It probably would not be considered a pleasant task to watch someone kill themselves and by that I am not talking about suicide in the usual manner. I am referring to someone who is dying because of a disease that could very well have been prevented.

I was given the news the other day about an individual who is dying of cirrhosis of the liver and the person who gave me the news seemed shocked that this person was dying. I however, was not in the least bit shocked or surprised after all. This individual who has been diagnosed with the cirrhosis probably never saw a sober day in the last 15 or 20 years and by that I am not exaggerating.

It goes to show you that we can watch a person kill themselves and be shocked when they actually die kind of like the way would be surprised when we turn off the switch and the light goes out.

When they call you up and ask, what is the cure, unfortunately, the cure was back 15 or 20 years ago because it is easier staying out of trouble than trying to get out of it. This is not lack of compassion or empathy, it is just simply the truth and sometimes it is like a slap in the face.

Having said all this, it is easy to say that you should do this, and eat that and take these supplements and do these exercises and you will remain free of disease because that is not the truth either. The truth is, if you do all you can for yourself to remain healthy chances are you will remain healthy or at least healthy enough to recover from potentially serious illnesses.

As I have written in past columns your ability to acquire a particular disease is all about an individual’s susceptibility to that condition. By doing all the right things to remain healthy does not mean you will or will not get sick it means that in most likelihood you will be less susceptible to sickness for a number of reasons.

Let me use this analogy. If you were to use the cross walk when crossing the street, chances are cars would stop and let you cross, it does not however bring with it any guarantee that some driver will not come and hit you while you are crossing. It is only a reasonable assumption that drivers and pedestrians know the rules and will follow them because they are in that mind set. There are way too many variables to get philosophical about it.

It is reasonable to assume then that by living a healthy balanced lifestyle we will be in that mind set of health and well being thereby making ourselves less susceptible to sickness and disease.

I am not suggesting that everyone resort to any particular diet or lifestyle because as individuals you will find what is right for you and undoubtedly it will be different than your neighbour. I will in all certainty say this if you do anything to excess that is probably not preventing trouble and is more than likely getting into it very deep.

Look at your current situation today and ask yourself, am I surprised? If you are not then you probably have been conscious of it for a while.