Investing in our own health sets you up for life-long health benefits, so why do so many of us struggle to understand what “preventative health” actually means?
Preventative health is the action you take to prevent illness or disease that are the outcomes of an unhealthy lifestyle.
The benefits of youth make us feel invincible and carefree.
Our priorities are often towards our non-stop lifestyles and interactive world: career, study, family, television show commitments, social media and a social life -the list goes on.
We ‘invest’ in our families, education, house, car, luxury items, hobbies and our own retirement with our health and wellbeing often put to the side to be addressed when we have ‘time’.
But if we don’t invest in our health, there is every chance we may not get the opportunity to reap the benefits of the people and things that we have invested in, later in life.
How do you look after your car? Do you fill it with fuel, wash it, get it serviced?
What happens if you fill it with water instead of fuel, or take it to the pet store for a service? Let the tyres get bald and worn out?
This is potentially what we are doing to our bodies when we don’t see our health as something that needs constant attention and review.
Here are three things you can do to invest in your future self:
- Regular body health checks. Know your health! Make sure that you plan a regular review with your GP, not just when you are feeling unwell. Many chronic health diseases such as type 2 diabetes or cholesterol problems can be detected easily through blood tests in the early stage. Regular checks can also detect any changes in what is normal for you. Talk to your GP about your results, ask questions if something is different and is it something you should or could work on, even if it is not at a point of medical intervention or concern just yet.
- Understand good health principles. Educate yourself! Take the time to teach yourself more about health and wellbeing. What does good health look like for you and what can you do to make sure your body is at its best to deal with the weathering of time and use?
- Plan, plan, plan! The old saying, ‘those who fail to plan, plan to fail’. How would you feel if you start to struggle with an illness that potentially could have been avoided by incorporating a few lifestyle changes into your day? Are you fully prepared to take the risk?