--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He told us that it was important to eat…" description: "\"“He told us that it was important to eat right, exercise, and treat your body as a temple. But he didn't tell us how to get health care services that p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/piper-kerman-8613_birth-control_he-told-us-that-it-was-important-to-eat_346871.png" --- # He told us that it was important to eat right, exercise… ![“He told us that it was important to eat right, exercise, and treat your body as a temple. But he didn't tell us how to get health care services that people with no money could afford. He didn't tell us how we could quickly obtain birth control and other reproductive health services. He didn't…” quote by Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/piper-kerman-8613_birth-control_he-told-us-that-it-was-important-to-eat_346871.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/piper-kerman-8613_birth-control_he-told-us-that-it-was-important-to-eat_346871.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/piper-kerman-8613_birth-control_he-told-us-that-it-was-important-to-eat_346871.png) > ““He told us that it was important to eat right, exercise, and treat your body as a temple. But he didn't tell us how to get health care services that people with no money could afford. He didn't tell us how we could quickly obtain birth control and other reproductive health services. He didn't recommend any solutions for behavioral or psychiatric care, and for sure some of those broads needed it. He didn't say what options there might be for people who had struggled with substance abuse, sometimes for decades, when they were confronted by old demons on the outside.”” [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker highlights systemic gaps: advice on healthy habits is given without providing affordable healthcare, reproductive services, mental health care, or substance abuse support for low‑income people. **In simple terms:** Health advice lacks access to care for the poor. Key Takeaway Advocate for systemic health solutions. Themes health equity poverty policy justice Mood concerned determined Type activist informative When to use this quote - community health clinics - policy advocacy - non‑profit outreach - telehealth services Key Concepts social determinants of health accessibility public policy Questions to Reflect On - What policies could close these gaps? - How can individuals support systemic change? A Different Perspective Addressing health requires structural change, not just personal responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth-control/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Health care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-care/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Psychiatric Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychiatric-care-3212491/) [Reproductive health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reproductive-health/) [Struggled Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggled-substance-3212490/) [Substance abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance-abuse/) [Tell Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-health-3212489/) [Told Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-important-912779/) [Treat Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treat-body-564578/) ## Related quotes > [I make the modest proposal that psychiatric care should be as easy to get as bullets at Wal-Mart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-borowitz/i-make-the-modest-proposal-that-psychiatric-care-should-be-as-easy-to/) [Andy Borowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-borowitz/) > [“The majority of patients I see admitted for inpatient psychiatric care are there in part because they've cared too much. They've given more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-backhouse/the-majority-of-patients-i-see-admitted-for-inpatient-psychiatric/) [Helen Backhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-backhouse/) > [“It was after an incident such as this that my friends and family decided something must be done. They gathered for a confabulation and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-forsyth/it-was-after-an-incident-such-as-this-that-my-friends-and-family/) [Mark Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-forsyth/) > [We must study things we will never use, but which someone told us were important to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-must-study-things-we-will-never-use-but-which-someone-told-us-were/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [My father told me once that the most important thing every man should know is what he would die for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/my-father-told-me-once-that-the-most-important-thing-every-man-should/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“There was so little time and so much to learn. But before we left I said to him, "Sir, what's the most important thing?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-raffin-perry-king/there-was-so-little-time-and-so-much-to-learn-but-before-we-left-i/) [Deborah Raffin Perry King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-raffin-perry-king/) > [“My father once told me that the most important thing every man should know is what he would die for. If you don’t know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/my-father-once-told-me-that-the-most-important-thing-every-man-should/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [When was the last time anyone ever told you how important you are?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/when-was-the-last-time-anyone-ever-told-you-how-important-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You always get told how important the premiere and doing the press is, but I have suspicions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-jones/you-always-get-told-how-important-the-premiere-and-doing-the-press-is/) [Toby Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-jones/) > [“We are all told from the very beginning that we are important. From the moment we can first understand words and perhaps even before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-ewell/we-are-all-told-from-the-very-beginning-that-we-are-important-from/) [Katherine Ewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-ewell/) > [She had always told herself that she did hti job because she wanted to help others; afterall, hadn't Maurice told her once that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-winspear/she-had-always-told-herself-that-she-did-hti-job-because-she-wanted/) [Jacqueline Winspear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-winspear/) > [Over the time that I followed Warren Buffett, one CFO told me, it's very important to pay attention not only to what Warren Buffett…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-spier/over-the-time-that-i-followed-warren-buffett-one-cfo-told-me-it-s/) [Guy Spier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-spier/) > [“I want to say something,” I told her. “It’s important.” “Under these circumstances,” she said, with a dark grin, “one wouldn’t really expect unimportant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-deaver/i-want-to-say-something-i-told-her-it-s-important-under-these/) [Jeffery Deaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-deaver/) > [As your mother tells you, and my mother certainly told me, it is important, she always used to say, always to try new things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannibal/as-your-mother-tells-you-and-my-mother-certainly-told-me-it-is/) [Hannibal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannibal/) > [“The way a story is told is as important as the story being told, although the way that the story is told is usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-way-a-story-is-told-is-as-important-as-the-story-being-told/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More by Piper Kerman > [“I looked down at the doors of the forbidden Dorms and studiously examined the bulletin boards covered with incomprehensible information about events and rules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/i-looked-down-at-the-doors-of-the-forbidden-dorms-and-studiously/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“Stoicism sure comes in handy when they take away your underpants. But how to reconcile it with one's insatiable need for other people?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/stoicism-sure-comes-in-handy-when-they-take-away-your-underpants-but/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“Some of the mothers looked overwhelmed - they were no longer accustomed to supervising their own kids in a normal, day-to-day way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/some-of-the-mothers-looked-overwhelmed-they-were-no-longer-accustomed/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“The female guard in R&D explained that they had no women's street clothes, so she gave me the smallest pair of men's jeans they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/the-female-guard-in-r-d-explained-that-they-had-no-women-s-street/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“I had forgotten about the pleasures of college radio, the exquisite randomness of what got played, the twenty-minute between-songs banter of nineteen-year-olds, the smack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/i-had-forgotten-about-the-pleasures-of-college-radio-the-exquisite/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“I had long recognized that faith helped people understand their relationship to their community. In the best cases it helped women in Danbury focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/i-had-long-recognized-that-faith-helped-people-understand-their/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“We have a racially based justice system that overpunishes, fails to rehabilitate, and doesn't make us safer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/we-have-a-racially-based-justice-system-that-overpunishes-fails-to/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“If he is a half-decent human being, he will find himself the object of crushes. If he is a cocky bastard, even more so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/if-he-is-a-half-decent-human-being-he-will-find-himself-the-object-of/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“If you had the misfortune of having the government intimately involved with your life, whether via public housing or Medicaid or food stamps, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/if-you-had-the-misfortune-of-having-the-government-intimately/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“Prison is quite literally a ghetto in the most classic sense of the world, a place where the U.S. government now puts not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/prison-is-quite-literally-a-ghetto-in-the-most-classic-sense-of-the/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“According to the CDC, cigarettes kill over 435,000 people a year in the United States. Most of us in Danbury were locked away for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/according-to-the-cdc-cigarettes-kill-over-435-000-people-a-year-in/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“The public expects sentences to be punitive but also rehabilitative; however, what we expect and what we get from our prisons are very different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/the-public-expects-sentences-to-be-punitive-but-also-rehabilitative/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“Nothing about the daily workings of the prison system focuses its inhabitants’ attention on what life back on the outside, as a free citizen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/nothing-about-the-daily-workings-of-the-prison-system-focuses-its/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“According to Bertrand Russell, the virtuous stoic was one whose will was in agreement with the natural order. He described the basic idea like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/according-to-bertrand-russell-the-virtuous-stoic-was-one-whose-will/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [“The hours I would spend in the prison visiting room were among the most comforting of my life. They sped by, the only occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/the-hours-i-would-spend-in-the-prison-visiting-room-were-among-the/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) [Explore all 78 Piper Kerman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) ## More Birth control quotes > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [I had left home (like all Jewish girls) in order to eat pork and take birth control pills. When I first shared an intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/i-had-left-home-like-all-jewish-girls-in-order-to-eat-pork-and-take/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [Couples without kids have each other, their friends, families, and Siri to talk to. It's not like they're quarantining themselves in an underground bunker,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-kirkman/couples-without-kids-have-each-other-their-friends-families-and-siri/) [Jen Kirkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-kirkman/) > [According to the Western model, pregnancy is a disease, menopause is a disease, and even getting pregnant is a disease. Dangerous drugs and devices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-seaman/according-to-the-western-model-pregnancy-is-a-disease-menopause-is-a/) [Barbara Seaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-seaman/) > [The American people intuitively understand this, which is why the majority of Catholics practice birth control and some of those opposed to gay marriage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-american-people-intuitively-understand-this-which-is-why-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Twenty or twenty-five years ago, contraception and enlightenment were held to be almost synonymous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/twenty-or-twenty-five-years-ago-contraception-and-enlightenment-were/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Too many people use abortion as a form of birth control. And that's very wrong. I could never, ever have an abortion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-shields/too-many-people-use-abortion-as-a-form-of-birth-control-and-that-s/) [Brooke Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-shields/) > [ \[W\]e declare it is a grievous sin before God to adopt restrictive measures in disobedience to God's divine command from the beginning of time… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-b-lee/w-e-declare-it-is-a-grievous-sin-before-god-to-adopt-restrictive/) [Harold B. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-b-lee/) > [Romney, Gingrich, Santorum spent their week lecturing America about the morality of birth control. You know, you guys don't need birth control, you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/romney-gingrich-santorum-spent-their-week-lecturing-america-about-the/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [The Church has always advised against birth control and that is the only position the Church can take in view of our beliefs with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-b-brown/the-church-has-always-advised-against-birth-control-and-that-is-the/) [Hugh B. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-b-brown/) > [It's long been accepted as fact that the availability of family planning services saves lives. Where women have access to these services, children and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/it-s-long-been-accepted-as-fact-that-the-availability-of-family/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [“After listening to Rick Santorum, I'm now for late-term abortions (say up to age 53).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-r-bufogle/after-listening-to-rick-santorum-i-m-now-for-late-term-abortions-say/) [Quentin R. Bufogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-r-bufogle/) > [Risk reduction for BRCA2 carriers includes taking tamoxifen. Removing ovaries prior to age 40 drops breast cancer risk in half. Ovarian cancer surveillance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristi-funk/risk-reduction-for-brca2-carriers-includes-taking-tamoxifen-removing/) [Kristi Funk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristi-funk/) > [In my opinion, the battles over birth control and Planned Parenthood are primarily neither political nor religious. This is an issue of equality for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-decrow/in-my-opinion-the-battles-over-birth-control-and-planned-parenthood/) [Karen DeCrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-decrow/) > [“Frances Wright was a writer, founder of a utopian community, immigrant from Scotland in 1824, a fighter for the emancipation of slaves, for birth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/frances-wright-was-a-writer-founder-of-a-utopian-community-immigrant/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Browse all 428 Birth control quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth-control/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He told us that it was important to eat right, exercise, and treat your body as a temple. But he didn't tell us how to get health care services that people with no money could afford. He didn't tell us how we could quickly obtain birth control and other reproductive health services. He didn't recommend any solutions for behavioral or psychiatric care, and for sure some of those broads needed it. He didn't say what options there might be for people who had struggled with substance abuse, sometimes for decades, when they were confronted by old demons on the outside.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Piper Kerman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/he-told-us-that-it-was-important-to-eat-right-exercise-and-treat-your/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Birth control" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/he-told-us-that-it-was-important-to-eat-right-exercise-and-treat-your/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/piper-kerman-8613_birth-control_he-told-us-that-it-was-important-to-eat_346871.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/piper-kerman-8613_birth-control_he-told-us-that-it-was-important-to-eat_346871.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/piper-kerman-8613_birth-control_he-told-us-that-it-was-important-to-eat_346871.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He told us that it was important to eat right, exercise, and treat your body as a temple. But he didn't tell…” — Piper Kerman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Piper Kerman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He told us that it was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/he-told-us-that-it-was-important-to-eat-right-exercise-and-treat-your/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/he-told-us-that-it-was-important-to-eat-right-exercise-and-treat-your/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```