Our environment’s effect on our health

One of the most interesting things that I have found at the doctors visits we've been to really since the pregnancy started is what the doctors look for when they do the ultrasound of the baby. In the last 10 weeks or so, they checked three main things that I noticed. 

They check the baby’s position, to see where they are in the uterus in preparation for birth. 

They check the heartbeat, to make sure that it's within normal ranges

And they check for the levels of amniotic fluid. Basically, the baby's environment.  

I want to focus today’s episode on that last one. If the amniotic fluid levels are too high or too low, it can affect the health of the baby. If we expand on that a little bit, and humor me here, because I understand that this might be a stretch, let's just call that the baby’s ‘environment’. 

If there's too much or too little fluid, my doctors may want a baby monitor, my baby, a little more closely than if there was just the right amount of fluid. My understanding is that too much or too little can put undue stress on the baby. 

Expanding on what we talked about in an earlier episode about movement being important throughout our lifetime, our environment continues to be important throughout our lifetime. 

Let's imagine that every doctor visit you went to after you were born, your doctor asked about, your environment. They might ask you about things like the quality of your relationships and friendships, your daily levels of stress, the type of food you're eating, how much water you're drinking. The quality of the sleep that you're getting, your fulfillment in your community or in your work,  your involvement in any hobbies or learning of new skills. 

And then, let's imagine, they were able to take those factors, and look at how they might be affecting your health, (which they do, in significant, significant, significant ways). 

Wouldn't that change our health, and our healthcare? What, if instead of prescribing prescriptions for pain, or weight loss, Or depression, or high blood, pressure, or high cholesterol, or high stress levels, they actually went to the source of those things, and offered you free, natural solutions that are proven to work without any negative side effects?

Would be great for you. Would be bad for the pharmaceutical companies, and medical industry as a whole.

So my challenge for you, and for us, as a society, is to continue to examine the environment that we are in 24/7. If we recognize that there is too much or too little of something, we monitor, and adjust our plan, in order to keep us healthy, and as a likely side effect, happy.