If there has ever been a time to live preventatively, I believe the time is now! The Dictionary defines prevention in the following way:
prevention
[prəˈven(t)SH(ə)n]
NOUN
the action of stopping something from happening or arising.
Putting It into Practice
Simply stated, living preventatively means making the healthiest and best choices as often as possible in all areas of our lives to keep negative things from happening. That would include nutritionally, physically, spiritually, financially, etc. I want to focus on the nutrition and physical pieces with you here today.
I have always strongly believed in the importance of living preventatively. Why? Three words: Quality. Of. Life. What do I mean by that? Here is an analogy for you. If you own a car, you take good care of it to prevent bad things from happening. You get the oil changed, have the tires rotated and fill it with gasoline so you don’t break down on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Not a desirable situation, am I right? Shouldn’t we be treating our bodies in the same way for the same reasons? If we aren’t taking care of ourselves, we will most certainly experience a plethora of negative results. Those results affect our quality of life and can be very hard, if not impossible to reverse.
Just the Facts…
I don’t think there is any question that Covid-19 is at the forefront of our news and health concerns lately, but if the impact of Covid isn’t enough to convince us that living our lives preventatively is extremely important, perhaps the latest statistics in population health will.
- Nothing kills more Americans than heart disease and stroke. More than 877,500 Americans die of heart disease or stroke every year—that’s one-third of all deaths. 1.
- 88 million adults in the United States have a condition called prediabetes, which puts them at risk for type 2 diabetes. Diabetes can cause serious complications, including heart disease, kidney failure, and blindness. 1.
- Obesity affects 19% of children and 42% of adults, putting them at risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. Over 25% of young people aged 17 to 24 are too heavy to join the US military. Obesity costs the US health care system $147 billion a year. 1.
Ironically, research is now revealing that the above comorbidities and metabolic disorders are largely behind the severity of symptoms and deaths of people who get Covid-19. Meghan O’Hearn and Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of Tufts University led a research team to better understand how these conditions affect hospitalizations. O’Hearn’s take away advice = prevention. She says, “Medical providers should educate patients who may be at risk for severe COVID-19 and consider promoting preventive lifestyle measures, such as improved dietary quality and physical activity, to improve overall cardiometabolic health.” 3.
The simplest efforts can go a long way with prevention when it comes to our health. Any combination of healthy choices can get you living preventatively. Some examples are:
- Not smoking or vaping
- Limiting or avoiding alcohol
- Going to bed at a reasonable hour and getting quality sleep
- Choosing to order vegetables vs French fries when dining out
- Eating foods that are not breaded or fried
- Eating whole grain carbohydrates vs refined, white foods (breads, rice etc)
- Moving your body for at least 60 minutes every day
Maybe Benjamin Franklin said it best –
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
In good health,
Kelly A Brennan, CFN< CCNS