As a vascular surgeon, I am generally at the opposite end of the patient care cycle. That is, I see patients after all of the ravages of diet, behaviors and genetics have operated in concert to take their toll on an individual's health system. Common disorders that I see include carotid artery stenosis which may cause stroke in the undiagnosed and untreated state, kidney failure and its complications, aneurysmal change of the aorta and peripheral vascular disease which can cause one to have pain when ambulating and in its more severe form amputation of the leg. The most benign disorder that I treat is varicose vein formation, although in its severe form, this may lead to ulceration. If you want to see some pictures of these processes that Im describing or the operations to treat them, visit youtube.com/drkirkseytv.
Its quite striking that most of these diseases probably are preventable with the appropriate modification of ones diet and lifestyle behaviors. Obviously, one's genetic predisposition is static but the current analysis of the human genome will most certainly correct that in the future.
The disconnect lies in that period of life where all of destructive habits that we have show no outward consequences with regards to how they affect our body. Those are the adolescent thru mid-late thirties when we habitually abuse our bodies. By the time detectable disease is discovered because of symptoms, the deleterious affects are largely irreversible. We are then placed on a maintenance medication to treat this problem and so the cycle begins. If no one acknowledges that our poor diet or our associated weight gain are the inciting factors then we are doomed to be on a cascade of medications. At some point we'll be changed to the latest and greatest hypertensive agent or cholesterol medication. At all times we'll hold our breath with each FDA report that the pharmaceutical company has withdrawn another medication because of under-reported side affects.
If the government's investment in programs to alter our behavior at a young age were as substantial as the marketing, advertising and lobbying investments of the food industry and big pharmacia- I would probably be looking for a new job. But instead, I now see more and more people in there 30's with premature presentation of severe disease requiring life saving procedures such as leg artery bypass and carotid endarterectomy. It's very concerning.
Its somewhat of a commentary on the perverse consequences of the capitalistice structure of our society. If an individual or group creates a product or service then they have every right to sale and distribute that product or service to everyone. Our free market encourages the food industry to market directly to children and the obese with chips, ice cream , one dollar burgers and every other great tasting, fat-laiden product. Cigarettes with increasing levels of nicotine. And our pharmaceutical companies benefit tremendously from all of the chronic disorder, hypertension, cholesterol elevation, heart burn, anxiety, depression; that come from these detrimental habits. These is what I mean about the financial incentives within this perverse set of circumstances which allow each of these groups to flourish at the expense of our population at large.
The next time you speak with a group of your friends about illness, healthcare or doctors; ask them when is the last time their physician asked them to keep a dietary journal. When is the last time their physician talked about behaviors and diet for the length or their visit. Part of this was explained by a very compelling article in the medical journal, JAMA which showed that many physicians are embarrassed to counsel patients on these issues because many physicians themselves are overweight and many have poor dietary eating habits. I can tell you that prior to my epiphany, I was on the road to dietary ruin. Eating bagels for breakfast, a slice of pizza on the run for lunch and a late dinner to finish off the day. I felt that as long as I didnt gain weight, I was OK. You know the old skinny is healthy philosophy.
I encourage you to read this editorial and consider some of the ideas mentioned. You may agree or you may not. Chances are that you'll be somewhere in the middle. Upcoming articles will elaborate on each of these points. There is compelling evidence that something must change for our general population. One more thing. I'm sure that you recognize that many people are already well aware of this connection. And these issues do have some class, geographic and demographic components. It's my general impression that I see a lot more organic, health stores when I visit Santa Monica then when I visit Houston, Texas.
