Learn to protect your health before you need a doctor.

Ask any centenarian and they will tell you their secret to long life. It has to do with taking care of their body, mind, and soul. In today’s society that can be a challenge with the rising cost of health care. Learn to protect your health before you need a doctor.

Healthcare is a big issue in this country. Many people are uninsured or under-insured. Prescription costs have gone through the roof as well. It becomes increasingly harder to get the treatment one needs to keep on living.

One way to foster the idea of longevity is to prevent illness before it starts. We all were at one time reasonably healthy. The gist is to protect our health by maintaining that level of good feeling in our bodies.

You can start right now. If you don’t need a doctor in your current health state, let that be ground zero. Work your way up to a healthier body, mind, and soul from this point forward. Here are a few tips to help you do just that.

1. Get regular checkups. These are included in most healthcare plans. A dental visit every six months including one set of bitewing x-rays is almost always covered. A yearly physical has a modest or sometimes no co-pay at all depending on your insurance carrier. Even a yearly eye exam has a negligible cost. If you can afford the health insurance, use it to maintain or elevate the status quo.

2. Get regular exercise. This pops up a lot, but it is a major factor in living longer. Fresh air and sunlight especially provide Vitamin D to the body. Stretching those muscles even for thirty minutes a day stimulates the metabolism. You don’t have to join a gym. Housework, gardening, riding your bicycle, or mowing the lawn are all forms of exercise.

3. Play a few games. The newest medicine for your brain is neurobics. It trains your brain to create new synaptic pathways and prevents degeneration. Playing crossword games, Sudoku, speed games, word searches, and memory games all keep those neurons in tip top shape.

4. Drink plenty of water. If you don’t like water, add some flavoring like a Crystal Light stick to change the taste. Our bodies are made up of water for the most part. Drinking a glass of water can ease a headache and also help with weight loss. A body that is hydrated properly runs better.

5. Take time out for yourself. It could be morning meditation, going to church, listening to music, prayer, or any activity you choose as long as it cultivates your inner soul. Time to renew the mind aids in the body’s renewal.

No one knows how long they will walk this earth. The one thing we don’t want to do is shorten those days due to an unhealthy body. Take care of yourself today in order to see many tomorrows.

Submitted by:
Linda Allen of GirlfriendsCafe.com - a social network for women.
http://www.girlfriendscafe.com