Taiwan’s average life expectancy is 80.87 compared to the USA’s life expectancy of 79.05. I am sure there is something we can learn from Taiwan.
People in Taiwan enjoy very accessible and high quality health care. Health care in Taiwan is both covered by the universal health care that is available to all the residents and citizens in Taiwan, as well as private health care that focuses beyond the basics.
I appreciate the best of both worlds that are well practiced in Taiwan.
In Taiwan, the government-run hospital system is responsible for primary, preventive, and treatment. All residents and citizens covered under health insurance must be notified of their annual checkups, vaccination, and all other preventive care.
Take my mom, for example; during my stay, she received calls from the city hospital for her annual check-up and colonoscopy. If she misses it, they will keep calling.
I am also happy to see the accessibility of private clinics everywhere in Taiwan, including traditional Chinese medicine, fertility center, psychotherapy, and cancer center. The private clinics can choose to stay in with the government-run health network or opt-out of the network. The flexibility provides an even more comprehensive range of care for patients to choose from.
For as long as I can remember, Taiwan has had a long-embedded tradition of staying in good health, and food is one way to achieve it .
Taiwan is a capital of good, fresh, and nutritious food.
Everywhere I go, I can see stalls selling fruit and vegetables. My mom always says there is no shortage of fresh food in Taiwan. Of course, Taiwan is such a small country, which helps to transport fruits and vegetables and ensure their freshness. You can see signs of daily, freshly picked fruits and vegetables in the supermarket, traditional market, food coops, or fruit and vegetable stalls.
It’s a long tradition that Taiwanese cuisine follows seasonal changes and uses food as medicine. It’s not difficult to eat the rainbow in Taiwan as there is always a vast variety of colorful fresh food everywhere. And they are affordable! Even fast food restaurants offer healthy choices such as teriyaki pork with local rice and quinoa as buns or unsweetened organic ice tea.
Taiwan is small enough to have an excellent public transportation system. I worked hard and made it a goal to clock in 10,000 steps daily while in the states. But it’s really easy to surpass that number while in Taiwan. Taking a bus required me to walk to the bus station. You walk almost everywhere. To the stores, school, or bus stop. You can take the metro system and go almost everywhere in the entire city without a car.
I like how Taiwanese culture praises the value of good food, movement, and medicine and does not just rely on one or the other.
I grew up being taught that to achieve good health, we need to work to get it, not just depend on medicine to do the work. Doctor might know a lot of the medicine, but WE know our body.
That might be the secret to a long life.
If you are interested in kick starting your health recovery journey, book your free consultation below!
