Click HERE to see this thread with all of the graphics, features, and links.

I wondor...is Illness simply a deviation of health, or the actual opposite of health ?



Why is it that we have names and categories for all the illnesses and diseases that exist, but we have no names or categories for conditions of good health ?

Whenever someone is free from usual illness we refer to them as "healthy", as if being healthy is one uniform state of being. But if you pay more attention, you will see that all "healthy" people differ in body type, weight, diet, excersize, attitude, etc.

Some people have better blood pressure than others, some have better immunity than others, some have higher energy levels and endurance than others. Yet the medical community does not name or label these conditions of health. Only diseases and states of illness are labelled.

Have you ever wondored why ?


Is this labelling of one side of health, but not the other, accurate ?



I truly don't beleive that Health is this one state of being, simply being "free from diseases". You can be free from disease and still be weaker than another person.


So what do you think ?



Is disease the deviation of the state of health, or does good health have its own side of the spectrum which is not analyzed as much as sickness ?

Originally posted by SpearofDestiny
I wondor...is Illness simply a deviation of health, or the actual opposite of health ?



Why is it that we have names and categories for all the illnesses and diseases that exist, but we have no names or categories for conditions of good health ?

Whenever someone is free from usual illness we refer to them as "healthy", as if being healthy is one uniform state of being. But if you pay more attention, you will see that all "healthy" people differ in body type, weight, diet, excersize, attitude, etc.

Some people have better blood pressure than others, some have better immunity than others, some have higher energy levels and endurance than others. Yet the medical community does not name or label these conditions of health. Only diseases and states of illness are labelled.

Have you ever wondored why ?


Is this labelling of one side of health, but not the other, accurate ?



I truly don't beleive that Health is this one state of being, simply being "free from diseases". You can be free from disease and still be weaker than another person.


So what do you think ?



Is disease the deviation of the state of health, or does good health have its own side of the spectrum which is not analyzed as much as sickness ?

Your wanting a label for it.

I think there are labels.

VO2 max...EPOC....resistances to diseases...

Those are just things that come to mind.


Also, saying "good health" is a blanket statement for a bunch of things.

Labels for illnesses serve obvious practical functions in the treatment of diseases by medical practicioners. We don't need names for different states of health (though one might say emotion-labels suffice) because they aren't something that needs treated.

It seems like you're trying to make a social statement about our health-related lexicon, like the telling line about Klingons having 20-something words for war, and none for love (or something similar). But it's not really a social commentary, just a practical one.

Originally posted by SpearofDestiny
Why is it that we have names and categories for all the illnesses and diseases that exist, but we have no names or categories for conditions of good health ?

Whenever someone is free from usual illness we refer to them as "healthy", as if being healthy is one uniform state of being. But if you pay more attention, you will see that all "healthy" people differ in body type, weight, diet, excersize, attitude, etc.

Some people have better blood pressure than others, some have better immunity than others, some have higher energy levels and endurance than others. Yet the medical community does not name or label these conditions of health. Only diseases and states of illness are labelled.

Have you ever wondored why ? No.

Is this labelling of one side of health, but not the other, accurate ?

I truly don't beleive that Health is this one state of being, simply being "free from diseases". You can be free from disease and still be weaker than another person.

So what do you think ?

Is disease the deviation of the state of health, or does good health have its own side of the spectrum which is not analyzed as much as sickness ?
Good health improves quality of life, even when we take it for granted. Disease makes life worse, so we pay more attention to it: more time, more energy and wordage.

I would imagine there is a bell curve somewhere that addresses your spectrum question. There's been a lot of research on health and fitness in the last 30 or so years. Probably in the professional circles there are recognized degrees of good health.

I understand that disease and unhealthy conditions are labelled out of fear and necessity, which is not a bad thing.



However, how much do we know about the other side ? We don't really gauge or categorize various states of good health. Now yes, you may say that it's because we don't need to, but I would kindly disagree.

I think we should examine people who ARE very healthy and try to find out why. Many times, you will find out different answers when asking them about thier diet, lifestyle, etc.


I've heard many stories from people I know, and research I have done, but most to all of it is anecdotal evidense, nothing clear cut. My freind met a man in Asia who looked like he was 30 years old. When asked what his real age was, the man claimed he was actually 65. My freind asked "what do u do that makes you look the way you do ?"

The man claimed he drank Green Tea every single day for the past thirty something years.


Do you guys know the actress Susan Lucci ? Well if not, google her. She was born in 1946, beleive it or not. That means that today she is 62 years old. If you look at her picture, you will see she looks like she just turned 40. She hasn't had any major plastic surgery....no facelifts, nothing of that sort.

She claims that she eats salmon and sardines every day, and that she actually lays sardines on her face so that her skin can absorb the nutrients. It is rumored that she may have had a microdermabrasion, which cleans off the first surface of the skin, but it doesn't involve cutting the skin.

Either way, she looks wondorful and is healthy.



Those are just some examples....I rather not list more, but I can if you want me 2.



I think we should pay more attention to people who are in great states of health, because we can learn how to achieve those same levels of health, instead of simply worrying about not ending up in a negative state of health.

Yeah, Lucci has been around forever...but I tend to take claims made by celebrities--that they haven't had surgery--with a grain of salt, usually because you find out, later on, they did. But hey, you never know.

I imagine disease is also more profitable. It's tougher to sell something to someone who's feeling on top o' the world, as opposed to someone who, for example, can't get their legs to rest.

Originally posted by Mindship
Yeah, Lucci has been around forever...but I tend to take claims made by celebrities--that they haven't had surgery--with a grain of salt, usually because you find out, later on, they did. But hey, you never know.

I imagine disease is also more profitable. It's tougher to sell something to someone who's feeling on top o' the world, as opposed to someone who, for example, can't get their legs to rest.


lol yeah you never know



Well...what i want to know is what do you guys think in terms of illness....is illness simply a deviation of the state of health, or is it the opposite end of the spectrum while good health is the other end ?


Of you do not understand my question, I can clarify....