After receiving the prestigious Bower Science Award in Philadelphia in 1993, Denis Burkitt MD, known for his legendary medical work that carries his name the "Burkitt Lymphoma," announced to an audience of some 600 physicians and distinguished guests, that "The greatest medical discovery of the 20th century is the understanding that our modern killer diseases are largely lifestyle-related. Therefore, they must be preventable and potentially reversible."
Self-made and Culturally promoted
Denis Burkitt was referring to our modern killer diseases, among them coronary heart disease, stroke, adult cancers of the lungs, prostate, breast, and colon, and to diabetes. He referred to them as “chronic diseases” for which modern medical cures had been largely elusive.
When it comes to these largely lifestyle-related modern killer diseases we need to recognize that our health depends not so much on technological advances in medicine or on pills and procedures, but rather on the solutions needed to be found in better lifestyle choices, in our physiological inheritance and in our health-promoting physical environment. Good health in today’s world depends mainly on what we’re willing to do for ourselves—how we choose to live, especially how we eat, drink, exercise, and whether or not we smoke, get enough sleep and relate well to others.
Take Charge of your Health!
More and more people are waking up to the fact that they must take charge of their own health and take responsibility for it. That’s the bottom line. That's what this health column is all about. But how can you do it? That's where the new medical science of Lifestyle Medicine can help us. In this weekly Lifestyle Medicine Solution column we will show you how to live a quality life and how to avoid the most common causes of premature disease, disability, suffering and death. If we take advantage of the knowledge and some of the solutions we have right now most of us could live to be 100 or more in good health.
How about you? What are some health habits you would
like to work on? Write them down here:
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