Don't Take Your Health For Granted
Jan 16, 2022
Today marks the 20 year anniversary of the sudden passing of my father. He was a practicing optometrist, baseball coach, husband and father. He died of a massive heart attack that was due to uncontrolled type two diabetes. This life event has obviously left a permanent mark on me. Today it is still one of my biggest sources of leverage in not only creating healthy lifestyle choices for me and my family, but also to try and encourage my patients/audience to do the same.
I write about this not for anyone to feel sorry for me, but to maybe serve as a wake up call for those that need it. My father did not have any symptoms previous to his heart attack. Unknown to our family, he was having blood sugar issues. At that time he was advised to eat a low fat, high carb diet but unfortunately it was the wrong choice for him and his body.
As traumatic as this experience was for me, the silver lining is that it has led me to create the few major rules that we live by today.
#1: Just because you feel good doesn’t mean you’re healthy
So many people assume they are healthy just because they are not sick. I distinctly remember one of the last conversations I had with my dad a few weeks before he passed. I asked him when he was going to retire and he said, “why would I retire now, I’m at the top of my game!”
Approximately 60% of the time there’s no warning signs previous to a heart attack. I have heard many similar stories when it comes to unexpected cancer diagnosis. However, let me ask you this: how long does it take for heart disease or cancer to show up? The damage often takes years and years before we see any signs and this is why it’s so important to master a few key lifestyle habits.
#2: You are not your genes
Remember that some outside or environment signal needs to turn on the genes in your blueprint. My dad would have lived longer if he would have eaten differently, exercised, stopped smoking sooner, started taking supplements and worked on his daily stressors. This is also the other reason that I have been able to create a lot of leverage when it comes to sticking with certain routines because I know what my blueprint is made out of and I know what will happen to my body if I deviate too far from my normal day today.
#3: Be Pro-active
Don’t wait for signs and symptoms to show up. Most people know what they should be doing but unfortunately lack the motivation (or direction) to get started. Others can get started but get discouraged easily and give up. After 19 years in practice I have heard it all!
Find something that works for you and stick to it. Create some leverage for yourself by figuring out what’s most important to you and then connect it to your health. For example, if you want to be active with your grandkids then you will need great health to do that.
If that doesn’t motivate you then don’t do it for you, do it for the others around you that will be impacted by your decisions.
The time is now to be pro-active and to find a plan that suits your health needs. Acknowledge that not feeling sick is not the same as being vibrantly healthy. Create some leverage and get an accountability buddy so you can hit your goals for this year (and protect your health and others that care for you).
This 20 year anniversary is my "WHY" for trying to create content that helps people continue to move forward on their health journey. If you need help and/or accountability, please reach out. We have programs that are designed to help all levels in the health spectrum and we run challenges several times a year open to everyone.
Wishing you an abundance of health in 2022,
Dr. Jason