Your health is up to you.
Your medical doctor cannot eat healthy for you. Your medical insurance company will not exercise for you. Health care reform is not focusing on prevention.
It’s simple. According to the Harvard School of Public Health and the MD Anderson cancer center, approximately 75% of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer can be prevented by a healthy lifestyle.
There’s no need to wait for health care reform or medical breakthroughs.
Check your health score by taking this quiz.
1. Do you eat a clean diet?
I like the way Michael Pollan’s describes a good diet: “eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”
2. Do you avoid processed foods such as chips, crackers, candy, canned and premade “frankenfood”?
3. Do you avoid drinking soda, sport drinks and fruit juices?
Anything but water adds harmful calories. Every time you replace soda, juice, and sport drinks with water, you are taking a simple step to lose weight and improve your health.
4. Do you eat vegetables?
A healthy lifestyle includes eating as many vegetables every day as you can, and some fruit if you can tolerate it.
5. Do you avoid red meat?
Industrial farming has made much of red meat a health hazard, and red meat increases cancer risk, especially colon cancer.
6. Do you drink enough water?
Many believe 6-8, eight oz glasses is a good goal (although too much for some of you). If you are drinking much less than that, increase your intake slowly by adding a few ounces or a glass at a time. Most people notice improvements in how they feel by increasing only 8 oz of water a day.
7. Do you avoid caffeine?
If you drink coffee, try to decrease your amount, tea is better choice.
8. Do you exercise daily?
20 minutes per day can get the job done. A balanced exercise regimen incudes some cardiovascular exercise and some weights/resistance exercise. Get help if you need it on how to exercise safely and properly. (Check out my books/tapes page for some helpful ideas and programs). Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program.
9. Do you get regular (and enough) rest?
Most people need 8 hours of sleep a night, but some people can get by with less. It is best to go to bed and to get up in the morning at about the same time each day. One tip that may help you get more restful sleep is to get the TV, computer, and other electronics out of the bedroom- and reserve the bedroom for sleeping.
10. Are you engaged in regular chiropractic care?
Most chiropractors focus on health and wellness, and are a wonderful resource for information I discuss here. Chiropractic care is best used for health and wellness, not just for pain relief and crisis care.
11. Do you smoke?
If you do, quit. Get help if you need to quit – there are wonderful support systems available. My father died at age 58 from lung cancer. He was a smoker, and he could not quit. Because of his illness, he suffered terribly for two years before he died. Don’t let that happen to you.
12. Do you have goals for your life?
Determine what your purpose is in this life. Think about your aspirations. Create a set of written goals and work toward them.
How did you score?
High marks on this quiz gives you a better chance to enjoy a long and healthy life!
Remember, your health is up to you. With a little knowledge and the willingness to take care of yourself, you can avoid the pain and suffering caused by illness and poor health – and it’s simple!