Before You Get Sick: Why Prevention Deserves a Bigger Role in Canadian Healthcare

By: Donovan Martin Sr, Editor in Chief

Healthcare is rarely discussed until something breaks. In Canada, public conversations tend to focus on wait times, staffing shortages, and system capacity. What receives far less attention is the long stretch of time before anyone becomes acutely ill—the period when health is quietly shaped by daily habits, stress, environment, and movement. That gap is where many outcomes are decided, and it is also where interest in integrated health has steadily grown.

To better understand what integrated health actually means in practice, we spoke with Mary Ann Masesar-Blair, a health professional with nearly two and a half decades of experience spanning nursing, fitness, and integrative practice. Her perspective helps clarify why this approach is gaining attention and how it fits alongside conventional medical care, particularly at a time when people are being asked to think differently about their role in their own health.

Integrated health is not a replacement for medicine, nor is it positioned against Canada’s healthcare system. At its core, it recognizes that the human body functions as an interconnected whole and that much of health is influenced long before disease is diagnosed. Doctors and nurses are trained to identify illness and red flags, which is essential. What this approach focuses on is everything that happens before that point—the early signals, the patterns, and the cumulative effects of lifestyle.

“What most people experience is this in-between phase,” Blair explains. “They don’t feel well, but they’re not sick enough for anything obvious to show up.”

That in-between phase is familiar to many Canadians. Persistent fatigue, digestive discomfort, poor sleep, low energy, or mental fog become normalized. People seek answers, undergo routine testing, and are told everything looks fine. The system has done what it is designed to do—rule out disease. Yet the person still feels unwell.

This is where a more integrated view becomes useful. Rather than waiting for symptoms to escalate, it looks at how different systems interact over time. Stress, movement, nutrition, recovery, and environmental exposure are not separate variables; they influence one another constantly. Addressing them together can help prevent small imbalances from becoming larger problems.

With a background in nursing, Blair understands the realities of clinical care and its limitations. Over time, she chose to expand her work so she could support people earlier in the process, when adjustments are often simpler and more effective. Fitness and integrative practice allowed her to work with clients consistently, focusing on prevention rather than reaction.

A significant part of that work involves education. Many people leave medical appointments unsure of what was discussed or what steps to take next. Blair often helps clients organize their experiences into clearer language so they can communicate more effectively with their doctors or nurses.

“People know something feels off,” she says. “They just don’t know how to explain it, or what questions to ask.”

By helping clients track symptoms, notice patterns, and understand which markers may be relevant, she prepares them to participate more actively in their care. This is not about challenging medical professionals, but about making appointments more productive and collaborative.

Fitness plays a foundational role in this approach, though not in the narrow sense it is often marketed. Movement supports cardiovascular health, metabolic function, hormonal balance, mental clarity, and emotional regulation. But exercise alone is not enough if sleep, nutrition, stress, and recovery are ignored.

“Training without looking at the whole person only goes so far,” Blair notes. “You have to understand what else is influencing how the body responds.”

Functional diagnostics are sometimes used to support this broader understanding. While standard blood work is essential for identifying disease, it does not always capture early trends. Functional assessments focus on warning signs that may not yet meet clinical thresholds but still affect quality of life.

“People are often told everything looks normal,” Blair says. “That doesn’t mean nothing is happening.”

These insights help individuals have more focused conversations with healthcare providers. Instead of vague concerns, they can describe specific changes and request targeted follow-up. This strengthens care rather than fragmenting it.

Detoxification is another area where confusion is common. The body does not detox through products or short programs; it does so continuously through biological processes. There are four primary pathways involved: urination, bowel movements, breathing, and sweating. These systems work every day to maintain balance, yet modern lifestyles often interfere with them.

Hydration, digestion, respiration, and movement all support these processes. When they are compromised through stress, inactivity, poor diet, or lack of sleep, the body compensates quietly. Over time, that compensation can contribute to chronic issues that seem to appear without a clear cause.

Preventative care becomes even more important when considering how early exposure begins. Environmental compounds are present from birth through maternal circulation. Health, therefore, is not something that starts when symptoms appear; it is something that requires consistent support.

In many countries, preventative diagnostics are routine. Individuals can pay a modest fee for comprehensive assessments that identify potential issues early. In Canada, healthcare is largely reactive by design, with testing often triggered by symptoms rather than prevention. This is not a criticism of healthcare professionals, but a structural reality. As pressures on the system increase, prevention becomes a necessity, not a luxury.

“There’s never just one thing,” Blair says. “When you start paying attention, the body gives you more information.”

That is ultimately why this conversation matters. This is not an abstract discussion or a passing trend. It is about ownership. Health does not begin when something goes wrong, and it should not depend entirely on crisis-based care. Waiting until the body forces attention is the most expensive and limiting way to engage with health, both personally and systemically.

Canada’s healthcare system performs critical work when people are acutely ill, but it places far less emphasis on prevention. Other countries demonstrate that early diagnostics and proactive care reduce long-term strain and improve outcomes. Supporting health earlier strengthens the system rather than burdening it.

Integrated health offers a practical framework for navigating this reality. It encourages people to be informed, prepared, and engaged. It helps individuals understand their bodies, ask better questions, and use the healthcare system more effectively. Most importantly, it reinforces a simple truth: no one is more invested in your health than you are. Paying attention now—before exhaustion, pain, or illness take hold—is not indulgent. It is responsible.