I saw many people who had advanced heart disease and I was so

Hear, O children, the words of Mehmet Oz, a physician whose frustration reveals a deep truth about the path to health and well-being: "I saw many people who had advanced heart disease and I was so frustrated because I knew if they just knew how to do the right thing, simple lifestyle and diet steps, that the entire trajectory of their life and health would have been different." In these words, Dr. Oz speaks of the power of knowledge and action—a power that the ancients understood well. The course of a person’s health can often be shifted by a few simple decisions, but it requires awareness, wisdom, and the willingness to act. To live a long and healthy life, we must nourish our bodies with care and heed the lessons passed down through the ages.

In the days of the ancient Greeks, Hippocrates, the father of medicine, understood that health was not just the absence of disease, but the presence of balance and nourishment. He famously declared, "Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food," recognizing that diet and lifestyle were crucial to a life of well-being. Hippocrates taught that the key to longevity and health lay in living in harmony with nature, in making wise choices in what we consume and how we move. His teachings echo Mehmet Oz’s frustration, as Hippocrates knew that with the right guidance, many could avoid the fate of suffering from disease, much like heart disease, through simple, life-affirming actions.

Consider the great Roman physician Galen, who also understood the importance of diet and exercise in maintaining health. He believed that the body was like a machine, requiring the right fuel, the right rest, and the right amount of movement to function at its peak. Galen saw that many illnesses could be prevented or alleviated by maintaining a balanced diet and a consistent exercise routine. He recognized that heart disease—a condition that would have been understood by ancient doctors as general weakness of the body—could be avoided by simple changes in lifestyle. Just as Mehmet Oz reflects on the impact of diet and lifestyle on heart disease, Galen too believed that a life of awareness and balance was the key to health and longevity.

In the modern world, however, many have become disconnected from this ancient wisdom, seeking cures rather than prevention. Dr. Oz is deeply aware of this, as he sees patients suffering from advanced heart disease, when in fact their fates could have been avoided through simple lifestyle changes—eating nourishing foods, moving their bodies, and reducing stress. This echoes the ancient belief that health is not something we gain in a single moment, but something we cultivate over time through small, wise decisions. The ancients taught us that we have the power to shape our own futures, but only if we pay attention to the choices we make each day.

The great warrior-philosophers of Sparta, who lived by strict codes of health and strength, understood this well. They were not interested in fleeting indulgence, but in practices that would allow them to endure and thrive through life’s hardships. The Spartans, though fierce in battle, knew that their strength came from maintaining their bodies with proper nutrition and exercise, just as Dr. Oz advocates for maintaining health through consistent, simple lifestyle choices. Their lives were an embodiment of the wisdom that prevention—through mindful habits—is the most powerful force against disease and weakness.

The lesson, O children, is clear. Health is not something we stumble upon by chance, but something we create by the decisions we make every day. Just as Hippocrates and Galen taught that a life of balance, nourishment, and exercise is the key to vitality, so too must we embrace these principles in our own lives. Dr. Oz reminds us that heart disease, like many other afflictions, is often avoidable through simple lifestyle and diet steps—choices that will set the trajectory of our health on a path of wellness.

Therefore, O children, let us heed the wisdom of the ancients and embrace the practices that sustain life. Let us honor our bodies through moderation, healthy eating, and regular movement, remembering that the future of our health is shaped by the choices we make today. Just as Hippocrates, Galen, and Mehmet Oz teach us, prevention is the most powerful form of medicine, and we are the stewards of our own well-being. Let us not wait for disease to strike, but live each day with the knowledge that our actions today will shape the health of tomorrow.