Francis Bacon – On the Preservation of Health
There is wisdom in this beyond the rules of medicine: one’s own observation of what benefits us and what harms us is the best remedy for preserving health. However, a more reliable decision is: This does not suit me best, so I will leave it, rather than: This does not harm me, so I can take it. For the power of nature surpasses many excesses in youth, but when old age comes, that debt must still be paid. Keep in mind the years to come and do not think that you will always be able to do the same, for old age cannot be defied.
Beware of sudden changes in diet, and if necessary, adapt the rest to that change. For the secret of both nature and the state is that it is safer to change multiple things than one. Examine your habits of eating, sleeping, activity, dressing, and the like; and make an effort to gradually remove everything you consider harmful; but if you really realize that the change causes any discomfort, return to the old again; for it is difficult to distinguish between what is truly harmful and what is merely thought to be. In general, what is considered good and healthy and what specifically suits your own body.
Being calm and in a good mood during meals, rest, and activities is the best recipe for a long life. As for passions and mental inclinations, avoid envy, worry, and fear; suppressed anger, excessive analysis, and complicated self-examinations; excessive joy, excitement, and unexpressed sadness. Cultivate hope, cheerfulness before excitement; diverse pleasures before excessive indulgence; wonder and awe in the face of the new; studies that fill the mind with brilliant and magnificent things, such as history, stories, and contemplation of nature.
If you completely refrain from taking medicine when you are healthy, it will be too foreign to your body when you need it. If you become too reliant on them, they will not have a particular effect when illness comes. I recommend adjusting your diet to the seasons rather than frequently using medicines to avoid creating a dependency. Because such changes in diet can have a more positive impact on your health. People are changing their bodies less and are less disturbed by medications.
Do not underestimate any symptom on your body, but seek advice. In sickness, prioritize health, and in health, prioritize activity. Because those who learn to endure their body while they are healthy can heal most non-serious illnesses through diet and care alone. Celsius would never have been able to say as a doctor if he hadn’t also been a wise man, his brilliant advice on health and long life – that a person needs to balance extremes, leaning towards the milder side: it is good to fast and eat everything, but preferably eat everything; to stay awake and sleep, but preferably sleep; to sit and be active, but preferably be active; and so on. That way, the body will remain strong and know how to overcome illness.
Some doctors are so accommodating and compliant with patients’ desires that they don’t even insist on proper healing of the disease; and some are so rigid in following treatment rules that they pay insufficient attention to the patient’s condition. Find someone who has that inner balance. He possesses both qualities; if such a person is not found in one individual, take both; and don’t forget to invite the one who is most familiar with your body, as well as the one who has the best reputation in their profession.