Until COVID-19 hit, the United States was already ill. The epidemic has heightened our country’s illness and highlighted the vital role of “well-being” in infection prevention and safety optimization. COVID overwhelmingly impacted individuals with chronic diseases and unhealthy behaviours, as we know.
Getting Beyond Illness And Into The Study Of Health
I’m on a mission to give brain and body health the empirical rigour and seriousness it needs as a researcher who has spent years at the cutting edge of medicine, engineering, and genetics. No physician, strategy, or innovative treatment comes close to “well-being” to prevent illness and extend life.
Because of advancements in health nutrition, culture, climate, protection, and financial well-being, Usa’s lifespan increased dramatically from 1959 to 2014. Ever since, lifespan has fallen four out of the last five years, a trend that hasn’t been seen in a generation. COVID-19 was a significant contributor to the fall in lifespan in 2020, but it is just one aspect of a more meaningful public healthcare disaster. Upwards of 45 per cent of Americans have at least some chronic illness, and medical disease is responsible for 70 per cent of all deaths in the United States.
In line with these sobering figures, the United States spends 90% of its healthcare dollars treating people with chronic physiological and mental illnesses. If we make drastic improvements in how we foster well-being and manage the disease, a severe, devastating illness may be with us even after this epidemic has passed.
Our health program is fantastic at treating illness after it has occurred, but it is woefully inadequate at maintaining people safe in the first place. It’s not a good idea to wait until a disease has manifested before treating it. It’s too early once heart disease, cancer, or Alzheimer’s has taken hold. As a result, people will live shorter lives and have a lower quality of well-being.
On the other hand, well-being is the lack of illness in the body and the most potent force of personal well-being. Scientific well-being offers medical practitioners a new method of handling patients focused on an informed view of their well-being. At the same time, “preventative health treatment” strives for early diagnosis of already proven disease.
The genome, or genetic code, of each individual, is distinct. Other influences, such as our target genes, blood analytes, microbiomes, chemical toxins, diet, and behaviour, all play a role in disease resistance and general well-being in subtle yet interconnected forms.
Take into account the gut microbiota, which is made up of trillions of microbes from various organisms. These bacterial control metabolisms, boost immune response and even improve behavioural health if they’re working correctly. Human well-being relies on their inclusion.
My study group, the Centre for Systems Biology, recently conducted a study of 9,000 people’s gut microbiomes throughout their adult lives. We showed that a healthy person’s gut microbes shift dramatically as they get older.
People will not just live much longer but still be willing to pursue more fulfilling, efficient, and active lifestyles in the world where predictive, preventive, and personalized treatment usually practices. That is something that no new medication or therapy will match. And it’s a planet that’s currently within our grasp.