A Resource Guide for Self-Health

by Ann Aresco, N.D. | Jan 1, 2015

Who can you count on to ensure that you stay healthy? Yourself. It’s not a trick question. Very simply, at the end of the day, we are the ones who are in charge of our own health. But how do we begin? How do we educate ourselves?

ProNatural Self Guide Health This article contains a comprehensive list of resources that will help you in your journey to self-health. This guide explores some of the best books, news articles and documentaries for learning about natural health approaches and patient advocacy.

A 66-year-old woman sits on the exam table as she gets ready for a check-up with her doctor. The nurse begins to ask her standard preliminary questions. “What drugs do you take?” she asks. “None,” the woman replies. The nurse tries again, “No really, what do you take?” The patient responds, “I really don’t take any drugs.”

The doctor comes in next, “What drugs do you take?” The woman shakes her head, “None, I already told the nurse.” The doctor smiles, “Wow, that’s great. Just keep doing what you’re doing then. Okay, so I looked at your blood panel and your cholesterol is a little high. We can prescribe a statin for you.”

The woman looks at him curiously and says, “No thanks.” She figures that she’ll follow the doctor’s orders and just keep up with what she’s been doing for years… making her own decisions about her healthcare. She figures that surely there are other steps that she can try first, without going straight to a drug? The woman politely declines the drug and heads home to look up healthy eating and exercise plans that are designed to reduce cholesterol.

As appeared in the January 2015 issue of Natural Nutmeg Magazine

Here are some great resources about self-health, with a brief dialogue about the context of these books and how they fit into healthcare today. The title of each book is noted in quotation marks:

Learning more about the “The Great Cholesterol Myth” empowers patients by educating readers that what you eat, how much you exercise and how well you sleep – are far more important than the medications you take (or don’t take).

Increasingly, doctors are “Selling Sickness” which is leading to an “Overdosed America.” Our healthcare system has radically changed in the last 50 years and many of us are starting to learn “The Truth About the Drug Companies” in order to avoid being “Over Diagnosed.” If you’ve ever wondered, “What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You,” then you’re well on your way to becoming a self-advocate.

Still many Americans wait until they are “Fat Sick and Nearly Dead” before they begin a journey of enlightenment to “Clean Food.” But the more you read, you start to wonder, “What the Bleeb Should I Eat” to actually be healthy then?

The popular answer for many these days is the “Paleo Diet.” Learning to use our “Forks Over Knives” means focusing on whole foods while moving away from the “Fast Food Nation” and “Junk Food Nation” lifestyle. It’s true that significant long-term lifestyle changes are needed to “Escape the Fire” and avoid being “Doctored to Death.” However if we change our perspective, along with our daily habits, then we can avoid “Our Daily Meds” that are really just unnecessary and overly prescribed drugs.

Some proclaim that there is no scientific research to back the notion that GMO foods are dangerous to the human health. However, think about who does the research to prove that GMO’s are problematic? There aren’t any organizations that would make a profit researching this issue. Food companies? No. Grocery stores? No. Farmers? Nope. The only groups who are motivated in this issue are public-health nonprofits that simply don’t have the funds or power to challenge the big industry players. The food industry and the healthcare climate are both so complicated these days, that it’s hard to figure out what to believe, leaving many of us to question, “Lies, Damned Lies and Medical Science.”

Too many people who eat the Standard American Diet (SAD) wait too long, until a “Diabetes Solution” is required to turn things around. But don’t begrudge the “Skinny Bitch,” she’s helping people to learn that “Food Matters.” Not to say that we need to be “Against All Grains,” that would be a personal choice, but we should avoid the foods that deteriorate health rather than support it.

Many patients have benefitted from the “Eat Right for Your Blood Type” method. John Robbins was one of the first to call attention to the nation’s food industry failures. Back in the early 90’s, he hoped that we “May All Be Fed” the best food that our planet has to offer. Realizing that the food industry was feeding us a lot of (let’s call it) misinformation, “The Naked Chef” Jamie Oliver began his crusade to examine the food that our children are consuming on a daily basis in our school systems. But is the message is getting though?

People are “Hungry for Change” and are seeking more natural solutions. Here in the “Natural Nutmeg” state, we are fortunate to have access to many naturopathic physicians as well as progressive legislative advocates. Consumers don’t know who is “On the Take” in the pharmaceutical industry. Connecticut State Senator Blumenthal is working to expose “Deadly Corporate Secrets” by proposing legislation that forces corporate transparency instead of hiding behind the huge profits of big business. Many politicians are calling for these corporate “Cereal Killers” to be exposed for what they are really selling to the public.

Our country is battling (and losing) the war against chronic illness. Many patients are exploring their own “Path Ways to Healing” for chronic conditions. For example, patients are now getting down to the “Root to Hashimoto’s” by taking their health into their own hands. As we’re learning more about the “The Essential Remedies For Womens Health” (along with men and families,) we are opening up our minds to more natural and logical approaches to healthcare.

The treatment of mental illness is an issue that comes up again and again in the media. Being “Mad in America” isn’t enough. When discussing the “Anatomy of an Epidemic,” some might want to look at the “Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher.” The real goal of mental health professionals should be “Saving Normal.”

It certainly sounds like there is a “Medical Armageddon” going on. Or could it be a “Pharmagedon?” Although we daily see “The Emperor’s New Drugs” and all of their “Side Effects,” patients are starting to wonder if the onslaught of prescriptions are effective or if we are being “Overtreated.” “Your Drug May Be Your Problem.”

Certainly obtaining our nutrients by consuming foods that come directly from “Earth to Table” is the logical solution. No research required. Hippocrates explained, “Our food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food.” Years later, Thomas Edison reiterated, “The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.” Based on these great philosophers, it would appear then that “Nutritional Medicine” is not really the brand new “Medicine for the 21st Century,” but rather a re-enlightenment.

If you’re “Fed Up” with healthcare in the United States, check out at the resources that are referenced in this article: