TAKE CHARGE

Have you ever wondered if there was anything you were missing in your quest for better health or muttered the words “If I only knew better”? Knowing and having the tools to work with will allow you to take charge of your health. Achieving your optimal health is much like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle. The puzzle pieces are important components of your life: nutrition, physical activity, emotional well-being, and preventive health actions. The real challenge and reward is completing your puzzle.

Nutrition

This piece to your puzzle comes from whole foods that provide energy and nutrients needed for growth, repair, and reproduction. Because each of us is genetically and biochemically unique the nutritional requirements for optimal health will not be the same for everyone. Therefore, you need to experiment with foods to discover which ones serve you best. There are times when supplements are needed to be added to get the optimal amounts of nutrients necessary to sustain your health.

Physical Activity

Daily physical activity is extremely important to sustain a healthy status. You don't have to join a gym to get active. Household chores including yard work, on- the-job activity, dog-walking, or any type of regular long walks and movements are great starting points.

Emotional Well-being

Your emotional well-being is influenced by aspects of your life that are embodied in - spiritual practice, social interactions and strong relationships, home environment and health, education, career, finances, creativity, regular physical activity and joy. Life is unpredictable and as such you can never be totally prepared for all situations. However, in almost everything you do, planning and preparation will help to alleviate fear when faced with tough times. Create a support system with family and friends by offering your help in times of need.

Preventive Health Actions

Another piece to your health puzzle are preventive health measures. Some examples of this would be completing annual wellness health screens, having dental check-ups twice a year, scheduling enjoyable activities in your busy life, developing a self-care strategy to help when you feel overwhelmed, planning and preparing meals as often as possible, and taking action to stay mentally and physically active.