Medicines v. Living Well

The post of wits in in his blog makes a lot of sense.

As I commented there, it's better to eat well and live well now than have to rely on maintenance meds in the future.

Of course, everything is easier said than done.

The United States of America is being hit with several millions of dollars of losses yearly because of obesity and obesity related complications. A healthier lifestyle for their citizens would have resulted in less expenses in maintaining the economy.

Of course we need not look too far to see the ill-effects of poor living.

Take for example the Philippines, of course a huge amount of our population is below the subsistence level, but of those who are educated and who are gainfully employed an alarming number of them are living unhealthily. The Philippines has one of the worst smoking problems in the world.

As taken from the World Health Organization's site 60% of men smoke, losses in productivity due to smoking related illnesses will cost the taxpayers around P43 Billion and finally 20% of household income will be drained by smoking.

But that's still looking at it from the macro-economic level. Let's take the camera lower and closer to the person. Take me for example, I smoke and am overweight. I have been smoking for only a few years now and the effects have been telling. I used to be more than able to handle myself but now my endurance is gone and I am more prone to colds, coughs and sore throat.

All of these minor difficulties will roll over to become a big disease in the future. A disease which could have been prevented had I chosen to live better.

Hypertension (which also runs in my Family) will likely be one disease that I could have mitigated had I not started smoking. Add to this the fact that I have not been physically active for the past 3 years then it would cost me a fortune to keep myself alive in the future.

Medicines really cost more even though it appears that P40-P80 per pill isn't so bad you have to remember that it has to be taken everyday for the rest of your days. So a P40 pill x 365 = P14600 rather cheap right? But a P40 pill isn't the only medicine you'll have to be taking, you'll likely be taking two to three other kinds of pills for hypertension and two pills more for diabetes or any other disease. A single pill will appear cheap over a P200 salad at a restaurant but in the long run it'll be more expensive as you won't be able to do all the things you would want to do.

In my studies I have come across a case wherein a judge claimed that he did not have sexual relations with a married woman while he was also married. His excuse, although not backed up by medical certificates or any expert witnesses, was diabetes mellitus which prevented him from achieving an erection. Our teacher asked a physician-classmate of ours to confirm if this was a valid reason, he stated with authority that it will prevent erection.

So if you're a male smoker who is overweight or has not exercised in the past few years and your family has a history of hypertension and diabetes then I suggest you think twice about your current lifestyle. Even if you don't forecast it too far into the future, hypertension along with other diseases will prevent you from having sex. EVER.

So if a salad is too expensive for you in the restaurant, go make one at home. And if you can't find the time to make one grab a banana or an apple or some prunes instead. If you can't do it and you're already stuck in the restaurant get the salad, without the dressing ha, even if it's more expensive than the pan-fried chicken or the sizzling sisig you're paying for the longevity of your penis anyway so it's worth it.