Quality of life
Every so often, when I talk about my work and what I do, I get a response from someone that sounds like this: Well, we all have to die of something, right?!
And you know what, I totally agree! But how often do you think about the quality of your life? Are you the best self that you can be? Or are you so used to the pain and discomfort that you can’t even remember what feeling good feels like? Or maybe you are just finding excuses?
My work is not meant to bring immortality. I am here to teach you how to improve your diet and lifestyle, and make you understand why this is so impotant. And by doing this, you will be adding years to your life, happy and healthy years.
I’ve noticed that every time the subject of life quality comes into the discussion is mostly about older people or people with specific diseases. But the sad truth is that the overall health of the human race is declining.
Let’s look at some numbers:
CDC states that obesity rates in kids between 2-19 yrs old are at 20%, increasing yearly. Also, CDC numbers show that type 2 diabetes in youths under 20 yrs old is growing at a rate of 5% a year.
CDC states that heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States. One person dies every 36 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease, and someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds.
American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) shows that in 1997 circa 9 mil Americans have autoimmune diseases. In 2005 the NIH (National Institute of Health) showed that circa 14.7 million people were living with autoimmune diseases. And now, AARDA states that over 50 million people in the US have autoimmune diseases. Keep in mind that are over 100 diseases considered autoimmune.
Some studies show that humans may have reached their maximum limits for height, lifespan, and physical performance. A review published in 2017 was the first of its kind spanning 120 years worth of historical information while considering the effects of both genetic and environmental parameters. This review suggests that humans have biological limitations. And that human impacts on the environment (including climate change) could harm these limits.
Some people chose to believe that with each generation, we will live longer and longer, so they are safe. Some people state that the children born in the last decade will die before their parents, so they are worried. There may be a maximum threshold to our biological limits that we cannot exceed. I guess history will tell.
But no matter what you chose to believe, you should never give up on trying your best, for you and for your loved ones. Understand WHY you have to change, make small changes, and educate yourself.
Health-related quality of life is a complex concept that includes all areas related to physical, mental, emotional, diet, and lifestyle. And by making small changes in your lifestyle, you can see improvements in your health and life quality.
In my opinion, we should all care about the quality of our life. Do you wanna live with debilitating chronic disease? Or you wanna do everything you can to thrive?
In good health,
Ioana