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Prevention is better than cure

The saying 'Prevention is better than cure' may be seen by some as somewhat cliche, but so apt nonetheless. It typically refers to the premise of living intentionally, eating well and exercising in order to be healthy and prevent disease too.

Generally, how well our body is will depend on how intentional we are with our choices of foods/drinks and how we exercise. Stress management is also crucial, and is discussed later.

Mindful eating will involve us eating mainly nutrient dense foods and exercising. Both in moderation. We must not think that we can continue fuelling our body unintentionally and get away with it. We must also not procrastinate about getting healthy, it really is not worth it.  

A continued  unhealthy lifestyle will likely eventually cause…ill health, costly medical bills, and in extreme cases life changing disabilities and even premature death. Ailments like hypertension, diabetes and fatty liver disease can be caused or exacerbated by sustained unhealthy living. These conditions can sometimes be reversed and/or significantly controlled with a lifestyle change. When uncontrolled, these conditions can lead to strokes, heart disease, heart attacks etc. Let us quickly make the decision to do ALL that we can to protect our health. It is a good and sensible choice, as prevention of disease is less expensive, physically, financially and emotionally.

The physical cost of treatments can be far reaching. With major surgery the pain experienced can be excruciating. In extreme cases the treatment for disease can be life changing.

The treatment of disease can come with additional financial costs, separate from medical bills. Depending on where we live, medical care may not be the best and so treatment may involve significant travel to another state or even country. These costs incurred will be travel related, and often accommodation too. Another significant cost that can be borne is that of time off work...some employers have a cap on how long they will pay full wages, for an employee who is off sick.

The emotional impact and cost of disease can be far reaching. Consider a patient who has to be treated away from home. The daily dynamics of family life can be significantly disrupted if for example, a sick spouse/parent has to travel leaving their husband/wife/children at home. This inability for a sick individual to be accompanied often arises because of commitments like employment/work, school and financial constraints. Let's not forget that our family and friends play a significant role in supporting us through life experiences and especially through ailments and treatments. Being without this support can negatively impact the treatment and healing of the sick.

Clearly there are various costs that arise as a result of disease. Let us adopt an intentional approach to prevent disease. Now let's take a look at what we can do to prevent disease. Simply put, we have a part in preventing disease. We cannot live it all to chance. The foods we eat, whether or not we exercise, how we deal with stress are all significant factors in staying well and keeping disease at bay.

We cannot eat mainly unhealthy foods and think that some exercise is sufficient to keep us healthy. I have found that my body responds best to exercise when I am eating well. Try it and see.

The foods that we eat play a more significant role in our health than does exercise. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying that exercise is not important. I am saying that it is fair to say that the ratio of healthy nutrition and exercise required for good health is approximately 80:20.  

To be healthy, we must intentionally eat primarily nutrient-dense foods, in combination with moderate exercise. Moderation is key.

The wide variety of the healthy foods that our Heavenly Father has graciously blessed us with, when eaten  minimally processed, nourish our bodies. These foods give us the energy we require daily. On the contrary overly processed foods/ foods consumed without caution have the propensity to ail our bodies.

Exercise done in moderation can be exhilarating and energising. Where there has been a previous life of little or no exercise, it is best to start with baby steps to avoid injury. It  is also important to be aware that planned exercise followed by long periods of inactivity can very easily reduce the benefits of exercise. In other words it is not good practice to for example workout in the gym for an hour in the morning and then be mainly sedentary for the remainder of the day. Whenever possible and safe, choose stairs over

 elevators. Periodically get up from your chair at work and stand. Standing desks are becoming increasingly more popular. When possible walk to a colleagues desk for discussions, rather than send an email.

The way we handle stress is also very important, in our quest to be healthy. It is possible to eat healthy and exercise well, and yet suffer illness when stress/worry is not well managed. Stress chips away slowly at our health. High stress levels can compromise our immune system making our bodies vulnerable to various diseases.

Scripture is very clear about avoiding stress. Let’s take a look.

Luke? ?12:25-26?,31 TPT??

Does worry add anything to your life? Can it add one more year, or even one day? So if worrying adds nothing, but actually subtracts from your life, why would you worry about God’s care of you?

As you passionately seek his kingdom, above all else, he will supply your needs.

1 Peter? ?5:7? ?TPT??

Pour out all your worries and stress upon him and leave them there, for he always tenderly cares for you.

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The Lord tells us to cast our cares on Him. Have you noticed how painful your shoulder area can get when you worry rather than obey His instruction to cast your cares? I have. Thankfully thats all in the past now.

May I suggest that you also read my blog on stress, if you have not already.

Remember that we have lots to do...including fulfilling our unique purpose. This should be our number one priority. We need our body healthy to fulfil our purpose. An unhealthy body can cause delays and in extreme cases get in our way of doing ALL that God planned for us here on earth.

Let us also remember always that our bodies are His Temple.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 GNT

Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God; He bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God's glory.

Ought we not to look after His Temple intentionally? Some of us look after our physical possessions like our cars, the homes we live in etc. much better than we do our bodies. This should not be so.

Our bodies are our most valuable possession. Let’s look after it mindfully, doing all that we can to keep disease away. We only have one body. How well it serves us, will be dependent on how well we look after it.

Let’s do ALL that we can to prevent disease. Prevention is better than cure.

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