On 16/09/12 I received it via my Twitter account (@qualidade_vida):
“RT @jusi__: @dricaroalves unfortunately nowadays with public health and health insurance the way they are, it's hard to find professionals like this: professionals who see the human body as a whole. I even think that the working conditions in these places get in the way, but... the ones who end up suffering are those of us who can't afford private treatment.”. – NOTE: (The quote has been kept in its original form to preserve authenticity, including spelling mistakes and informal language).
To which I replied:
Jusi( @jusi__ ) Allow me a few thoughts on your posts:
1 - There's no denying that public health is in chaos, working conditions in Brazil are precarious and many doctors working in the country don't have the time or interest to approach the patient holistically, considering body and mind, as would be desirable and necessary. I'm involved in a project at the Federal Department of Health, where we're fighting to raise awareness among civil servants, with good preliminary results, to take better care of their own health, so that they're well and can take proper care of the health of others, even serving as an example. However, the project is still in its early stages.
2 - There's also no denying that the situation with most health insurance companies is bad, as they make it increasingly clear that their main concern is to make a profit from healthcare. They pay health professionals poorly, when many simply don't pay - I talk more about this in https://icaro.med.br/quantovaleomedico/. They obstruct the patient's access to the exams, consultations and treatments to which they are entitled and increase their prices more and more, absurdly justifying that this is due to the increase in the number of consultations, exams and procedures.
3 - I believe that for the situations mentioned above, our society should organize, plan and demand urgent and effective measures, but in the right way.
4 - I've noticed that, apart from the many people in our country who live in extreme poverty, the argument of “not being able to afford private treatment” is often actually due to an “inadequate definition of priorities”. I say this because treatments have costs that, to a certain extent, can be adapted to the financial reality of each patient. However, it's not uncommon to come across people who claim to have “no money”, while at the same time owning fashionable cell phones, designer bags/shoes or even spending a lot on alcohol, “nightlife” and “fun” in general. Taking all proportions into account, what is the value of one's health? Or is this value only really considered worthy of investment in the presence of an illness, which is often incapacitating?
5A - After at least 12 years of intense reading, conversations with colleagues and patients, as well as experience in medicine, working in consulting rooms, emergency situations and hospitals, I came to a conclusion corroborated by many and even by scientific studies (see this link https://icaro.med.br/15habitos/): most human illness and suffering is caused by the individual themselves. We have the unproductive habit of looking for the culprits for everything that happens to us, as if we were totally victims of external factors, but in reality we are often responsible for most of our adversities. This requires sufficient reflection, self-criticism and humility to analyze our problems objectively and without prejudice.
5B - To put it another way, with a focus on health: if the health system in general is in deficit, wouldn't it be better to depend on it as little as possible? And how can we do that? By constantly strengthening our bodies, both physically and mentally, so that we get sick as little as possible and recover quickly when necessary. Every human organism naturally has homeostasis mechanisms, which allow it to recover from aggressions suffered and maintain its balance, becoming stronger to face new aggressions. However, these mechanisms need the right conditions to function properly. These conditions include the care, maintenance and supply of quality raw materials to the body, enabling effective homeostasis mechanisms. In other words, your body will only maintain or regain balance and health, free from disease or be cured of it, if you provide it with the necessary conditions on a regular basis: through HEALTHY LIFE HABITS, which have already been thoroughly detailed and discussed here https://icaro.med.br/15habitos/, even if adopted gradually, according to each person's time.
5C - Here's the problem: most human beings don't have good lifestyle habits, not even 50% of them. There are major problems even with adopting and maintaining the most basic habits, related to water, food, physical exercise and sleep, which makes it impossible to have, maintain or regain health. It's as simple as that. The worse a person's lifestyle habits are, the more they merely survive rather than live and, over time, they “live” sicker and have to learn to live with ever-increasing disabilities and suffering, until they finally die. And there are many who say they don't want this in their lives, but how many actually do their bit to change this sad situation? I'll tell you that to this day, unfortunately, it's still the minority. The majority of humanity still seems to believe that medicines are “magic” solutions to symptoms/diseases, ignoring the fact that they don't work properly in organisms weakened by bad lifestyle habits (read https://icaro.med.br/a-pilula-magica/) or come up with a slew of excuses to say that they don't have the time or “conditions” to implement healthy habits in their lives (I've already covered this in https://icaro.med.br/falta-de-tempo-ou-falta-de-planejamento/) or simply don't have access to the information they need to take better care of themselves (something that many committed professionals around the world, even though they are sometimes “persecuted” and criticized for it, have tried to change). In addition to the many who simply say something like “I've never been sick, I've always been healthy” and are astonished when, over time, they see the consequences of a lifetime of bad habits, of mistreatment of their own bodies, appearing suddenly and intensely. And I'm very concerned about the example that has been set for our children, many of whom already have problems with their weight, mental/emotional functioning and bad lifestyle habits. After all, isn't it the example that most “educates” (or, in the particular case under discussion, “diseducates”)?
For all these reasons, my direct response to your comment is another question, for reflection and, if God* and everyone wants it, for the necessary changes: how effective is it to use problems as “excuses” for not putting into practice the solutions we have, however effective they may be? In other words, if it's impossible to be healthy without everyone doing their bit, taking care of themselves and maintaining increasingly healthy lifestyle habits, is our health in “chaos” only the fault of the public system and health insurance?
Thank you very much for motivating me to write this piece! And hugs to everyone!
May we all be with God and may everyone's heart change and improve their lives... It's worth it!
Dr. Ícaro Alves Alcântara
And since I mentioned God, is it so difficult to understand that taking good care of our bodies is an obligation we all have to him? After all:
“Once we recognize that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, that we are redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus, this notion will affect every aspect of our life. We will not only seek to avoid desecrating our body-temple with any substance or activity that is harmful or inappropriate, but we will also actively seek to care for our body-temple and engage in activities that honor God”
Português do Brasil 
English 