As you probably know November is Diabetes Month and November 14 is World Diabetes Day. In New York City the Empire State Building will be lit in blue, the official world diabetes day emblem color, as will many landmarks across the globe. And people will be taking to the streets spreading the word. Sounds great doesn’t it? Yet as much as I love that we now have our own month and day, I’m thinking wouldn’t it be nicer if we didn’t need one?
I’m not knocking the educational opportunities of Diabetes Day and month, but as a nation, particularly now struggling with how to revamp our health care system, wouldn’t it be better to put our energy into keeping people well rather than having them get sick in the first place? In ancient China village doctors were compensated not to cure the sick but to keep people well. Imagine doctors here getting paid for keeping people well and your health insurance going down if you kept yourself well. In China when people were sick doctors' pay was cut and if patients fell ill the doctor had to treat them for free. Kinda rattles your brain, but makes so much sense.
The first thing I envision if we had such a system is a lot more people running around, literally, and smiling more. The majority of seniors would be slimmer and wouldn’t get the illnesses we associate with aging; their bodies would never have deteriorated to that point.
Since doctors get paid to treat sick people our system provides little incentive to help people practice preventive care. Specialists make more money running often unnecessary tests and performing unnecessary surgeries. And while I wouldn’t say surgeons aren’t caring people, energy flows to what’s being rewarded. I also don’t label pharmaceutical companies as evil, but I do think you can earn a profit and do good work at the same time. Just recently the CEO of a big pharma announced they’re going to offer their drugs to third world countries at an affordable price. Hurray and Hallelujah! Maybe more pharma companies can apportion all that money used for research and development of new drugs toward creating the infrastructure that would help us prevent disease.
If we began from the premise to keep people well by exercising, eating properly, keeping our environment clean, minimizing stress to our body and psyche through cultivating different societal values, a lot less people would get diabetes.
But, alas, until that day, I, like you, will have to settle for Diabetes Day. So if you’re in New York or any place that’s recognizing Diabetes Day or month, go out, get informed and be counted. If you have diabetes let Diabetes Day be the one where you learn something new.
Riva Greenberg is the author of "50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life: And The 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It" and “The ABCs of Loving Yourself with Diabetes” available in English and Spanish. Riva also speaks to patients and medical professionals. To learn more about Riva’s work and read her blog, visit her web site at www.diabetesstories.com.
I’m not knocking the educational opportunities of Diabetes Day and month, but as a nation, particularly now struggling with how to revamp our health care system, wouldn’t it be better to put our energy into keeping people well rather than having them get sick in the first place? In ancient China village doctors were compensated not to cure the sick but to keep people well. Imagine doctors here getting paid for keeping people well and your health insurance going down if you kept yourself well. In China when people were sick doctors' pay was cut and if patients fell ill the doctor had to treat them for free. Kinda rattles your brain, but makes so much sense.
The first thing I envision if we had such a system is a lot more people running around, literally, and smiling more. The majority of seniors would be slimmer and wouldn’t get the illnesses we associate with aging; their bodies would never have deteriorated to that point.
Since doctors get paid to treat sick people our system provides little incentive to help people practice preventive care. Specialists make more money running often unnecessary tests and performing unnecessary surgeries. And while I wouldn’t say surgeons aren’t caring people, energy flows to what’s being rewarded. I also don’t label pharmaceutical companies as evil, but I do think you can earn a profit and do good work at the same time. Just recently the CEO of a big pharma announced they’re going to offer their drugs to third world countries at an affordable price. Hurray and Hallelujah! Maybe more pharma companies can apportion all that money used for research and development of new drugs toward creating the infrastructure that would help us prevent disease.
If we began from the premise to keep people well by exercising, eating properly, keeping our environment clean, minimizing stress to our body and psyche through cultivating different societal values, a lot less people would get diabetes.
But, alas, until that day, I, like you, will have to settle for Diabetes Day. So if you’re in New York or any place that’s recognizing Diabetes Day or month, go out, get informed and be counted. If you have diabetes let Diabetes Day be the one where you learn something new.
Riva Greenberg is the author of "50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life: And The 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It" and “The ABCs of Loving Yourself with Diabetes” available in English and Spanish. Riva also speaks to patients and medical professionals. To learn more about Riva’s work and read her blog, visit her web site at www.diabetesstories.com.
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