Health Myths
“Give your body what it asks for, only when it asks for it.”
In short, why it's a myth: “Better safe than sorry”!
To explain further: When you buy a car, you're told to have it serviced regularly, right? Even if the car doesn't have any defects, it should be checked at a qualified workshop every few kilometers or so. The idea is to look for problems when they are still small and initial, so that they can be solved before they become bigger, more serious and even potentially dangerous for the car's users in the future. Or avoiding problems through regular quality maintenance, for example by replacing old components (which are close to their maximum known shelf life), optimizing lubricants and fuels, cleaning the various systems, etc. All this comprises two basic, distinct but complementary precautions: Prevention and Early Detection.
To prevent is to “dispose of something in advance so as to avoid harm or damage by preventing it from happening”, according to the dictionary, and in health, to detect early is to identify a process at its beginning, before it has become more serious. That's why we have to regularly practice Prevention and Early Detection in our lives: if they're important even for our cars, imagine for our most precious asset, which is our health!
Some ways of practicing Prevention and Early Detection in our health are to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle habits, visit the doctor regularly (and also other necessary health professionals), have regular check-ups, etc. (I talk about these and much more here: https://icaro.med.br/15habitos/). But the basic thing is to understand that we shouldn't wait for our bodies and minds to ask us to take care of them!
For example:
- When you wait until you're thirsty to drink water, you've waited until your body is slightly dehydrated to provide it with what it needs to function at all times, since 75% of the body is water - after all, you only feel thirsty when you're already dehydrated. Drinking water regularly, even if you're not thirsty, is therefore an important act of prevention.
- When you wait until you're hungry to eat, you've waited until your body is slightly malnourished to provide it with what it needs at all times to function, since one of the most important fuels for the functioning of body and mind is our food - after all, you only feel hungry when you're already malnourished. Eating regularly, even if you're not hungry, is therefore an important act of prevention.
Waiting for thirst and hunger before drinking water and eating is like only taking your car to the garage when it breaks down - it's no longer prevention, it's repair. And if even a car without proper maintenance tends to break down in a more serious way, imagine your organism, body and mind (and even spirit)! That's when it's fixed, because, depending on the damage, sometimes the damage is irreparable or there's a “total loss”. Do you want to deal with irreparable damage to your body, which often leads to sequelae and disability?
Don't wait for your body to “ask” for care, through small symptoms and disturbances (even if you don't appreciate them) which, if neglected, tend to increase over time (most of the time meaning greater internal damage, evolving more and more). Practice Prevention and Early Detection in your life and get healthier!
Cheers,
Dr. Ícaro Alves Alcântara
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