Digging deep at the roots of health not disease

Throughout most of the world, the public is increasingly bearing the cost of the medical profession’s preoccupation with disease and not health. Few doubt the incredible strides made in the management or treatment of acute disease and injury. But equally, it’s hard to find people who celebrate advances in our ability to prevent chronic, degenerative diseases once we look beyond basic hygiene and sanitation.

We are however at the cusp of a revolution in how we manage our health. This revolution doesn’t just involve public health and top-down prescriptions from medical doctors. It involves a collaborative effort, society-wide. It involves health data ownership and empowerment of the public. It involves recognition of the underlying causes not only of diseases, but also of long-term health and resilience. These causes are often complex, multi-factorial and multi-layered. The drivers and triggers vary greatly between individuals and the impacts, both positive and negative, manifest differently according to our genetic and epigenetic background, and the environments we frequent. But the sheer complexity means that the disease-centric, ‘pill-for-an-ill’ model of healthcare will soon become defunct. The solution lies in understanding how we can better optimise our innate health. Whichever way you look at regenerative health or health creation, the foods and supplements we eat, as well as how and when we eat them, along with the lifestyles we opt for, will represent the most important medicines of our future.

Our two stories this #Throwback Thursday, look at these issues, one from the perspective of neurodegenerative diseases, the other from the perspective of circulating levels of vitamin D. The take home? Prioritise your gut and microbiome health, and get your circulating 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels into the target range (i.e. 100-150 nmol/L or 40-60 ng/ml). Do this, and you’ve made a very important start to your journey towards optimal health.

In health, naturally and sustainably,

Rob Verkerk, PhD

Founder, executive & scientific director