Health Advice from “The Art of War”

Posted on by Jesse Santiano, M.D.

Sun Tzu wrote the”The Art of War“ around  771 to 476 BC. It has been referenced by the military and business professionals because of it’s the timeless and practical lessons. In spite of the violence implied in the title, there are multiple admonitions about winning the war without shedding blood. To wit:

“To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”

“The wise warrior avoids the battle.”

When I read those phrases, it sounds like Sun Tzu is not just talking about war but also about disease prevention. Since everybody’s goal is to be healthy, wealthy, and wise, maybe we can be smart enough to use wisdom to stay healthy.

Instead of waiting for a stroke or heart attack to happen. Be proactive.  Prevent diseases by actively changing your diet. Cut down on your carbohydrate intake to lower your blood sugar, triglycerides, and hypertension. Intermittent fasting or time-restricted feeding helps all of the above and also decreases the waistline. High-intensity exercises increase the HDL that will clean up atherosclerosis by causing cholesterol efflux. Fasting and exercise together can beat the metabolic syndrome.

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1 “There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.” Sun Tzu. Art Of War
2 Don’t Get Sick.
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“There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.” Sun Tzu. Art Of War

In all my years being a doctor, I have never seen a diabetic patient become 100% cured using pharmaceuticals.  In fact, the objective nowadays in medicine is not to cure but to “control” the blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.  Taking all the maintenance medications in the world will only assure you of one thing. To get more refills for the next month together with their side effects that will need more drugs.
Look forward to being a frequent flyer to the hospital and be on a first-name basis with your physicians.

Don’t Get Sick.

Develop a healthy obsession to decrease your waistline to get rid of that visceral fat. A rough guide will be to measure your height and divide in half then work to make your waist circumference less than half of your height.
Example: Height is 72 inches. 72/2 = 36 inches. Make sure your waist circumference is less than 36 inches.
Don’t stop taking your medications until you talk to your doctor, but be active about your health. There is such a thing called diet-controlled diabetes and diet-controlled hypertension.
Get moving. Get clearance from your doctor and start doing something. How about a push-up?  Check out this YouTube link about the steps towards a perfect push up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryncZFQCB8I
A recent study on the JAMA Network shows that the more push-ups you can do, the lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.  Don’t be discouraged if you can only do 1 because your attempt on doing the second sets up your body to prepare for repetition number 2. That is called “adaptation” and will be addressed in a future blog.
Photo Credits:
SunTzu: By 663highland – Own work, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4876792