The 10 Health Lessons of 2009

Lessons We Learned About Health in 2009

By Holly Lebowitz Rossi and Valerie Reiss

Among the many ways to measure a year is through the lens of health. Not only how healthy we kept ourselves, or how we coped with the health challenges that cropped up in our own lives, but how we processed and learned from the health news, trends, scares, triumphs, and insights that we encountered over the past 365 days.

What did you learn in 2009? Click to see the first of our 10 picks for the top health lessons of the year.

Holly Lebowitz Rossi and Valerie Reiss, Beliefnet's Health and Holistic Living editors, respectively, co-author the natural health blog Fresh Living.

Lesson #1: Don't Panic

Swine flu was clearly the health story of 2009. When we first heard the term in April, we initially cracked jokes about bringing pigs some Kleenex. But before long, the glut of (sometimes conflicting) information tweaked our communal instincts toward panic. Words like “pandemic” scared us. Images of people wearing masks on airplanes raised our alarm. Grim historical anecdotes from the 1918 flu disaster, which killed millions, paralyzed us with fear.

Quickly we learned, though, that getting the swine flu did not mean certain death—in fact, the CDC recently estimated that 15 percent of the U.S. population has had the H1N1 swine flu, but only one-tenth of one percent—around 10,000 people—has died from it. If that sounds like a high number (and of course it is), remember: 20,000 people typically die from “regular” flu every year.

So if there's one lesson we should have learned from the swine flu in 2009, it's “Don't Panic.” But that's not the only swine flu lesson we learned...

More:

- Keeping Swine Flu in Perspective

- Calming Swine Flu (and Other) Fears

- To Take a Sick Day, or to Not Take a Sick Day?

- How Sick Are You?

Lesson #2: Be Prepared

Despite the wisdom of holding back panic over swine flu, we learned in 2009 that preparation, prevention, and education were all paramount to our health as well as our peace of mind. We learned to sing "Happy Birthday" twice through each time we washed our hands so we'd scrub enough to kill germs. We invested in high-alcohol hand sanitizer and used it liberally and without worry of being accused of germ phobia. We stood in line for vaccines, if our doctors were lucky enough to be supplied with them, and we learned about immune-boosting foods, the importance of proper hydration, and more. In short, we learned that prevention and preparation are our best friends during a health crisis.

More:

- 10 Swine Flu Prevention Tips

- 7 Flu Prevention Super-Foods

- Natural Flu Prevention Techniques

Lesson #3: Remember Our Fragility... and Our Strength

In March of 2009, the beautiful, talented actress Natasha Richardson—daughter of stage legend Vanessa Redgrave, wife of actor Liam Neeson—died at age 45 after what had seemed to be a minor head bump on a beginner's ski slope. The tragedy highlighted how fragile we all are, how tenuously tethered to life as we float through our days.

At the same time, though, this year taught us to remember our strength. Maybe some of us survived terrible financial or job blows. Some of us recovered after alarming health scares. And some of us – like these two Australian dogs—emerged alive from terrifying circumstances that we never imagined anything could survive.

More:

- Natasha Richardson: How Fragile We Are

- How to Cultivate Resilience

Lesson #4: We Are a Community

Second to the swine flu on the "big health stories of 2009" list was certainly the health care debate that gripped us in that ultra-sensitive place where national politics meets the most intimate, often-painful aspects of our personal lives—our health. Regardless of our political views, we all learned the vocabulary of the public option, mandated coverage, and affordable care.

At times, all roads seemed to lead to stagnation on this debate that has raged for decades. What, then, is to be learned from all the confusion and vitriol? Perhaps nothing more than the simple lesson that even if we differ in opinion about the best course of action, there is such a thing as what Diana Butler-Bass calls "the moral we," the community to which we are all belong and are accountable.

More:

- What Does Your Health Care Reform Look Like?

- Whole Foods and the Health Care Debate

- REM and the Public Option

Lesson #5: Choose Carefully What You Put in Your Body

Peanut butter. Ground beef. Cat food. Pistachio nuts. These are just some of the many foods that were recalled from grocery shelves in 2009 because they were found to be tainted with salmonella, E. coli, or other nasty things.

But juxtapose those food safety scares with another trend—the proliferation of backyard gardens and farmers markets by everyone from urban apartment dwellers to the home of the President of the United States. The USDA reported more than 400 new farmers markets across the U.S. in 2009, surely a sign that more and more Americans are becoming mindful about both the environmental and health benefits of getting connected to local food sources. What we choose to nourish ourselves with says so much about how we value our bodies—this year more than others in recent memory, we've learned to choose wisely and carefully.

More:

- The White House Veggie Garden

- Scenes from a Backyard Garden

- Gardening and Composting: Free Starbucks Coffee Grounds

Lesson #6: Follow Your Gut

In November of 2009, the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that the age of women's first mammogram should be 50 instead of 40—and, more shockingly, that doctors stop advising women to give themselves monthly breast self-exams. All due to the delicate—and political— balance between early detection and over-treatment of cancers that are not actually dangerous. The response from the public and medical professionals was sharp and immediate. Many women now say they'll be ignoring those guidelines, thanks very much. And in March, the U.S. Catholic Bishops spoke out against Reiki, a Japanese Buddhist hands-on healing modality, calling it "superstitious" and without scientific merit. Yet Reiki is one of several alternative methods that has made its way into hospitals and hospices around the word for its calming benefits.

So what do we learn from all the confusion? That we must take in all the available information, ask questions and then... follow our gut. We need to do what will work best for our bodies, our lives, and our health. No matter what the alleged authorities say.

More:

- Bishops Say No to Reiki

- Your Thoughts on the New Mammogram Guidelines

Lesson #8: The Mind Heals the Body and Itself

Researchers around the globe released studies on the healing effects of meditation. One study found that it actually increases gray matter in spot of the brain associated with "emotional regulation" and response control. Another study showed that it may lower stress and increase feelings of hope and forgiveness. In a prison-based study, meditation appeared to reduce anger, stress, and anxiety. The incredibly hopeful and empowering message here is that we can turn to free, simple techniques to enhance our health and improve our lives—without drugs, surgery, or co-pays.

More:

- Study: Does Meditation Change Your Brain?

- A Morning Meditation

- Quiz: What's Your Meditation Style?

Lesson #10: Ask Questions and Educate Yourself

For those who evaluate not only the quality of drinking water, but the containers that hold it, this was quite a year. Consumers, many of whom stopped using Nalgene's plastic bottles formerly made with BPA-laced plastic (a synthetic hormone-disruptor thought to cause cancer and other illnesses) in exchange for Sigg's design-friendly, non-toxic aluminum bottles, got quite a shock when Sigg announced it was secretly using BPA in the lining of its vessels. The Whole Foods set went mad, setting off a massive reaction in the blogosphere about trust, money, the environment, and our health. Sigg apologized (sort of) and offered to exchange old bottles for BPA-free ones (which is what they say they're now producing). But, lesson learned. Though we often must trust our corporate product-makers, we can also dig a little deeper into the research before making our choices. And hold companies responsible when they mess with that trust—and our health.

More:

- Sigg Bottles and BPA

- Clean Water: How Do You Hydrate?