Proactive vs. Reactive

As I was sitting in the audience hanging onto Dr.Oz's every word, it occurred to me that even though this famous doctor has been pleading with the public to be their own health advocate for years that the obesity and disease epidemic has continued to spiral out of control. How many people nod their heads emphatically as they listen to Dr.Oz, Dr.Roizen and others, but then hit up their local McDonald's for a Big Mac on the way home? Are we getting the message? The under lying message is be PRO-active and take steps now to safe guard your health, stock pile longevity, and ward off illness. Why wait until cancer is knock on your door to fortify your defences? Here are a few simple steps you can take to take your health and wellness to the next level:

   1. Get a full blood work up. Not only will this give your doctor an accurate picture of your health, but it will give you a good starting point to measure your success. Health is not measured my the numbers on the scale, but by your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugars, iron levels, and more.

   2. Eat more colour. If you focus on eating a wide range of fruits and vegetables, you will be ingesting a wide range of antioxidants. Antioxidants cleanse your body of free radicals which travel around your body causing damage to cells. Since our health is a manifestation of the health of our cells, focusing on increasing the antioxidant load in our diets is a fantastic way to increase health and vitality.

 
3. Drink more water. Just like antioxidants, water is vital to cellular health. Think of it this way, do you want your cells to look like plump, round, delicious grapes, or like dried, wrinkly, dying grapes? Drink enough water to keep your urine clear. If your pee is yellow or foul smelling you need to drink more!

  4. Move! Chris Powell [from ABC's Extreme Makeover Weight loss Edition] recommends 5 minutes a day. Anyone can move for 5 minutes a day! While watching your favourite show today, march in place, do some squats, jumping jacks, or even high knees for just five minutes.




  5. Take a full spectrum multi vitamin. Dr.Oz recommends taking a half dose in the morning, and the other half in the evening. This will give you a more even absorption rate, as well as keep your immune system in a high functioning state. Think of your supplement as an insurance policy, and look for something that will give you the best coverage possible [would you only put theft coverage on your house? or are you looking to cover fire and water damage too? Same logic applies here] containing A, B, C, D, and E at a minimum. Look for a big reputable company, and for a delivery method that has high bio-availability [meaning, it absorbs quickly and that the majority of what you are ingesting is absorbed into your blood stream instead of being excreted as waste.] The highest bio-availability will be found in a liquid form, but that being said, you need to find one that does not contain preservatives, and comes from whole food sources. Personally, I take liquid Vemma, and also give this to my kids and Hottie Husband.


These steps are simple, straight forward, and easy to implement into your life. Do yourself a favour and become a proactive participant in your health and wellness!