Health - A Rebel Perspective
posted on: November 14, 2021. posted in: Weight loss, Nutrition, Health
Once upon a time there was a security guard at a factory. One day he noticed one of the workers leaving the factory, pushing a wheelbarrow. Inside the wheelbarrow was a very small box.
He stopped the worker and asked him, "what have you got in your wheelbarrow?", and the worker replied, "it's a small box". The security guard said "I can see it's a small box, what have you got in it?", so the worker explained...
"Well, you know all the sawdust that's on the factory floor at the end of a working day? It's swept up and thrown away, and I needed some, so I put it in a box and I'm going to take it home with me."
"Let me have a look inside the box" demanded the security guard, so the worker opened it up and there is was. Sawdust.
He allows the worker to go on his way, then he sees him doing the same thing the following day. And the following day. And the following day. Leaving the factory, pushing a wheelbarrow. In the wheelbarrow is a box. In the box. Sawdust.
By the fifth day the security guard is starting to get really suspicious. He knows the worker is up to something so he confronts him and says "I've just got this feeling you're stealing something. I'll tell you what, if you tell me what it is you're stealing, I promise I won't report you", to which the worker replied...
"Ok. I'm stealing wheelbarrows."
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The moral of the story is that we can get so fixated on one thing, the small thing, the sawdust, that we miss the other thing, the bigger picture, the wheelbarrow.
This, for me, is the perfect analogy for what is happening when it comes to health. Our doctors, scientists and experts repeatedly fall for the same mistake of putting the sawdust, our symptoms, under the microscope, whilst missing the wheelbarrow, the environment that is causing them.
This is the story of millions of people, who have been shamed for their weight, blamed for their weight, told by their doctors that they need to lose weight. The focus is on the sawdust, the symptom, the weight. All whilst missing the wheelbarrow. The stress, trauma and mental ill health driving that weight gain.
This is the story of millions of people with back pain, who undergo endless physiotherapy sessions, procedures and operations with little to no success. The focus is on the sawdust, the symptom, the back pain. All whilst missing the wheelbarrow. The financial stress, social stress and emotional stress driving that back pain.
This is the story of millions of people with type 2 diabetes, who have been shamed for their eating and exercise habits. The focus is on the sawdust, the symptom, hyperglycaemia. All whilst missing the wheelbarrow. The highly inflammatory modern environment that disrupts the flow of energy through our bodies.
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I liken our current approach and mindset around health to trying to treat a sick fish. There is an obsession with the sawdust, the fish itself, and the various symptoms observed in them. All whilst missing the wheelbarrow. The overcrowded, highly stressful, polluted aquarium that they're living in.
You can blame the fish. You can medicate the fish. You can put the fish under the microscope and explain in great detail exactly what's going on inside the fish, describing the pathophysiology of their disease. All whilst missing the wheelbarrow. The fact the people responsible for the fish tank have completely neglected it, overcrowded it, and failed to facilitate a healthy environment that protects against disease.
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I also liken our current approach and mindset around health to a car crash. There is an obsession with the sawdust, the car itself, and the various signs and symptoms of the crash. One expert blaming the smoking engine for the crash. Another expert blaming the broken windows for the crash. A third expert blaming the deployed air bags for the crash.
All these scientists and experts surrounding the car. Examining the car. Putting the car under the microscope. All whilst completely missing the conditions of the road, the lack of speed limits, and the reckless behaviour of the other drivers on this particular road, all of which caused the crash.
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People often doubt my credentials and expertise because I'm a personal trainer, rather than a doctor, an endocrinologist or a scientist. But it is the very fact that I'm a personal trainer that allows me to see things from a completely different and more holistic perspective.
My job isn't looking at things under a microscope. My job isn't analysing things in a petri dish. My field of expertise isn't the sawdust. Instead, I've spent the last 20 years going into the homes, lives, minds, relationships and economics of each of my clients, and taking a really good look at their wheelbarrow, their big picture.
My expertise lies in analysing the aquariums people live in, and the roads people crash on, and that perspective allows me to see the real causes of disease that so many of our doctors, scientists and experts are missing.
If we are going to get a grip on disease in this country, we need to move our doctors, scientists and experts out of the lab, shifting their focus away from the sawdust, and get them to finally see the wheelbarrow, the bigger picture, that they've been missing for so long.
Liam
p.s. Have you ever had a health or medical condition that has been missed by your doctor, but that through your own investigation you've discovered has been caused by your 'aquarium'? If so please let us know.
