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9.30.2008

A Tidbit From the New York Times

this article addresses a very interesting topic: what is the definition of "health?" I've always found it strange when I see an advertisement on the back page of the newspaper seeking "healthy adult smokers" for a research study. In my opinion, regardless of how you feel on average, you're not healthy if you smoke. Smoking is not a healthy habit, this is a fact. You may be a heavy smoker, but consider yourself healthy because you ride your bike everyday, eat salads for lunch and fish for dinner, you take yoga classes and vitamins. But eventually you'll hock up something black and sticky and will you be healthy then? Were you really healthy before then? Do healthy habits necessitate actual health?

One bitch I used to know (and hated, if you didn't pick up on that) argued with me that regular cocaine users are not necessarily unhealthy simply because they use coke. I disagree. You may appear to be healthy and may feel healthy, but one day you'll wake up and your septum will be gone and then will you be healthy?

When my poop comes out solid and there's no blood in sight, am I suddenly healthy? Does my Crohn's Disease imply that I am forever unhealthy, even when in remission? I sure think so. Even when my gut is quiet, my immune system is still up to no good. I catch everything there is to be caught, I throw up enough to make a bulimic blush, and I have more anxiety than I know what to do with. Most of these problems are side effects of my medication, I'm sure. I know half the health problems I encountered as a child when I was first diagnosed were a result of my high dose of Prednisone. From kidney stones to arthritis, I was the oldest 12 year in my seventh grade class.

Anyway, I'm blathering on here and could continue to do so all day but it's almost time for lunch.

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