We all know someone who has lived a very unhealthy lifestyle, indulged in all the apparent pleasures of life, and yet appears to be what we would call ‘healthy’.  And, we all know someone who has engaged a very fitness minded lifestyle, and yet suffered from disease.  There are numerous factors that influence our health and there is no guaranteed recipe for a lifestyle of wellness, however what may come as a surprise is that by far the biggest contributor to our overall health and wellness are choices we make – we don’t get sick from bad genes or bad luck.

A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2009 looked at four healthy lifestyle factors and their affect on disease.  The four factors were:

• Never smoking
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Exercising regularly
• Following a healthy diet

This study found that participants who had all four factors had a 93% reduced risk of diabetes, 81% reduced risk of heart attack, 50% reduced risk of stroke and 36% reduced risk of cancer.

Those numbers are astounding, and worth reading over again.  The reduced risk of developing a chronic disease by making good lifestyle choices should motivate all of us to make some changes.

When it comes to chronic illness, the focus must be prevention.  Unfortunately, most of our attention on illness comes from the standpoint of management and cure, and very little focus is on prevention.  The only way we can truly conquer chronic illness is to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Our bodies were designed and created to be well – by giving our bodies what they need, and by eliminating things they don’t need, we reduce our risk of chronic illness in a big way.  So, it’s time to evaluate some of the choices we make that affect how our bodies function, especially in light of the 4 lifestyle factors mentioned above.  Remember, we are responsible for our health.  Let’s take better control of the things we can control, so the things we can’t control have less of an impact.