A couple of years ago, at a medical meeting in Los Angeles, a young physician drew my attention to a research article recently published in the British Medical Journal. The research involved a retrospective look at the lives of a large group of men born in 1933 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The study found that those men who had died from usual causes such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, etc. had endured substantially more stressful life events than those still alive.

But, the major thrust of this study was that of those men with a number of stressful events in their lives, it was those who lacked a strong support system who died in the highest numbers. Those men who had experienced a number of bad happenings with no one to dampen the blows were four times more likely to die than those with strong allies. Studies in our own country on both men and women have produced similar results. It seems it is not so much stress alone that kills; it is lonely stress that is the danger.

Such findings support a current concept of wellness as having more than just a physiological domain. My friend, Norman Cousins, wrote wonderfully about the biology of hope–how the body is able to muster up its resources to stave off illness and heal itself.

Every physician's experience is full of examples of patients who have done much better than expected, and the only explanation lies in their attitudes: willingness to fight and do whatever it takes to survive. More often than not, these patients also have a corps of warriors selected from a network of family and friends who are well-equipped, strategically positioned behind the scenes, but ready for the fight.

As a physician, I remain optimistic about the future of our health care system because the emphasis is shifting from sickness to wellness. This shift is not a new idea, but rather one whose time has come. Indeed, it has been the battle cry in our public health institutions for decades. But now, our glorious nation, so accustomed to abundance, is being forced to confront its dwindling pot of gold for health care, most of which is being used to treat at great cost, illnesses which, at their root, are preventable.

Out of this confrontation, a new model of the health practitioner is evolving. So is a new model of the patient, the consumer of health care. If health care reform is going to work, it will need health professionals who subscribe to more than a rhetorical notion of patient as partner. It also will need patients who actively participate in their own health care by adhering to basic, well publicized guidelines for disease prevention.

Beyond that, we all need to recognize that wellness encompasses a state of balance between the equal and interdependent domains of body, mind and soul. No disease illustrates this concept better than diabetes. It intrudes every day into one or more of these domains, and we know from both research and experience that the diabetics who gather their weapons and muster their warriors are the ones who will triumph in the pursuit of wellness.

While this may prove easier said than done as we face sweeping changes in the way health care is bought and sold, I do believe that first–rate health care eventually will be the universal reality if knowledgeable, caring practitioners forge new bonds with informed, motivated patients.

In this issue of Diabetes Wellness Letter, we celebrate National Diabetes Month by renewing our mission to keep you informed about the latest developments in diabetes prevention, treatments and cure. Within these pages, medical experts as well as persons with diabetes share tips for staying well. I am confident that you will find something here to nourish your body, mind and soul.

Walter Bortz, M.D. is Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University and an internist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. His most recent book, Dare To Be 100, was published in June 1996. Dr. Bortz is Chairman of the Diabetes Wellness Letter's Medical Advisory Board.

Wellness Bouillabaisse

Remember,   Always Remember to Stir in Lots of Love !
Amazing but true!
You can put your own personal energy into the mix as you are preparing it.

The next time you prepare something mundane like wiped potatoes, engender a feeling of love in yourself, and let the energy flow down your arm into the food as you mix it.   Then, just quietly watch and observe the reactions. I always get plenty when I do it.