94 years ago but what is it saying really when we get to know that it is one of our oldest known diseases. This is huge and what is it about the way we are living that could possibly indicate that something is not right if Diabetes is on the rise?

Check out some of the facts below –

The WHO’s job is to bring us more awareness and here is some relevant information taken from their website:

350 million people worldwide have Diabetes, a number likely to more than double in the next 20 years.

In 2012 Diabetes was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths. 

Diabetes is one of the major causes of premature illness and death in most countries, mainly through the increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease is responsible for between 50% and 80% deaths in people with Diabetes.

WHO projects that Diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death in 2030.

Total deaths from Diabetes are expected to rise by more than 50% in the next 10 years.

The emerging global epidemic of Diabetes is linked to rapid increases in people becoming overweight including Obesity and physical inactivity.

Studies are showing that children are at an increasing risk of developing Diabetes.

Overtime Diabetes can damage the Heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves causing chronic problems and early death. Diabetes is also a leading cause of blindness, amputation and Kidney failure.

Now this is shocking and scary news and it has been said that Diabetes will bankrupt the NHS if things do not improve.

Diabetes can affect anyone including young children and have we as a world just decided to accept this illness and ‘heads down and getting on with it’ as UK Home Secretary Theresa May said when she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

The focus so far for almost a century has been to manage life and function with Diabetes.

Is this a Solution so that we can function?

Could there be more?

Could our lifestyle choices have an effect on our Health?

Are we looking at how we are living on a day-to-day basis?

Do we know what our children are up to these days?

What is it that we are doing that is causing Diabetes?

Do we have a hand in our own Health and well-being?

Do we just accept the fact that it is genetics and we have the bad luck thing?

Do we ever stop to think that our daily choices might have something to do with it?

Could it be possible that our kids are not getting met for who they truly are?

Could it be possible that not being met is the start of burying emotions?

Could it be possible that food choices are linked to our emotional state of being?

Could it be possible that our youth are exhausted and this is not addressed?

Could it be possible that we start to live in a way that is not supporting our body?

Could it be possible that we check out and give up on life?

Could it be possible that we shut down our heart and become something we are not?

AND as a result of closing down our heart – we are not living our true potential?

Could it be possible that our lifestyle choices CAN make a difference?

Do we ever stop to think that maybe if we started to take RESPONSIBILITY for our own Health and well-being, then the WHO days may not be so shocking with the statistics?

We have all heard that saying ‘Our Health is in our own hands’. 

Could it be possible that our True Health is in our daily choices?

Do we understand the true meaning of Health?

Are we using our body as mere function?
Are we accepting less for some reason?
Are we satisfied if we can just get through one day?
Are we ok with having a solution for our Health?

Could it be possible that our Health choices affect the whole world?

So what have we accepted as Health today in our world?

Do we just see Health as not having a medical condition?
Do we include physical Health as part of whole Health?
Is the absence of illness and disease true Health?

Or is there more?

  • How about Mental Health?
  • What about Emotional Health?

If we are to look at world Health then is it time we looked at the WHOLE truth and that means every area of our lives that contribute to the whole world.

Is one day in our calendar enough awareness or do we need to start taking Responsibility for our whole Health?

Are reading statistics and knowing the facts going to change World Health?

 

References

Bilous, R. (n.d). Understanding Diabetes. Family Doctor Publications Limited in association with the British Medical Association.

World Health Day 2016: Beat Diabetes. World Health Organization. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2016/en/

10 Facts About Diabetes, World Health Organization. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/diabetes/facts/en/  

World Diabetes Prevalence. www.diabetes.co.uk Retrieved from http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-prevalence.html

(2015, July 15). More Than 135 Diabetes Amputations Every Week. www.diabetes.org.uk Retrieved from https://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/News/More-than-135-diabetes-amputations-every-week/

(2013, July 28). Home Secretary Theresa May Diagnosed With Type 1 Diabetes. www.bbc.co.uk.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23413273

 

 

 

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Comments 15

    1. Correct Ken – if we don’t ask questions then what chances are there of topics like this being discussed by our world. As our Questions Questions blog states it is super important to be asking questions about what on earth is going on right now.

  1. I agree Bina, World Health Day shouldnt be just one day in a year, it needs to be World Health Year, EVERY YEAR. These are statistics for just ONE illness/disease. Multiply that by all the other illnesses/diseases and if the statistics are saying that the NHS will be bankrupt just by diabetes alone, then the world is in big trouble. Your question here, “What is it that we are doing that is causing diabetes?”, is, I feel, a very pertinent one. We are so quick to want to blame something else for why we are ill/sick and look to medicine for a remedy or relief from our symptons but not once look at whether it is the way we are living that is causing the illness. As you say, we shouldn’t just consider our health when we have an illness or not as it should be something we consider on a daily basis in the everyday choices we make.

    1. You make some great points here Tim and I agree if Diabetes is just one statistic then what if we added up ALL the other diseases. We could honestly saying our health systems are going to be bankrupt if we do not start addressing this all with the WHY questions.

      As this blog is saying we don’t need to wait to get ill before we take action or do something. We need to start considering our health as you say on a ‘daily basis’ and look at the choices we are making. So eating excess sugar needs to be questioned and not just accepted that its ok as the majority are doing it.
      Diabetes has become normal and not seen as a life threatening disease that it actually is. To know you have to live every single day injecting insulin in your body to stay alive is a very serious matter and we as a world are really not taking this seriously.

  2. Diabetes is a global epidemic and a silent killer. The fact that people have to have limbs cut off as a result shows how dangerous this disease is. It is frequently reported that some types of diabetes are preventable, through lifestyle choices like our diet and exercise, but what if ALL types of diabetes were preventable? What if, as this blog is asking, there is a way that we are living that is producing all illness and disease? What if we considered this or were at least open to the possibility? Could it change the rapid rate in which diabetes and many other conditions are growing? If we were open to what is said here – is it possible that we might see how we are living on a daily basis that might be causing our ailments?

    1. Great way to describe Diabetes as a ‘silent killer’. This is a global epidemic as you say and how serious is it that limbs are being cut off.

      Your what if questions need to be considered as this blog is presenting as there could be another way and how we are choosing to live maybe the contributing factor to WHY we have this type of disease. How we are living on a daily basis needs to be looked at in detail if we are truly asking for real change.

    2. 8.3 billion is a huge amount of money on amputations which we know can be avoided if one was to take care of themselves.

      However, it is not happening so we can carry on but not really get to the bottom of why these people are not feeling anything when their feet are infected, that end up so bad that is has to be chopped off.
      We do need to dig deeper if we are ever going to reverse these numbers, that are getting out of control.

      To most of us this is just a number $8,300,000,000 but in truth that is a massive cost to society and we all need to start doing our bit so we do not add to it. Easier said than done, so it comes down to those who do know another way to continue living and sharing so others maybe inspired.

  3. What an amazing question: “Are those who run WHO, healthy?”. Just that question alone shines a light on a very dusty corner and goes way beyond that one organisation. If the experts on world health are not themselves healthy then how can we expect their output to have a true impact on health? And for those of us reading these confronting statistics, what are we doing about it? Do we just read and say ‘oh dear that is awful’ and then go on with our lives? Or do we look at the why, as this blog is presenting? Do we look at our own health, warts and all and see our responsibility for that?

    And the idea that wellbeing can be defined by reference to the absence of illness is pretty depressing. What about true vitality? A tech guru once told me ‘you get what you measure’. If we’re measuring our wellbeing by reference to the absence of badness then that’s all we’ll strive for and all we’ll get. If instead we look at what is possible and the awesomeness of true wellbeing in all its dimensions then we can instead reach for that. I am blessed to have a marker of what that looks like in the author, Bina Pattel and in Serge Benhayon and his family. With support, I’m also on my way to that and see the power it can have for others, too. For all of us in fact. Responsibility indeed.

    1. You make a great point here JS about the absence of well being and how we define it by reference to the absence of illness.
      In answer to your question – ‘what about true vitality?’
      I feel that we are so far away from the true vitality marker that even a small change to us feels like great change to our well being. We don’t seem that bothered to really make effort and focus on our body and true health. Those who write about health generally have their own pockets of comfort or blind spots and so they advocate something but it is not quite absolute because they themselves may not be living in that way.
      A classic example for is the latest diet in the national newspaper – currently of course it is about losing weight before party christmas season. So here you have some healthy stuff going on but ok to have alcohol and chocolate just not every day.
      If you read the blogs on this website about alcohol and chocolate you will be left in no doubt that both disturb the body and alter its natural state. So what one may say is healthy may not quite be the true health you are talking about.
      This is where the ‘get what you measure’ that you mention comes to play.
      In other words what suits us is what we go for but never really wanting to look at the big picture or ask more questions as that would mean taking RESPONSIBILITY.
      What we need is more true role models who are reflecting another way to live.
      Not perfect looking or with a perfect body shape or any nonsense like that but those who have true vitality that can be seen in the depth of their eyes and felt by their presence consistently.

  4. So the theme of this World Health Day was Diabetes on 7 April 2016
    We then had World Diabetes Day on 14 November 2016.

    If we join the dots our World is in trouble with this dis-ease in our body called Diabetes.

    Simple Living Global has published a forensic article on World Diabetes Day https://simplelivingglobal.com/world-diabetes-day/ that spells out so much we may not be aware of like how old this disease is and what it is all about, what it does to our body and how we each have a hand in it.

    I know I was pre-diabetes simply as I ticked all the boxes with my trashy irresponsible lifestyle. Not dealing with my issues meant I found a way through excess eating, mainly sugar to push down stuff that kept coming up. Removing sugar from my diet gave me more energy so to speak to face things and my body felt less sluggish.
    My vitality levels changed, weight dropped off naturally as there was never going to be a chance of me getting to a gym and walking everyday felt normal.

    What I did notice was how exhausted I was and this ‘running on empty’ business was really what was killing me. I needed anything in my mouth albeit poison in the form of alcohol, cake and chocolate everyday to keep going and driving me to do this and that.
    I realised I was spinning and never thought it could end. This left me in a constant jitter inside me which I know was Anxiety.

    Enough said, lifestyle choices can change us but it does require commitment on our part and then a consistency, which if you ask me is the RESPONSIBILITY which most of us don’t really want for whatever reason. I know it was worth making those changes and today I claim and confirm Diabetes is most certainly NOT on my radar. Fact.

  5. New research has found that obese children are 4 times as likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes by the age of 25 compared to children of ‘normal’ weight.

    This research was conducted in the UK and looked at data from 1994 – 2013 of 369, 362 children and teenagers between the ages of 2 and 15, so a large scale study.

    http://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2017/apr/obese-children-four-times-more-likely-to-develop-type-2-diabetes-98663587.html

    Both Diabetes and Obesity are 2 preventable diseases. Both are spiralling out of control in children and adults.

    If we take on board what this research is saying, it is obvious that we are heading for a very sick next generation of adults as we already have statistics of

    25% of 2 – 5 year olds being overweight or obese
    33% of 6 – 10 year olds
    37% of 11 – 15 year olds

    Dr Tam Fry from the National Obesity Forum shares the following –

    “This is a generation born around 2000, many of whom were brought up by parents who never learned to cook, and raised them on junk food and convenience meals … There is a substantial proportion of teens out there who have barely had a healthy meal in their life, and are living couch potato lifestyles and spending hours playing computer games.”

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11378197/One-in-four-teens-now-obese-by-15.html

  6. Daily Express – 26th January 2018

    https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/910063/Dementia-risk-Type-2-diabetes-brain-disease-Alzheimers

    This news story shares a recent study where researches noted a significantly marked increase in mental decline, in those that had Diabetes compared to those that didn’t.

    This was a large-scale study of approximately 5,000 people over 10 years.

    The results of the study raise concerns about the increased risk of dementia for those with Type 2 Diabetes.

    According to Dr. Clare Walton from the Alzheimer’s Society there are 850,000 people living with dementia across the UK.

    Type 2 Diabetes is said to affect 1 in 10 adults in the UK alone, so this is serious cause for concern, as we will see more and more people being diagnosed with dementia.

    Our lifestyle choices have been identified as a preventative measure and as accelerators of both diseases.

    When will we start to question en-masse what is occurring here?

    Have we become complacent in just accepting things as they are – without questioning why the rates of diagnoses for Alzheimer’s and Type 2 Diabetes are increasing?

    Do we really have the resources to deal with all the medical and care needs that arise out of just these two illnesses alone?

    Is it OK to just expect and accept this as we get older, or is our health really in our hands and can we do something about it?

    Could the questions in this blog by Simple Living Global lead us to the answer?

  7. There has been a lot in the press recently about Diabetes being reversed through people changing their diets.

    I have often heard that Diabetes is related to lifestyle choices and so the stories that are around at the moment seem to be confirming this.

    It is very interesting to know that diseases can be caused by our lifestyle choices, including what we eat.

    Whilst I would never advocate a specific diet for anyone, deep down we all know our bodies and if we learnt to listen to them and understand the signals we are getting when we eat certain foods, we could easily let go of the foods that we know create unwanted symptoms.

    Writing for YOU magazine Dr. Claire Bailey shares that a patient of hers, who changed her diet lost weight, but also no longer felt hungry all of the time. The patient also stopped taking her blood pressure medication as this improved.

    I find it very empowering to know that each one of us has the potential to heal ourselves through receiving the right support and making changes to our lifestyle.

    What if we were open to the fact that we might be contributing to any illness and disease that we have and that through making changes this can be reversed?

    Would this lift the strain on our already severely burdened health services?

    Could we then see a quantum shift in the numbers of adults and children, diagnosed with Diabetes?

    Could this in fact mean a huge reduction in the numbers diagnosed?

  8. Not sure if anyone has noticed the constant bombardment of emails advertising with another angle to get us shopping online during our lockdown days.

    Something I noticed was from an International retailer of face and body products, who also sell fragrances their customer care team are working and coming up with all sorts of ideas to support us get through these self isolation weeks, which are turning into months.

    What got my attention was this “Working from home can be distracting. Make sure you have treats to keep you going: fresh fruits but also go for the cake”.

    We could all agree that it requires a level of Responsibility with standards that we need to commit to uphold consistently if we are to work from home. Without focus we are not really going to make an hour, let alone a day without distractions.

    The question is – are treats a form of distraction?

    What is cake going to do to us if we are honest?

    If we have a choice will it be fresh fruit or will cake win every time?

    When we have major players out there on the International field, it is of great concern that comments like the above go out to millions and millions of customers who up until now only bought products but suddenly with our new virtual reality they are being endorsed to ‘but also go for the cake’.

    We have a global epidemic with Obesity and Diabetes about to bankrupt our health systems. We are all part of World Health.

    Is there a Responsibility for all of us to be seriously considering this before we send out a message telling us to go for the cake?
    There are many who just needed the permission and bingo this ad drops into their email and off they go for cake.

    The power of advertising is huge and we are a long way off from using our adverts with the utmost integrity that is needed, so that they do not harm.

    Let’s be clear and real – cake is not healthy or going to have any nutritional benefit so why tell others to eat it? Makes no sense at all.

    WHY not advertise the current ills in this world. We only need to look at the End of Year blogs on this website to wake up and take note of the real state of our World Health.

    https://simplelivingglobal.com/2018-news/
    https://simplelivingglobal.com/2019-news/

    What would happen to World Health if more people had access to websites like this – a library about human life to support living another way?

  9. CDC | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – 2 April 2021

    https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7013e2.htm

    The following is a summary of a report conducted by the CDC relating to symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder and use of mental health care during the pandemic in the United States.

    Large disease outbreaks have been associated with mental health problems. It is often associated with fear and grief when the spread of disease and increase in deaths during large outbreaks of transmissible diseases happen.

    During the pandemic – August 2020 to February 2021, the percentage of adults in the U.S. with recent symptoms of an anxiety or a depressive disorder increased and also the percentage of those reporting an unmet mental health care need increased.

    The largest increases were among adults aged 18 – 29 years and those with less than a high school education.

    Social restrictions, limits on operating non-essential businesses and other measures to reduce pandemic related mortality and morbidity can lead to isolation and unemployment or underemployment, further increasing the risk for mental health problems.

    For more details about this report – see link above.

    This comment is being posted on WORLD HEALTH as the worldwide pandemic has seriously affected the health of our world.

    We know that as humans we are not equipped to deal with a large disease outbreak and this report confirms that. We don’t need to check other countries as this is a representation – a microcosm of the whole world – the macrocosm.

    So WHY are we not equipped and does it have something to do with our daily living and the choices we make?

    Where does the fear come from and why are we not collectively demanding that we eradicate this fear-full way of living that gives rise to other problems including ill mental health?

    Is there a giving-up-ness already around and then we get hit with a global pandemic and that comes with the media constantly bombarding us, so we end up even more un-committed to life and this brings on a type of depressive-ness?

    Are we waiting for a medical label like anxiety or depressive disorder, as that somehow makes it acceptable to continue on the ill road or can we get out of this as there is another way?

    Are our mental health care needs not being met because there simply are not enough resources and that includes funding and staff that are not themselves anxious or depressed in any way?

    Have we as a world in any way contributed to why these lockdown restrictions have gone on for so long? Can we be absolutely honest and say we have in part enjoyed the dis-regard of daily routine and not travelling to and from work or being around colleagues and jobs we don’t really like?

    Do we like the hiding at home behind a screen and not having to make the movements to get up, shower and get ready to leave for school run or work?

    Do we have a hand to play in why the world health is where it is at currently?

    How many of us continued during lockdown to get up at the same time and dress for work mode and get on with it during our day time?

    How many of us found the time to walk and do regular exercise, even if it meant being restricted to a small space or did we not bother, swapped it for munching more snacks and junk foods and forgot to take care of the body like we did before?

    How many of us have used the pandemic to become a victim of circumstances and blamed it all on a virus why our life is where it is currently at?

    How many of us have increased our screen time where it has got to the point that endless hours are spent, be it social media, online shopping, gaming, drug dealing, movies or whatever else this world wide web offers in terms of distractions and entertainment?

    Dear World

    Each of us are responsible for our own health and wellbeing and collectively we are the WORLD HEALTH we have today.

    The annual report cards on this website where we report global news for the whole year are a grand confirmation of how way off track we are as a species.

    https://simplelivingglobal.com/2018-news/
    https://simplelivingglobal.com/2019-news/
    https://simplelivingglobal.com/2020-global-news/
    https://simplelivingglobal.com/2021-global-news/

    There is nothing human about the way we are behaving and this is seriously affect our health.

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