The Systems Theory of Health

When we consider Aging with a Vengeance, a systems approach to health is critical. We cannot consider one issue such as high blood pressure or arthritis without understanding that it’s not just a single organ or parts of organs that are involved in improving if not completely fixing a health problem. As Aging with a Vengeance progresses, a systems approach will be a critical component of the process.

The concept of a systems approach to biology and subsequently healthcare originated in 1969 with an Austrian biologist, Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy. He described what has since become known as General Systems Theory. This is the concept that “systems cannot be reduced to a series of parts functioning in isolation, but that in order to understand a system as a whole, one must understand the interrelations between its parts.”

It seems obvious when you read it, but that’s not how we approach health and disease today. Blood pressure involves the heart and blood vessels, but also the renal system and the nervous system, to name just two others. Our health is reliant on multiple organs working as part of a system and interacting with other systems. That also means that disease does as well. More about that on Saturday.

Tomorrow night is the monthly Insider conference call. I’m going to talk about a review study of the metabolism of artificial sweeteners you don’t want to miss. I’ll also answer Insider questions. Isn’t it time you became an Insider?

What are you prepared to do today?