An Extremely Biased Look at Health

***Going to start right off with a disclaimer. This post is not to brag or to make others feel bad, although it may come off as doing both. Ideally it will make people think and even start some discussions! Why is this post "extremely biased"? Because it is based on my experiences and mine alone.***

I keep thinking about Health. What is health? What does a healthy person look like?

How many people do you know that you consider "the epitome of health?" To me that would mean: no allergies - food or environmental, no digestive issues, no autoimmune issues, no problems functioning in their environment that require on-going medication. How many people do you know? Is that number becoming increasingly small?

I think it is. Kids are increasingly medicated for ADHD. A large percentage of Adults are on medication for stress and anxiety. Seasonal allergy meds, epipens for peanut allergies, drugs for skin issues, digestive issues, headaches, arthritis, the list goes on.

Check out this chart below, you can click on the image to open the website an the complete list. 

Right now in our family of 5 we have 0 prescriptions. Zero. That's not to say we are perfect. We've dealt with anxiety. Seasonal allergies in the past - check. Chronic sinus problems. Yep.  

But if I look at our health (and I know that looking at my own and my loved ones health is biased, how could it not be?) I see some very interesting things.

1. When I was a child I would go to school with very bad colds/viruses. Mostly because I hated missing school (nerd!) and I was also an athlete and didn't want to let my team down.
2. When I was a teacher I was pretty much sick the ENTIRE winter my first year. It was gross. I know stress and lack of sleep played a big part.
3. As an adult I feel healthier now than I was as a child or young adult. This is due to many changes in life habits and attitudes.
4. Our oldest child had the most vaccines and she has had the most "health issues". Chronic ears, nose, throat problems. Tubes in ears and they wanted to take her tonsils out but we respected her wishes and did not. At 13 years old she is much better, but still every winter gets a runny nose that won't quit.
5. Our 2 boys have never had a round of antibiotics. 
6. Since starting to use Vitamin C we are all much healthier. I had a streak of 2+ years with no colds/flu that was just broken this winter. 
7. Overall our health keeps improving the more we stay on a path that we are comfortable with. This path is not the typical mainstream path most Americans are on. 

So you tell me:
Why on earth would we change what we're doing? In what universe is it logical or fair for us to be MANDATED to change what we're doing? Why would I start listening to the health advice of individuals and a large scale system in which most people do not have the level of health that we enjoy in our family? 

Everyone has to make choices. We are happy with ours. We are also happy to share with people! We want others to be happy and healthy too.