Every time my mom calls me, she lists the various health status of our close relatives.
One's got MS, another ME, Alzheimer's, heart issues, kidney issues and numerous cases of diabetes. Most have multiple problems and are taking medication that combats the side effects of other medicines. I feel as though everyone in my family other than my husband, son and I are sick and getting sicker all the time.
Of course, not all illness is preventable but there is a measure of making healthy choices that can improve our quality of life even when we are suffering from a serious illness. I was visiting family recently as a result of illness and concern. When I opened the refrigerator and cupboards looking for something to eat I notice zero calorie diet soda, grey, lifeless pre-packed food, and bottles of sauces and dressings with ingredients a mile long.
Where's the brain food? Where are the herbs and spices? What is this stuff?
My mum who's been told that she needs to cut our sugar because she's on the cusp of diabetes sneaks a piece of sweet lemon cake with her morning coffee. "I don't want it to go to waste" she declares as the reasoning that she eats it. I tell her to throw it out and refuse to eat any. I am angry and justly so. I have to come running and live with worry every time I get a phone call about the latest illness or medical emergency.
I think to myself "here we go again" because we've been here before. If it isn't diabetes, it is something else. We'll cycle around again until there aren't any more chances and the consequences become severe and irreversible. How many warnings does it take before one changes their habits? You don't need to be a scientist to observe the correlation between how we fuel our bodies and our overall wellness.
Do I sound harsh? Judgemental? You'll have to forgive me. This month has been particularly hard, and I am tired of watching people suffer while making choices that do not contribute to improving their situation at all. I don't demand perfection but some effort, some care, is needed. I understand that it is each persons choice, but our decisions impact those we love and it just isn't fair.
A few years ago, I sat at my father in laws bedside trying to provide comfort as morphine eased his panic. He slipped away from us too young, and our hearts are still devastated at the loss. Diabetes, bad genes, bad luck, terrible food habits, smoking, multiple heart attacks, bypasses and surgeries, a stroke - a cocktail of things gone wrong. He'd keep pushing his luck each time, taking the pills prescribed and resigning himself to fate rather than fighting for health through exercise, diet and other things that could have improved and extended his life. I sat there and watched him take his last breath, and it was hard because I am an optimist and never gave up on hoping he'd get another chance until he was gone.
And so, when 
asked the question: Do We Live Healthy Lives to Avoid or Postpone Death? It came at a time when I am struggling to understand why society has wandered from the path of fueling our bodies with real food that nourishes us and helps us to be strong.
I am struggling to understand how so many have fallen prey to chemicals and mass production and ignorance of something that many of us do have some measure of control over. How has society at large become so passive and apathetic about our wellbeing and the power we have to strengthen our odds of living a healthy and long life? We can demand better, and we can stop supporting a food system that makes us sick.
The answer for me personally, is YES. I do hope to postpone death and live a long and healthy life. I know that this is just a hope steeped in optimism, not a promise, but yeah, if I can make it to a ripe old age, I'll chase that. I only stand to gain in my quest to achieve this. I choose a lifestyle that enables me to nurture my mind, body, and soul and I am all the better for it. I see with my own eyes the consequences of not tuning in and listening to our bodies.