THE HEALTHY CHANNEL: John Appleton

Diet and Chronic Degenerative Diseases...... as I see it!

The patient does not care about your science; what he wants to know is, can you cure him? Martin H. Fischer (1879 - 1962) German physician and author.

In our little country of just over 4 million people we are spending close to $40 million dollars every day in our quest to have a healthier nation. It seems however that regardless of how much we increase our spending it’s never enough. The ‘Stone Age’ didn’t end because we ran out of stone – we simply found a better way. Isn’t it time we looked around for a ‘better way’ because if we don’t, it may not be too long before our current system becomes unsustainable?

A recent article in “Medical News Today” caught my eye. The article summarised a report “Plant Based Diets A solution to our public health crisis” which was prepared by the London based ‘World Preservation Society’ and features former U.S. President Bill Clinton on the cover. In this report, American physicians reveal that the frequency and costs associated with chronic illnesses such as obesity, cancer, heart disease and diabetes can be considerably reduced by switching to a plant based diet.

A copy of the report was issued to all MPs in the U.K and it’s interesting to note that the foreword was written by the British ‘Shadow’ Economic Secretary. Health is often overlooked as an economic issue but this is exactly how we should be tackling the problem.

One of the authors, physician and researcher Dr Caldwell Esselstyn who directs the cardiovascular prevention and reversal programme at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute says – “we are potentially on the cusp of what could be a seismic revolution in health. This will never come about from another pill, another procedure, another operation, or construction of another cardiac cathedral. It will come about when we are able to show the public, the lifestyle that will halt and eliminate 75% of these common, chronic killing diseases. The most essential component of this lifestyle is whole food plant based nutrition”. He says “I initiated a long term study that treated seriously ill patients with coronary artery disease with plant based nutrition and succeeded in the arrest and reversal of their disease”.

In my humble opinion, nutritional interventions should be used as soon as symptoms of chronic illnesses manifest. The wonderful thing is that nutritional interventions are non-toxic and side effect free and they can be used in conjunction with any other treatment that the doctor considers appropriate. Symptoms are simply warning ‘lights’ that tell us that all is not well and the reductionist approach that modern medicine would use to treat painful joints with anti-inflammatories could easily be combined with dietary advice to address the cause. As I see it, only when we start taking this approach seriously will we see improvements in the overall health of New Zealanders.

The most exciting thing about nutritional interventions when it comes to our health is that they work for all conditions. This is because all of our cells communicate with each other – heart cells are not ring fenced from kidney cells or cells in the pancreas. All we need to do is implement a protocol that addresses the needs of one cell and guess what – all the other cells will join the party. In the world today we tend to live ‘short’ and die ‘long’ - it doesn’t need to be this way.

If you want to retain or regain your health, I strongly recommend that you make a start. Don’t dig your grave with your knife and fork. Remember your health is your responsibility. “Never put your trust in anything but your own intellect – always think for yourself” (Linus Pauling).

Why not give it a try, you might be surprised.

“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.”

- La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680).

John Appleton – www.johnappleton.co.nz – john@johnappleton.co.nz - Ph: 09-489-9362