“Prevention is better than cure” – Desiderius Erasmus
I am sure you have heard of this quote that prevention is better than cure. So a question for you – When was the last time you did a wellness check-up? Click here to respond.
I performed my wellness check last week and while it took the better part of the day, it was a day well spent. Thank God for a clean bill of health. While I live a relatively healthy lifestyle – most of the time, eat the right foods, no smoking or alchohol, exercise two – three times a week, feedback was there was still a lot of room for improvement. I was given a Stop/Start Doing List which included – consume more nuts and seeds, exercise more vigorously as I was not getting up to 80% of my heart rate, consume more plant based proteins than animal based protein.
While seating with the dietician and as we reviewed my Stop/Start doing lists, I was amazed how much control we have over the prevention of several killer diseases, just by how we treat and maintain our bodies. Of course, there are situations where several diseases affect people, even though they live very healthy lives. While not being a health care expert, I dare say the 80/20 principle may apply here.
It’s the end of the year, and there is no better time to check your health and body to ensure that your body is functioning the way it was designed to do. Remember you have only one body! The last time I took my wellness check was about 20 months ago, and it took me over 7 weeks to get this activity ticked off on my To-do list. This is one item that easily falls of the to-do list (especially when you feel fine), but really you cannot afford to do so. You can only perform at your best when your body is at its best.
The costs of performing this wellness check is also very affordable, especially when you consider the cost of a late detection of an ailment that could easily have been preventable.
Health Care Professionals recommend an annual wellness check for men and women over 40, and those who have a previous medical history, and once every 2-3 years for men and women under 40.
The purpose of of the periodic wellness check-up include:
· As primary prevention
· To identify risk factors for common chronic diseases
· To detect disease that has no apparent symptoms (secondary prevention)
· As a way for the doctor to counsel people to promote healthy behaviour
· To update clinical data since last check-up
· To enhance the relationship between you and your doctor
Nowadays, you hear of people who seemed very okay, but collapsed and died of a heart attack. This is because perhaps the person was so busy and did not have time to check their vitals on a regular basis to know of their medical condition.
According to the Family Health Research Center, regular medical check-ups are important, even if people are feeling well, because they allow people to work together with their doctor on a plan to best promote their health. People can discuss the best diet and exercise plan, and make plans for any screening tests they should have to pick up any serious conditions that might not be causing symptoms yet.
Some health conditions will not cause symptoms until they have already caused a permanent problem — like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or the early changes that may lead to cervical cancer. Seeing a doctor regularly also helps people form a good partnership, so if they ever do develop a health concern, they can work together well to address it.
Here’s to your healthy well- being!!
What has a previous wellness (preventative) check-up saved you from?