We are sicker than we have ever been.

With all the wonders of modern medicine, we are the sickest we have ever been.

Among European Union Member states, women were more likely to use prescription medication in 2019 and those over the age 75 years of age made up the highest group on prescription medication. The global medicine market is expected to reach an eye-watering $1.8 Trillion and over 20,000 drugs have been registered for use. There is a growing group of pharmaceuticals designed especially for the "customer of the future", our children and grandchildren.

I have had a keen interest in natural medicine for as long as I can remember, and the person who has inspired me the most towards this lifestyle has been my grandmother who passed away at the ripe old age of 99 years. I have looked at her doctor herself, through the years, using plants that were grown in our backyard or those of her friends of similar age. From colicky babies, menstrual distress, and diabetes to chesty colds and flu, she had a natural remedy that would knock the condition right off its feet. She grew up in a time when doctors were far from where you lived, money was scarce and drugs were few. Cancer was a disease mostly developed in the elderly and the death rates by lifestyle diseases were considerably low.

The one thing that was consistent in my grandmother's lifetime was almost everyone ate homemade foods made with the freshest ingredients. So what changed over the years and when did our food system start making us sick and dependent on the pharmaceutical industry to make us "better"?

The Father of Medicine, Hippocrates said, "Let our food be our medicine, and let our medicine be our food". These words could not be more poignant today after the massive failure of public health authorities in the western world to guide their populations through the last two years. The basic principles of health and wellness were ignored in favour of pharmaceutical interventions that did little to protect many of the recipients.

I still believe our best protection against disease is the food we eat and the lifestyles we live. What we eat affects every area of our lives. How we move, grow, and navigate through the various phases of life is dependent on the nutrients we acquire from the foods we consume. Trouble is, we have allowed the food industry to conjure up concoctions and label them as consumables. The 1980s saw the rise of what they call "convenience foods" but the inconvenient truth is they have consistently made us sick over the years. Lifestyle diseases have now become a normal part of our society, Alzheimer's is now labelled Type 3 Diabetes and it's now a phenomenon by medical professionals to encounter an ageing adult on no prescribed medications.

We have done ourselves a grave injustice by allowing the supermarkets instead of our farmers to do our food thinking for us. Farm-to-table has become a fad, the latest thing to do, even though it was normal to eat what we grew. Households require both parents to work to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table which made it easy for caregivers to reach fast, convenient options to minimise the time in the kitchen.

It is unfortunate that in just a generation we have lost our way. What we don't realise is the food we eat sends important messages to our cells and those of our offspring. Cancer has exploded in adults and children as early as the womb, the leading cause of death is cardiovascular disease and an estimated 415 million people have been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, worldwide.

It is time to change the relationship we have with the food we eat. The toxic love affair we have developed with highly processed and unhealthy oils, sugar substitutes and bread and pastries made from flour so refined, the nutrients that have been removed get added back. Until we start stepping away from the table that has been set for us, not much will change and we continue to get sicker in the process. Public Health has failed us and has silently collaborated with the food industry to make us lifelong customers of pharmaceutical companies.

I continue to fight for good health, not only for myself but for my loved ones as well. We owe it to ourselves to invest heavily in our wellness because there is no one else who will do it for us. Too often we opt for an easy way out of whatever distresses our health, so I encourage you once again, to rethink what your health will look like in the future. Lifestyle diseases do not have to be your end. Eat foods that are label-free and where ever possible make them from scratch. I assure you your body will thank you. If you want to live long and be healthy, stay out of the doctor's office.