Medical supplies can be life-savers. They can literally save your life during an acute emergency, and they can improve the quality of your life on a daily basis in less emergent, and far-less dramatic, ways.
But my twenty years in health care has taught me that millions of people could experience healthier lives if they addressed the root causes of their chronic conditions, rather than relied merely on treating the symptoms with medical supplies.
Let's change that for you. Starting now.
I've compiled a short list of experts from About.com that have written down their advice on how to do the things that will make you feel better, stronger, even happier. Yes, much of the advice that follows has proven to be mood-enhancing too.
We can't possibly address every medical condition here, but we can take aim at some of the most common, like Diabetes and Heart Disease. These two alone will cover millions of people who can be helped by the advice below.
According to the Heart Foundation, every 33 seconds someone in the United States dies from cardiovascular disease which is roughly the equivalent of a September 11th-like tragedy repeating itself every 24 hours, 365 days a year.
The American Diabetes Association tells us that there are an estimated 29 million Americans with Diabetes. To put this in perspective, the entire population of North Korea is only 25 million people. America has more diabetics than North Korea has citizens.
The primary risk factors for both heart disease and diabetes are unhealthy blood vessels, the arteries and veins, which carry the oxygen and other nutrients our organs need to be strong and healthy. So blood pressure and cholesterol levels matter. Smoking too. Overweight and obesity, lack of exercise, poor diet and excessive alcohol round out the remaining primary causes.
So let's look at what the experts say about getting on track, and making an improvement, starting today, in each of these categories, so that hopefully a year from now, you'll find yourself relying on medical supplies a little less.
1. 5 Best Workouts for Overweight Exercisers
Malia Frey, About.com's Weight Loss Expert, has written a realistic article for the beginner. I've seen too many people quit their workout plan because they went from doing nothing to doing too much too soon.
Malia gives you some tips to wade in safely, but effectively. This is the type of advice that will keep you exercising for the long-term. And that's what makes the best impact on health.More »
2. 10 Things to Stop Doing if You Want to Lose Weight
Again, I like Malia Frey's advice in this article too, because she talks about small adjustments rather than grandiose lifestyle change. Big goals can be inspiring, but if you're starting from zero, let's be realistic. Set achievable goals, and celebrate those victories. The reward to your health is in the journey, the process, more so than in the number of pounds you lose or fitting into smaller clothing. More »
3. Your Free e-Course for Quitting Smoking
If you smoke, quitting is probably the most important thing you can do for your health. Smoking affects heart disease, diabetes, and other cardiovascular diseases because it weakens the blood vessels, the arteries and veins, whose job it is to propel the nutrients in the blood from the heart to the organs and tissues in your body that need these nutrients to perform.
About.com's Smoking Cessation Expert Terry Martin has created a short course through a series of articles that will help you quit smoking. She starts off by leading you through the important foundations you need in order to quit and not look back:
- Understand the reasons for quitting
- Develop the will to quit
- Learning the benefits of quitting
She takes you through all of this before she recommends actually quitting. This education process she argues will prepare you for a permanent, successful, smoking cessation effort.More »
4. 5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Bad Diet Today
Shereen Lehman, MS, About.com's Nutrition Expert, has lots of articles about how to improve your diet. Here are two that I think fit perfectly into our theme here of starting simply, with easy changes, to ensure long-term success.
Read her article above, "5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Bad Diet Today," and then come back and read, "5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Diet Right Now."More »