Hippocrates said these famous words a long, long time ago, and it’s still relevant today. Nearly 70% of diseases are caused by life choices: how and what we eat, exercise, smoke, drink, and stress. Imagine a world where we could cut the development of disease by over half by simply changing our lifestyles. It almost sounds too good to be true, but it can become a reality if we are willing to put some effort behind it.

Currently:

• Every minute a person is killed by heart disease in the US
• 1 in 3 people will develop diabetes in their life
• 85% of cancers are developed due to lifestyle choices
• 70% of individuals who receive chemotherapy relapse with a secondary cancer later in life
• 70% of adult Americans are overweight

Overweight (and Obese) people are:

• 50% (100%) more likely to develop heart disease
• 360% (1020%) more likely to develop diabetes
• 16% (49%) more likely to die from a first heart attack
• 120% (330%) more likely to develop stomach cancer
• 14% (34%) more likely to develop osteoporosis
• 70% (170%) more likely to have high blood pressure
• 19% (49%) more likely to need a longer hospital recovery

The bad news is that if people are really looking to change their eating habits, there are very few people with the training to help them. Under 6% of doctors in America receive any formal training in nutrition. Instead, many are paid by insurance companies to promote their medicine, and they often settle for treating symptoms rather than the root of the problem. 50% of people in the US are currently taking a prescription medication, and our country spends 2.25 trillion dollars on health care annually.

So what can we do?

We can cultivate knowledge ourselves. Read medical journals. Do research. Ask questions. We know for a fact that changing our nutrition can have a profound effect on health. So start by feeding your body a variety of healthy, whole, organic foods, providing your body with all the vitamins, mineral, and nutrients it needs. Eat less animal products and processed foods. Drink more water. Move more. These are the fundamentals to a healthier life.

While doctors are important, the person who should be doing the most to make you healthier is you. You decide what is put into your body. You take responsibility for your actions. You don’t need a medical degree to make informed decisions about food and exercise.

Thomas Edison once said, “The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.” We haven’t gotten to that future yet, but if people continue to search for knowledge and seek for natural remedies rather than pills, we will get there.