Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As a physician, I've wanted to tell people how clean living can really improve people's lives. People have no idea how much they can improve their lives by eating healthy AND exercising.
1. Diabetes - most Type II DM can be avoided with diet and exercise
2. Heart Disease - Coronary Artery Disease can be avoided as we all know
3. Joints/Osteoarthritis - the less weight you place on your joints over the long haul, the better they are going to be toward you. Imagine being an 80 year old and have perfect mobility
4. Avoiding medication - by strict diet and exercise, you can avoid taking medications that many people take regularly like high blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, pain killers, diabetic meds
5. Esophageal Cancer - people who experience GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease) have an increased rate of acquirings Barrets Esophagus. Barrets is caused by reflux changing the epithelial lining of the esophagus and transforming harmless cells into malignant cells. Barrets is often associated with high fat diets. Eating better will reduce your reflux and reduce your risk of acquiring Barrets
6. Colon Cancer - Eating more fiber, eating less cold cuts and meats treated with nitrosamines (cold cuts are treated with nitrates to kill bacteria and prevent food poisoning) can reduce your risk of colon cancer
7. BPH and Prostate Cancer - it is believed that high fat diets contribute to these type of cancers. There is no direct or conclusive evidence that proves this but it is a theory.
8. Back Pain/Lumbar Strain - reducing your weight will put less pressure on your lower back and unlike millions of Americans who have to take strong narcotics and other pain meds to reduce their back pain.
9. High Blood Pressure - reducing your weigh puts less intra-abdominal pressure on your internal organs and lowers your blood pressure
10. Alzheimers - they believe that some lifestyle changes like poor diets can contribute to Alzheimers disease and neurological health
-The point of this post was to show you that healthy diet and exercise doesn't just impact heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. It impacts other aspects of your total healthcare. It's not easy to eat healthy but think of it like this. You invest in your retirement. You buy health insurance. You buy life insurance. Yet you won't invest in your health? You won't invest in the one thing that will enable you to enjoy your retirement years? What's the point of putting all this money into retirement if you are going to be immobile, unhealthy and miserable. The biggest and best investment you can make is your health. By eating well and exercising now, you are investing in your health just like you are saving for retirement. Do you enjoy putting money away for retirement? NO, you would rather spend that money on you but you do it because you have to. You need to think about diet and exercise in the same way. This isn't cute stuff, this is your life
I am just floored by the lack of response to your very well written common sense thread. You'd think that more people would comment and/or follow this advice but sadly, they probably just read it and say "oh well, but I just love to eat (insert high fat/calorie/bad food here) and sit on my butt all day".
Unfortunately, I am one of the unlucky ones who has multilevel, posttraumatic DJD due to a) a car accident (cervical) and b) severe PIH with fetal macrosomia in my first pregnancy (lumbar).
Not everything is avoidable, but yes, most things are.
I agree with OP. I also think though that it is more than just eating right and being active.
We need to eat a more alkaline diet, reduce the acidic foods and then be more active. Some people think that eating chicken is healthy. Yeah? But what type of chicken are we talking about? For sure not fried. And how about non-organic? No! not good at all!
And produce? If it is not organic, you are feeding your body pure chemicals! Eventually, that is going to catch up to you and mess you up too!
Of course, someone that eats "healthy" even though the food is filled with pesticides and whatnot, is healthier than someone who is eating junk food like fastfood fries or boxes foods....but you know what I mean.
Also, why is it that all the junk food (like hamburger helper, frooty loops and such) are way cheaper and put on sale way more often than healthy food?
Why is it that organic food is so expensive? Making it nearly to impossible to be "the average joe" and to eat healthy?
It is like, if you are poor or middle class, you are sentenced by society to eat junk food. But if you are high class, you have an option to eat better.
I guess, that is how social classes were meant to be....
I am just floored by the lack of response to your very well written common sense thread. You'd think that more people would comment and/or follow this advice but sadly, they probably just read it and say "oh well, but I just love to eat (insert high fat/calorie/bad food here) and sit on my butt all day".
Yea, which is why I have little sympathy for people who get sick or complain about heath care.
morphous- Hello,, people who do EVERYTHING right get sick or have unforseen injuries all the time. While I agree completely with azriverfan, that doesn't mean hard-working, tax-paying American citizens should be denied decent, affordable health care. Is that really such a bad thing to hope for? And if someone has coverage, they get sick, and then are denied coverage when they really need it... you think they have no right to complain....?? Wow...
But back to the topic... thank you az for your common-sense post- and for saying the obvious! --what everyone seems to want to avoid when talking about health & weight loss. You hit it on the head. Everyone wants to find a gimmick and a short cut,, but those are the cold hard facts.
All I would add to this is:
-Work on getting stress out of your life (stress kills)
-Get good sleep
-and the obvious, which also seems to be lost on 90% of today's folks- lay off the booze, cigs & drugs (duh).
morphous- Hello,, people who do EVERYTHING right get sick or have unforseen injuries all the time. While I agree completely with azriverfan, that doesn't mean hard-working, tax-paying American citizens should be denied decent, affordable health care. Is that really such a bad thing to hope for? And if someone has coverage, they get sick, and then are denied coverage when they really need it... you think they have no right to complain....?? Wow...
I think your missing the point a bit... While there are people who do things right, as far as I'm concerned, most Americans do something, or a series of things wrong that compromise their own health simply out of the pursuit of pleasure or ignorance.
I don't know what it is about Americans in that they have this fascination with experiencing maximum pleasure/leisure that in the long run KILLS!
I agree with another poster about sleep and stress, most of us don't get enough sleep.
Diet and exercise make for a healthier quality of life, but they can't undo genetics. Look at George Burns with the cigar hanging from his mouth he lived 100 long yrs verses Linda McCartney's macrobiotic diet and death from breast cancer. Genetics play a huge role.
I am just floored by the lack of response to your very well written common sense thread. You'd think that more people would comment and/or follow this advice but sadly, they probably just read it and say "oh well, but I just love to eat (insert high fat/calorie/bad food here) and sit on my butt all day".
Diet and exercise won't always save you but it will reduce your risk of developing certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, and joint and heart problems. It's not a guarantee, but it's just one more benefit of eating right and exercising. Another is...well...not being fat. I've been fat and believe me, being fat really sucks.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've been fat and believe me, being fat really sucks.
