Autobiography - The Galindo Group

Ram Galindo THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN Page 187
There is no argument that a well-exercised body looks better than one which is not. This
axiom is one of the foundation stones of the health fitness business. Everyone wants to
look good and exercise accomplishes the greatest part of it – body fitness. But the
benefits of exploring our bodies’ limits don’t end there. As an engineer I see the
circulatory system of the human body as a piping network serving an industrial
establishment. Over the course of the years water will leave incrustations that
eventually clog the pipes and unless repairs are made production cannot go on. A good
preventive maintenance program includes regular high pressure washing of the pipes
with solvents mixed in the water. It is amazing to see the plaque coming out!
Exercise not only cleans our blood vessels at high pressure but also carries extra
oxygen to help burn the waste products of mitochondrial metabolism, a sort of springcleaning
of the human body at the cellular level. The volume of blood pumped by the
heart at aerobic rates of exercise is more than double than that at rest. The hemoglobin
bath that delivers vital oxygen to the cells is thus doubled. Performing this internal
heavy washing of the organs methodically and constantly does indeed result in a
healthier body. It cleans most of our cells and helps regenerate weak or damaged parts.
Science still hasn’t discovered all we need to know about the physiology of exercise.
However, it appears that controlling cellular membrane decay by avoiding too much
oxidation of membrane materials is helpful. Thus a proper diet with the necessary
antioxidants is also very important. Exploring the outer territories of our own bodies’
potential, which can be reached only by regular and demanding exercise, is a worthy
and spirit building experience.
In another application of my personal experience to public policy, a business-like view of
the effects of a physically fit, adventurous, life-style is revealing. Such a lifestyle has
effects not just in the quality of life but also on the cost of living for all Americans.
The benefits of looking good and feeling well are not all that results from pushing the
limits of our physical capacity whatever our stage of life. A healthy body definitely costs
less to maintain than a sickly one. However, the incentive for self-maintenance is diluted
by the fact that medical costs are seldom paid by the recipient. Through our socioeconomic
arrangements with insurance plans, be they private or government funded, it
is the public at large who pays for medical costs. This dilution of financial responsibility
for one’s health produces two side effects. First, the patient is not economically
motivated to do preventive maintenance like the industrial plant manager of my example
above. Second, the provider of the medical service is not worried about limiting
expenses because there is very little scrutiny of the amount and unit costs of the
services provided since they are neither bought on a competitive basis nor paid by the
recipient.
Negotiated volume contracts through preferred providers have partially corrected the
competitive bidding issue and brought downward pressure on the rate of increase of
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