"Tend Your Garden"
Prudence pays off. It gives compounding, long-term capital growth, dividends and luck a chance to grow your wealth. Likewise, avoid the Big Loss with your health and you can live a good, full life.
by Bill Bonner
Baltimore, Maryland - "Our doctor, Mark, draws an interesting parallel. “You know, it’s the same thing with your health and longevity. The secret is to avoid the Big Loss.” There are many things we don’t know... and many ways to die. And finally, in life, we all will take the Big Loss, no matter what we do.
We were reminded this week when we attended a funeral for a friend; like it or not, we’re all headed in the same direction. But some of us get where we are going sooner than others. Our friend succumbed to MSA. It’s a wasting disease that attacks the nervous system. The brain still works. But tracking the disintegration of your own body must be grim. Walking, talking, breathing, swallowing, digesting — gradually, all the normal body functions fail. The spectacle is alarming and depressing... and there is nothing that can be done about it. There is no treatment and no cure; the only relief comes in the grave. ‘He died much too soon,’ said the officiating rabbi, ‘but he lived a full, good life.’
Medical science doesn’t know what causes MSA or what to do about it. But there are many ailments and problems that can be dodged or at least postponed. Mark emphasizes the need to think positive, optimistic thoughts. “You have to think of your ‘future self,’” he says. “You need to think of the you that you want to be ten years from now... and plan for it. You invest now to get a reward later.”
How can you avoid the Big Loss from accident, disease or infirmity? Much of this is obvious. Don’t drive while drunk. Don’t slip on the bathroom floor. Don’t drink too much. Don’t smoke too much. Don’t do ‘too much’ of anything. Don’t eat too much, for example... and you will not become obese. In the 19th century, really fat people were so rare that they were put on display in freak shows. Now, obesity is so common that any candidate who gets the fat vote is a guaranteed winner. One hundred million US adults are ‘obese.’ Around 22 million are ‘severely obese.’
New drugs such as Ozempic may offer relief from obesity, but we don’t know yet what the long-term side effects may be. A simpler and more dependable approach: if you don’t want to be obese in ten years, don’t eat so much today. Being overweight is not a death sentence. But it can increase the odds of taking the Big Loss - causing so much damage, in one way or another, that it makes your life shorter and less agreeable.
Another eating-related disorder that can cause the Big Loss is Type 2 diabetes. A hundred years ago doctors rarely saw it. Today, there are thirty million diabetics in the US. Please don’t take this for actual health advice. You probably know more than we do about these things. But from what we read, Type 2 diabetes is largely avoidable. You can prevent it by getting plenty of exercise and not eating so much sugar... and ‘highly processed’ food.
It’s really very easy to sidestep these Big Losses. Just tell your gardener to plant a ‘kitchen garden’ and grow fresh vegetables and wholesome fruits. Tell him not to apply pesticides or herbicides... but instead to use a little elbow grease.
Get him first to ‘double dig’ the soil, by hand, of course, mixing in plenty of manure and organic matter. Ask him to set up a greenhouse... and to start the plants early. He can begin with kale, spinach and onions in the cool weather... and then rotate into corn and tomatoes later. Remember that root crops should be planted by the light of a waning moon.
As the seasons advance, he can eliminate the weeds by hand or hoe. Carefully watering, hoeing, fertilizing... you can just imagine the delicious garden-fresh vegetables he brings to your table. And, if he really puts his back into it…if he really works at it… we can practically guarantee results - your gardener won’t be obese!"
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