Taking Charge Of Your Health
Lessons Learned From Great Movies
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The first wealth is health.
If you are among the fortunate ones who enjoy good health, then the last thing you want to do is take that for granted. Disease is a mystery and a misery. Hence, if you are a relatively healthy person, then everyday you should thank your body, thank your life, really get down on your knees and thank your good fortune for the opportunity to live another day pain free.
But if you are not currently enjoying optimal health and wellness, take heart, for the body’s resiliency and ability to heal itself is also a wonder. The truth is that as much as medicine and technology have advanced—and they have—everyone can take a proactive, mindful, conscientious approach toward reaching better health. And even in the case where the experts predict the worst, it is in fact possible to make a recovery. So never sell yourself short, never succumb to pessimism, and never give up on your body when it comes to health.
Here are a few movies—some are based on true stories, some are documentaries, some reveal our collected wisdom—that serve as reminders of a tenet of wellbeing: you are largely in charge of your own health, so do what you can to make it as good as possible.
The most basic first step of wellness is good nutrition, and that means prioritizing whole, unprocessed foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables. The documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (2010) explains the importance of micronutrients in the diet and the benefits of weight loss on health. After watching this movie, you’ll never confuse ultra processed, high sugar, high saturated fat products for food again.
Life Lesson: You will be healthier if your diet consists mostly of fresh fruits and vegetables. The foods highest in nutrients per calorie are: 1) green vegetables, 2) raw vegetables, 3) beans/legumes, 4) eggplant, mushrooms, 5) tomatoes, peppers, 6) fresh fruit. The most nutrient rich foods are: kale, collards, spinach and bok choy.
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Likewise, fresh air and exercise are vital to maintaining or improving your health. You can certainly bet that the answer to feeling better or functioning better is never going to be to not exercise or to stay indoors for a prolonged period of time! Even if you have some kind of injury, there are probably various forms of exercise that you can still undertake to strengthen or stretch the body parts that are not injured.
All you have to remember is the story of The Secret Garden (1993) and how Mary Lennox’s cousin Colin Craven, a bedridden, ill-humored shut-in, regained strength, joy, and vitality simply by spending some time working in a garden. Is it really a surprise that being sedentary and spending all your time indoors is not good for you physically or mentally? Don’t be like Colin. Be brave, be a little adventurous, and explore the outdoors more.
Life Lesson: Don’t let other people determine what you do with your life.
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As the above demonstrate, our health is basically a result of our environment, and one of the most common ways people fall ill is due to water contamination. This is why having access to clean potable water is key to good health, and why people like Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway Personal Transporter, developed Slingshot, a portable water purification system.
As the documentary SlingShot (2014) shows, innovation, technology, engineering, medicine, are all instrumental in fighting off disease. But the reality, at least so far, is that no tool or pill can help us if we don’t first help ourselves. Ultimately, we must take responsibility for making wise decisions about our bodies because every imaginable cure has its limitations, expense, and negative side effects. So don’t take unnecessary risks, be prudent, and educate yourself about the potential contaminants in your environment.
Life Lesson: “Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible impossible.” — Javier Pascual Salcedo
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Of course don’t count out your own body’s abilities to help you. This is exactly the message of Anatomy of an Illness (1984), which is based on the true story of Norman Cousins, a journalist who when diagnosed with a debilitating illness, decided to take charge of his own healing by using a combination of unconventional treatments, including large doses of Vitamin C, self-induced bouts of laughter, and positive thinking. This movie highlights the importance of actively participating in and advocating for our own healthcare. It also illustrates the power of a positive attitude in the healing process.
Life Lesson: Physician, heal thyself. — Proverb
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In a similar vein, the movie Awakenings (1990), which is based on the true story of neurologist Oliver Wolf Sacks, who used an experimental drug to help catatonic patients, is really about the restorative capacity and tenacity of the mind and body. Awakenings is a testimony to the healing potential that we all have, and it allows us to believe that even the severely incapacitated, such as those affected by encephalitis lethargica, can make remarkable recoveries given the right care.
This extraordinary and important movie ends with a beautiful speech that is a tribute to our inner “doctor,” as Norman Cousins might say:
The human spirit is more powerful than any drug, and that is what needs to be nourished with work, play, friendship, family. These are the things that matter. This is what we’ve forgotten, the simplest things. — Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams)
Life Lesson: The simplest things in life bring about meaning, purpose, and happiness.
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Please take care of yourself, so you can be free to enjoy more life for many years and decades to come. And never forget that you can always take charge of your own health and well-being. Most importantly, remember that with the right mindset, persistence, and care, you can overcome even the most serious of health challenges.
Visit the moviewise catalogue—a searchable database of one sentence movie summaries, movie quotes, and movie wisdom—for movie recommendations.
Also visit the moviewise store. Get a t-shirt, bag, or pillow with your favorite #LifeLesson from a movie. Reply to this or leave a comment below to make a request.
Wonderful post. I was going to remind you of the Norman Cousins story but you are ahead of me.
My definition of "relatively healthy" is "not dead"
Most of the universe is cold, dark, empty, and lifeless, and whatever our conditions, we can be grateful for the precious gift of being on this warm, bright, life-filled and love-filled planet.
Great recommendations, thank you. I really enjoyed 'Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead' - and its sequel - although there's no way I could manage Joe Cross's juice diet. You make some excellent points in your post, backed up with great examples.
Good food, fresh air and exercise are all part of my own little futureproofing project - if I haven't got my health then not much else really matters!