“To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.” ~Buddha
“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
“I believe that the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you.” ~Joyce Meyer
“Health is not valued till sickness comes.” ~Thomas Fuller
“The first wealth is health.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I was recently reminded in an article that it is only through prevention that we can and will reduce our odds of developing cancer or any other life-threatening diseases. Waiting until we get sick and expecting the medical system to be our savior and make us better is not only irresponsible but a risky proposition to say the least.
So what does prevention look like? How can you make it a part of your life?
Here are five preventative things you can start to incorporate into your lifestyle.
Diet
By diet I am not talking about dieting and trying to lose weight. Going on diets doesn’t work in the long run. More than 95% of people who lose weight through dieting put it all back on plus some within a short period of time.
By diet, I mean choosing to eat whole foods and staying away from processed, sugary, preservative-laden, nutrient deficient, GMO foods. By sticking to a healthy way of eating, aka diet, you will not only improve your health and immune system but you will also let go of that excess weight naturally.
Sleep
Like it or not our bodies are not machines. They do need time to rejuvenate and repair. Sleep offers us the rest and time our bodies need to stay healthy.
Figure out what amount of sleep works best for you and make it a priority in your life.
Exercise
From the beginning of time people have moved. Sitting all day and night at a desk or in front of a television day after day is not what our bodies have been designed to do. The health benefits of daily exercise have been demonstrated over and over. By ignoring this fact and pretending you are an exception you are stacking the odds against yourself.
Making exercise a regular part of your life is a key preventative measure.
Stress Reduction
Stress happens. Chronic stress over long periods of time, however, is detrimental to your health. It is imperative that you find a way to mitigate and reduce stress in your life.
Finding a way to relax your mind and body is an essential key to prevention. Some common ways are through deep breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, massage therapy, nature walks or journaling. Find the stress reducer that works for you and make it a regular part of your lifestyle.
Laughter, Joy and Fun
Life is too short to not enjoy it. It can get so serious and heavy at times that we can feel the weight of the world on our shoulders and forget what it is like to just laugh and have fun. We can become so burdened by all of our negative emotions there is no room for any positive emotions.
Look for a way to put laughter, joy and fun back into your life. If you need to seek out support, then do it. Being happy and positive goes a long way towards having a preventative lifestyle.
These five lifestyle choices are not mutually exclusive. Once you start to work on one you will find moving towards the others is a natural progression. A lifestyle of prevention is the responsibly healthy choice and these five areas are a good place to start.
Getting Started
Pick one of the five prevention areas to focus on for a week and make it a priority.
Each day set your intention to make that choice a reality for yourself. Once you are comfortable with your new lifestyle choice, choose another of the five to add in as well. Then choose another, until all five are priorities in your life.
This is a perpetual strategy that continues week after week until it becomes second nature.
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