Exercise is sometimes recommended. But with no direction, the
patient frequently exercises too intensely in the hope of burning more
calories. This leaves this patient worse off, usually with a more pro-
nounced aerobic deficiency.
Soon after this stage, around the fifth decade of life, measurable
pathological, or disease states appear. They may include high blood
pressure, high blood fats (triglycerides and/or cholesterol) and prob-
lems handling blood sugar. These signs may now be accompanied by
named diseases: hypertension, hyperlipoproteinemia and diabetes.
There is now a very high risk for coronary artery disease and if fat
accumulates, blocking the flow of blood to the heart, bypass surgery
may be the only way to prevent death. At this stage, conservative
measures such as exercise, diet and nutrition require more stringency
to be effective, but still can play a major role in therapy. If disease is
too advanced, more extreme countermeasures may be needed, such
as surgery.
The last stage of life, the so-called golden years of the 60s and up,
can literally be quite painful for both patient and family, and a great
expense for all, including society. Our patient, now a medicated,
hypertensive, overweight diabetic on the verge of requiring bypass
surgery, remains at high risk until the end. But modern medicine has
helped lengthen the life span. When death comes, it comes not only
with pain and suffering, but also with great expense.
Could this scenario be changed? Could the suffering and expense
be prevented? Clearly the answer is yes. And it’s not just a philoso-
phy. We can see it in action in people who follow the right path
towards fitness and health.
Treating Functional Illness
Recognition of functional illness early in life, when it’s more easily
and inexpensively treated with conservative measures, including
lifestyle changes, is one of the keys to self-health care. This is the true
meaning of prevention. In medicine, prevention is thought of as a
screening process, such as “screening for cancer” to find it early when
it’s more treatable. I prefer to think of prevention as postponing that
cancer and not allowing it to progress to a diagnosis during your life-
time.
240 • IN FITNESS AND IN HEALTH