Site Search
| Be Well - Vol 1, #12: Exceptional Health |
|
“Enjoy Vibrant Life and Health” December 31, 2009 Volume 1, No. 12 My wish for you in the new year is exceptional health! Exceptional health is more than the routine health that most of us take for granted. People with exceptional health enjoy excellent health longer and more fully than is the case for a majority of people. Don’t most Americans already enjoy excellent health? Sadly, the answer is “No.” Two-thirds of adult Americans are significantly overweight. About half of all adults are on prescription pills, and countless millions more are being treated (or not treated) for largely preventable disorders. Exceptional health is associated with comparative freedom from many ailments that often begin afflicting people in middle age. People with healthy lifestyles have a lower incidence of many chronic disorders such as diabetes and heart disease. The result is better long-term health. An editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association in September 2009 emphasized the great value of lifestyle for health: Initiatives aimed at improving lifestyle behaviors have the largest influence on reducing the future burden of disease. Each of us has more health power than we realize. Doctors can't dictate lifestyles. Being healthy is up to us. How does one attain exceptional health? Is luck involved? Do people who inherit good genes have an advantage? The answer is that good genes may be helpful, but they are not decisive in determining long-term health. Exceptional health is the result of much more than fate or luck. Consistent health-enhancing practices make it dynamic as compared to the passive health experienced by many people. It is available to most people who adopt it as a personal goal. How does one achieve exceptional health? There are ten basic principles involved. Some people may key in on one or two principles, and that is fine, but it is not adequate to reach the goal of exceptional health. All ten principles are important, and it is crucial to keep them balanced in one’s life. The ten principles work most effectively when they all work together. I’m writing a new e-book to be published online in the spring. The book's goal is to alert readers to their personal health power and to help them use it more effectively. It is entitled, Ten Secrets of Exceptional Health. Each of the ten chapters in the book is devoted to spelling out one of the principles involved in achieving exceptional health. Making all ten secrets part of one’s daily life greatly enhances mastery of one’s health. We will examine each secret in the year ahead. May you enjoy exceptional health in the New Year! Ed Dodge, MD |