Who cares about quantity of life – let’s talk about quality!

When we talk about health and well-being, we often talk about how long we will live. It’s definitely true that allowing your cells to express health will enable them to live longer. And, since we are really a collection of 75 trillion cells (give or take) working in harmony, it’s easy to see that taking care of these cells is super important.

But let’s be honest. In our world, there are many hazards that are out of our control. Car accidents are a common sighting, natural disasters threaten every continent, and many remind us that 2012 is looming around the corner. What we really want is QUALITY of life. And not just now, but for our entire lives, even if we live to be 120.

As a society, we’ve come to believe that getting old means getting sick. The more candles on your birthday cake, the more pills in your pillbox. This is unfortunate, because it means we are giving up on something we very much have the power to control. Science and research has shown beyond a doubt that our lifestyle choices TODAY make every difference in how it affects us as we age.

And they are in those 3 areas we know are fundamental to true well-being: Eat Well, Move Well, Think Well. Check this out:

• “People who do not eat fresh fruit every day have a 32% greater chance of a fatal stroke and 24% greater chance of a fatal heart attack.” (1)
• “Swedish researchers found that people who ate one apple a day had 60% less risk of kidney cancer than non apple eaters.” (1)
• “A 50% reduction in the incidence of colon cancer was observed among those with the highest level of physical activity across numerous studies.” (2)
• “Risk of heart disease is also associated with depression; individuals who are clinically depressed have a 250% greater chance of developing heart disease, and depression is associated with a lower chance of 5-year survival following a heart attack.” (3)

The thing is, it doesn’t take deprivation, struggle, or crazy military boot camps to claim the quality of life you deserve. It takes just a few things:

• Become aware. The evidence is clear – what we eat, how we move, and how we think is the greatest single determinant of whether or not we are sick or well. Educate yourself – we are happy to help!
• Focus on adding good stuff to your life. Just pick one, or several good choices that  you can start making today, and don’t worry about the rest! It will all sort itself out over time. Give yourself permission to go slow…too many programs out there are focused on making short-term behavior modifications. We are interested in making changes for the long-term. Slow and steady wins the race!
• Get support! This is your life, not a fad diet or a week-long boot camp. You’re talking about improving your life, the QUALITY of your life…for the short term, and definitely the long-term. So tell those you love what your intentions are, and ask for their support.

We want to be age 90 and feel like we’re 40. We want to look around and say, “I’m so thankful for my 75 trillion cells, they’re thriving!” We want a high-quality life, which is impossible to achieve with disease, illness, stress, pain, and suffering. And hey, as long as natural disasters, car accidents, and 2012 predictions are kept at bay, you’ll be treated to quantity of life as well.

Live well!