The Uncomfortable Truth: Taking Ownership of Your Health in a Sick World
- Vanessa Lahey
- Nov 17
- 5 min read
We live in an age where corporate medicine (e.g. big Ag and big Pharma) dominates nearly every aspect of human, plant and animal health. Regarding human health... most GP appointments end with a script dictating the need for a pill or needle to address a problem the person has likely (probably unknowingly) caused themselves.
To be clear, I’m not conflating cutting-edge medical science, such as gene editing, vaccine breakthroughs, or robotic surgeries, with day-to-day medical practice. Yes, medical research is always evolving and finding new ways to sustain human life, but a lot of that research is aimed at creating new products to “prescribe”.
With so many pharmaceutical solutions available, why are chronic disease rates soaring to epidemic proportions?!? Lifestyle diseases like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, many cancers, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are overwhelming our healthcare systems and cutting lives short.
It's an accepted frame that common (lifestyle) diseases are somehow inevitable genetic lotteries (bad luck) or simply a consequence of getting older (unavoidable). These are misnomers. And it's progressive clinical nutritionists and herbalists who are deconstructing this victim mentality that has become dependent on, and enriched, big pharma in particular.
This is an uncomfortable, and for some, an infuriating proposition. But it’s a truth we must confront: the vast majority of what we call “lifestyle diseases” are not diseases that happen to us, but conditions we actively bring upon ourselves through long-term wrong living (bad choices). And with that ownership comes the profound responsibility, and the power, to change the outcome.
The Pillars of “Wrong Living”
Wrong living is not a mysterious curse. It’s a consistent pattern of choices (that form habits) made by an individual (or on behalf of an individual) that fly in the face of our biological design. Our bodies are incredibly resilient, but they are not designed to run on junk, live in stagnation, and be flooded with toxins.
1. The Fuel Crisis: Our Diets Are Making Us Sick
The human body is a high-performance machine, but from what I witness in supermarkets wherever I go, people are fueling their bodies on cheap, processed, nutrient-deficient, packaged foods. Today’s corporate-controlled (i.e. profit-driven) "supermarket" diet is the primary culprit:
The Sugar Tsunami: We are drowning in refined sugar aka sucrose (in Australia, corn syrup in the U.S). It’s hidden in nearly everything in a packet, from bread to salad dressing. This constant sugar influx spikes our insulin, leading to insulin resistance, the direct precursor to Type 2 diabetes. It gets stored as dangerous visceral fat, inflames our arteries, and feeds cancer cells.
The Fake Fat Fiasco: Industrially produced trans fats, found in most fried and processed foods, are literal poisons. They increase “bad” LDL cholesterol, decrease “good” HDL cholesterol, and trigger systemic inflammation, directly contributing to heart disease.
The Whole Food Deficit: In our rush for convenience, we’ve abandoned nutrient-dense whole foods such as fresh vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy fats. We are overfed and undernourished, our bodies starved of the essential vitamins, minerals, and fibre needed to function, repair, and thrive.
2. The Sedentary Spiral: We Were Born to Move
Our ancestors walked miles each day, hunted, gathered, and built their shelters. Even our grandparents' generation was more physical than most of us are today. In the 21st Century life of comfort and convenience, we commute in cars, sit at desks, and then sit on sofas glued to screens. This sedentary lifestyle is a direct assault on our physiology.
Lack of exercise leads to muscle atrophy, poor circulation, and a slowed metabolism. It makes our cells less sensitive to insulin, contributes to weight gain, weakens our bones, and is a significant factor in the development of high blood pressure. Movement is not optional; it is a non-negotiable requirement for a functioning human body. Choosing inactivity is, in effect, choosing to let your body decay.
3. The Dehydration Deception: Confusing Thirst for Hunger
Water is the medium of life. Every chemical reaction, every nutrient transported, every toxin flushed, depends on it. Yet, many of us live in a state of chronic, low-level dehydration, reaching for coffee, sugary soft drinks, or “energy” drinks instead of pure water.
Dehydration stresses the kidneys, impairs cognitive function, makes us feel fatigued, and can even manifest as false hunger pangs, leading us to eat when we should be drinking. Proper hydration is the simplest, most fundamental act of self-care, and we are neglecting it.
4. The Alcohol Excuse: The Socially Acceptable Toxin
Although the trend nowadays is heading toward less alcohol consumption (which is great), it's still a massive, often overlooked, factor in lifestyle disease. While red wine (mostly) is often framed as “heart-healthy” in minuscule amounts, the reality for many is chronic overconsumption.
Alcohol is a toxin!
The liver’s job is to neutralise it, a process that creates damaging byproducts. Over time, this leads to fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, and inflammation throughout the body. It disrupts sleep, adds empty calories to your waistline, impairs judgment (including dietary judgment), and is a known carcinogen. Normalising daily drinking is normalising self-inflicted harm.
The Blame Game vs. The Ownership Solution
For decades, the narrative around health has been one of victimhood. We blame our genes, our busy schedules, the food industry, and the high cost of living. While these are real challenges, using them as permanent excuses is a surrender of our own agency.
The shift from blame to ownership is the single most important step toward health. It’s the recognition that while you may not control every factor in your environment, you control your response to it. You decide what you put in your grocery trolley and ultimately your mouth! You decide to take the stairs. You decide to fill your water bottle. You decide to have that second beer.
Owning the problem is the prerequisite to owning the solution.
When you accept that your past choices have led you to your current state of poor or compromised health, you unlock your power. You are no longer a passive patient in a lengthy queue for an appointment, so a doctor can “fix” you with a pill. You become the active architect of your own well-being.
The Prescription is a Lifestyle, Not a Pill
The cure for lifestyle diseases is not found in a pharmacy; it’s found in your kitchen, your gym shoes, your water bottle and your attitude. The treatment plan is simple, though not always easy, and it’s definitely not effortless;
Eat Real Food: Prioritise plants, lean proteins, and healthy fats. If it comes in a box or plastic wrapper with a long ingredient list, eat it sparingly (if at all).
Move Your Body Daily: Find a form of exercise you enjoy and do it consistently. Walk, run, dance, lift weights - just move.
Drink Mostly Water: Make it your primary beverage. Your body will thank you for it.
Limit or Eliminate Alcohol: Be brutally honest with your consumption. Your liver and your long-term health depend on it.
Prioritise Sleep and Manage Stress: These are the other critical pillars of a healthy life that compound the effects of diet and exercise.
This is not about achieving a perfect, Instagram-worthy body. It’s about forging a resilient, vibrant, and functional body that allows you to live a full life, free from the burden of preventable disease.
The path to wellness requires courage, the courage to be honest with yourself, to break comfortable but destructive habits, and to take full responsibility for the one body you have been given. It’s your health. Own it.
