Either Or

Things like this
  

and this

have been floating around the internet for a while now. I used to be a person who heartily, one-hundred-percent agreed with such things. Enter severe, crippling psoriatic arthritis, and I realize it's not an either or proposition, it's not a this-not -that choice, as these may suggest.

I can, and in fact have, changed my diet dramatically to no avail. There isn't a combination of foods or herbs that can force my body to stop attacking my joints, my soft tissues, and my organs, or stop my bones from fusing. If I am to not suffer from psoriatic arthritis but instead Live with it, I need to infuse some scary, heavy-duty, incredibly expensive drugs into my body.

Do I think the pharmaceutical industry is without issues? Absolutely not. Far from it. Do I think that many people depend on drugs rather than also addressing their general health and the foods they consume? Absolutely. 

I think, perhaps, a more realistic point of view is to consider the following:

This. This is the heart of the issue. But it's still not quite there. It casts blame when really the only ones we have to blame are ourselves. If we let the food industry dictate what we put into our bodies instead of educating ourselves as to what we should be consuming, are we not at fault? If we have health issues and don't take our entire health, including what we put into and do with our bodies, into consideration along with our healthcare provider's suggestions, should we condemn an entire industry? What we should do is take responsibility for our bodies and our health, teach our children to respect their bodies by eating nutritious foods, make informed health decisions, and encourage others to do the same. 

Instead of playing the game of Either-Or, can we instead offer And? 


Instead of complaining about the health industry and the food industry, feeding negativity with more negativity, we can make and encourage choices for healthy eating and include nutrition in our discussions with our healthcare providers. Instead of judging people for choosing medication, we can understand that in many circumstances, prescription drugs are not only necessary, but life-saving or life-changing. 

We can talk about how eating healthier can make us feel better and how great that can be. About how healthy eating in addition to taking medications and/or working with our healthcare professional can only do good things. If we have such confidence in food's ability to dispense with or lessen the need for medications, we can let the process happen organically. (Pun probably intended, with apologies.)