Delaware Top Blogs

Saturday, December 19, 2009

If you eat right, don't smoke, wear your seat belt, and watch your weight....

you will live forever, right? Wrong. Well, at least you'll live longer--right? Yes, but--the race is not always to the swift, or the battle to the strong, nor is good health something you can assure by rational behavior. But the theory of "preventive care," which our President seems to think will actually prevent illness is actually just that--a theory.

A member of my family died not too long ago of Lou Gehrig's disease at the age of 51. He ate properly, rode a bicycle to work, blah blah. Died anyway. No-one knows why.

Having lived a long time already, I know that our bodies have a sell-by date. I am not the person I was at 25. I am less.

We are genetically programmed to wear out and die. Some of our illness can be prevented, some can be alleviated. Doctors and other health professionals work very hard to put off the inevitable, and that is as it should be. But the idea that annual checkups will catch disease in its earliest stage--that you can "take the blue pill" and be all right--is simplistic garbage.

2 comments:

Paul Mitchell said...

I am counting totally on that old saw, "only the good die young." If this statement turns out to be true, I shall live forever.

And in a strange turn of events, I was living my life that way before Barry Obama won his Senate seat running against no one.

airforcewife said...

Sometimes the best preventative care is common sense.

Which, unfortunately doesn't seem to be too common anymore. And also can't be legislated. Much to the chagrin of those with a savior complex.