Only
You Can Prevent Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes…
Most
of us go through our lives stuck in our lifestyle patterns,
with no idea of the power we have to positively influence
our own health. And so by the time we're in our 40's
most of us are on at least one regular medication.
By the time we're in our 60's over 85% of all Americans
have at least one degenerative disease. And by the
time we are in our 70's we're dead.
But
in fact, a majority of the diseases people suffer from as
they age are almost totally preventable.
- Cancer:
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute believe
that 80-95% of all cancer cases are due to environmental
and lifestyle causes, and are thus preventable.
Diet may be involved in at least half of all cancers,
and one third of all cancers are linked to obesity.
- Dementia:
Mark Houston, M.D., Medical Director at Hypertension and
Vascular Biology Institute at Saint Thomas Hospital and
Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, estimates that
95% of all dementia is preventable with a lifestyle
approach.
- Heart
disease: Numerous studies indicate that 90%
- 99% of all heart disease may be preventable.
- Diabetes:
One of the nation's most renowned health researchers,
Harvard University's Walter Willet, has estimated that
92% of type-2 diabetes is preventable.
How
to Eat
Probably
the very most important factor that can positively affect
the health of most people is changing the way they eat.
There are many, mostly conflicting theories about what kind
of diet is the healthiest. In my opinion, the only
one that really makes sense is to eat according to the way
we evolved to eat.
The
idea of "Paleolithic Nutrition" was first published
in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1985 in an article
by Dr. S. Boyd Eaton. Since then it has been popularized
by Loren Cordain, Ph.D., in his book, The Paleo Diet,
and studied by nutritional scientists all over the world.
The premise is simple: Our genes determine our nutritional
needs.
For
over 2.5 million years, humans evolved as hunter-gatherers,
and the selective pressures of their lifestyle and diet
determined the genes that we have today. Our genetic
make-up is exquisitely tuned to function best on the foods
that we evolved to eat.
A
mere 500 generations ago the Agricultural Revolution brought
sudden and dramatic change to our diets, and the changes
are continuing to this day. But our genes haven't
managed to keep pace with the change.
Today
approximately 2/3 of the foods we eat were those never encountered
by our hunter-gatherer ancestors. The result is high
blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and a host
of other ills that we should not have to suffer.
While
most of us do not have access to large wild game and wild-harvested
organic
foods, the more closely we can mimic the foods that
our ancestors ate the better health we will have.
So simply base your meals around a lot of fruits and vegetables,
along with some lean protein.
You
could start by eating eggs and cantaloupe for breakfast.
Lunch could consist of a large salad with grilled chicken.
For dinner have some wild salmon, asparagus, and salad.
Finish off the meal with a big bowl of fresh blueberries.
More information can be found at www.ThePaleoDiet.com.
Exercise
Everyone
knows that exercise is good for them, but who wants to spend
an hour jogging everyday. (A lot of people do, but
I just don't have the time or desire to go out jogging for
an hour every day). What does work to give you the
maximum benefit for the least amount of time is exercise
with intensity.
So
if it's okay with your doctor, go out and exercise like
you mean it. Run wind sprints, lift weights, and exert
yourself. And get it done in 30 minutes or less.
Combined with the right diet, this kind of exercise will
get the most results for the least effort. You will
gain more muscle and lose more fat than if you were going
out for long slow jogs, and you'll feel great!
HSA
for America Additional Benefit: Optimal Health
Coaching
There
are of course other factors that affect your health, including
stress, sleep, clean air and water, and even genetics.
But there's nothing you can do that will have more impact
than eating a good diet and being active.
Most
of us already realize this; we just have a difficult time
with implementation. But imagine if you had a personal
coach who could help you set goals and keep you accountable.
Large corporations have discovered that if they can help
their employees better manage their own health, they can
save loads of money on future medical expenses. The
same thing is of course true for individuals, but until
now hiring a personal health coach has been something reserved
for elite athletes and Hollywood movie stars.
After
several years of looking at how we could help our readers
access affordable health coaching, we have finally found
a service that provides coaching at a very affordable price.
Now you can get personal one-on-one telephone coaching from
the comfort of your own home. Whether you want to
lose weight, stick to your exercise program, or improve
your diet, it will be much easier to do if you have someone
who can advise, motivate, and keep you on track.
Stay
healthy, and let the money in your HSA continue to grow
tax-free. To read more about this service, visit our
Additional
Benefits page and scroll to the Optimal Health
Coaching link at the bottom.
