OVER THE COUNTER: Resolve to live a better life

It’s January, and we have to ask, have you kept your New Year’s resolution? If you’re like most people, your resolution is related to staying healthy – eating better, exercising more, losing weight and getting more sleep.

But being like most people also means you probably are not keeping your resolution. Statistics show that many of us drop our annual promise to stay healthy by February, and that only a tiny fraction of us actually hold on throughout the year.

Don’t feel bad if you’ve already given up. We don’t believe that staying healthy should – or can be – a 12-month goal. We believe, instead, it should be a way of life. That’s why we focus on helping people live healthier and happier lives. Not to lose 20 pounds one year and gain it all back the next, and certainly not to start a diet for one month, and then feel like a failure for quitting by the next.

As this year started, we began reflecting on what it means to promote health and wellness – not for a month or 12, but for a lifetime. So, we’d like to share some of our views here.

We believe there are few quick fixes when it comes to health. Instead, living better takes a holistic yet individualized approach. We must recognize first that our mind and body work together, and that they both also respond to the outside world.

We also believe there’s no single way to improve health; many methods should be used in concert. Adopting tried-and-true lifestyle changes such as eating fruits and vegetables regularly and getting frequent physical activity are critical to good health. But so are using techniques to improve mental health, like practicing meditation, mindfulness and even relaxation with the help of aromatic oils. Taking advantage of homeopathic and natural medicines can be beneficial, too.

As health care providers, we’ve also learned to adapt. Variety is, after all, the spice of life. That’s why we’re excited about new tools and approaches available to improve people’s lives, such as advances in nutrition and nutritional counseling, the growth of genetic testing and research, the study and sharing of folk and traditional remedies of other cultures. And, perhaps most important, the greater awareness of individualized medicine.

While individualized medicine has become a kind of buzzword in recent years, it is actually as old an idea as it is a good one. It’s why we got into pharmacy compounding in the first place. Compounding, at its core, is a type of individualized medicine. Instead of giving the same pill to every person with a prescription, compounding makes drugs precisely catered to a person’s needs. If a patient can’t swallow a pill, it can be turned into a liquid, lozenge, or even a cream. Dosages can be made in a particular strength to suit a patient’s needs. For those with allergies, inactive ingredients like dyes, binding agents or fillers can be replaced or eliminated.

Unfortunately, as science is bringing advances to help us live better, medicine is a big business, and big companies have come to define care. This can further promote a singular care approach for the masses, not because it’s better but because it’s more efficient and, ultimately, profitable. And because our health care system is based in a free market economy, profitability can sometimes eclipse care.

Here in the New Year, focus on what is best for you, and get the guidance you need to achieve it. Work with practitioners and dietitians who spend the time to know you as an individual. It is easy to fall through the cracks of mainstream, "one-size-fits-some" medicine.

Find someone that you can trust to look at the whole picture, taking into account necessary medications and your normal diet and supplements, and who will help you navigate your path to your optimal health. This is the core belief of functional medicine. The path is usually not direct, and can be bumpy as you begin, but routine follow-up can keep you on course as you begin the journey to your optimal health.

So, as this New Year is underway, we implore you not to consider a one-time resolution, but reflect on how to live a better life.

Gary Kracoff has a degree in naturopathic medicine and is a registered pharmacist and John Walczyk is a compounding pharmacist at Johnson Compounding & Wellness in Waltham, Mass. For more information, visit www.naturalcompounder.com. Readers with questions about natural or homeopathic medicine, compounded medications, or health in general can e-mail gary@naturalcompounder.com or call 781-893-3870.