Writing Your Own Prescription for a Healthier Life
Writing Your Own Prescription for a Healthier Life by Mary Lynn Merriman
You’ve heard it before: the decisions you make about what you eat, how much you exercise, and your sleep patterns all impact your health. Yet, as familiar as that may sound, what we often fail to realize is that those things really do change not only how you feel on a daily basis, but reduces the risk of disease and, in some cases, reverses disease such as type 2 diabetes.
“For most of us, the decisions we make concerning food, exercise and sleeping habits have a far greater impact on our long-term health than the genes we inherited or the prescription medications we take,” said Miles Hassell, MD, board certified Internal Medicine physician in private practice at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland.
For example, according to Dr. Hassell, if you
• follow a good diet,
• maintain appropriate weight,
•i nclude 30-minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily,
• have moderate alcohol intake, and
• do not smoke
You can cut
• premature death by 74 percent.
• heart disease and stroke deaths by 82 percent.
• cancer deaths by 65 percent.
• extend life by 12 years or longer.
• Type 2 diabetes risk by about 90%.
Source: Nurses Health Study
“These figures should get our attention,” he said.