Band 6+: 6, More and more people are suffering from health problems caused by a modern lifestyle which cannot be treated with modern medicines. Some people think that a return to traditional medicine should be encouraged. To what extent do you agree?

These days, unfortunately there is an increasing number of people suffering from chronic disease associated with an unhealthy modern lifestyle. While advocates of traditional medicine could argue that this type of medical treatment could be the only effective cure for this condition, I believe that health problems related to lifestyle could only be treated by lifestyle modifications.

For me, medication, even the traditional one, seems to me not the appropriate answer for the modern ailments, but only the remedy for the symptoms of the diseases. Firstly, traditional medicine is considered to lack a scientific base; therefore, the patient could face the possibility of putting their life at risk. For example, in Vietnam, there were reports of diabetes cases looking for help in herbal herbal medicine with unknown origin, only to cause them stomachache. Secondly, even when some kinds of traditional substance possibly alleviate the pain or the symptom of lifestyle health problems, these are only the short-term and temporary solutions. To elaborate this argument, if someone with obesity loses some weight by consuming some teas, but they keep taking fast food and do not get regular exercise, soon after their weight will bounce back.

I absolutely agree with the proponents that changing people’s habits is a more effective way to combat lifestyle disease. The choice of how one lives is the root cause of their current health problems. People with unbalanced work life are at higher chance to get chronic stress and sleep disturbance, or the regular consumers of junk foods are more likely to receive the diagnosis of obesity and coronary heart disease. Therefore, if those people only make some minor justification in their course of life by setting boundaries of their work or choosing healthier dietary habits, their health could improve radically. Moreover, it is also proved that some mental illnesses like depression and anxiety, the product of modern life, could only be cured by changing one’s behaviors and thoughts, not by medication. Hence, it is the area where medicine could only be the supporter but not the healer.

In conclusion, I think that our contemporary health consequences of lifestyle could be addressed by adopting the chain of good daily habits, but not by the traditional medicine as stated by some believers.