's motd Thursday January 13, 2011

[Guest guest]

THE REAL COST

OF OUR HEALTHCARE

Thursday, 13 January 2011

Oh, our nation's healthcare

system is in so much trouble these days. First of

all, a lot of people can't even afford to get

proper healthcare. They simply can't afford those

expensive insurance premiums every month. But when it

comes to our health, did you know that 75% of our

country's healthcare costs are due to chronic

diseases? That is, diseases that could have

been prevented by the lifestyle

choices we make.

If you suffer from one of those chronic diseases and

don't do anything to make them better, then you could

end up making numerous visits to the hospital. And

those frequent visits to the hospital are one of the

reasons our healthcare costs are so high. We're

overloading the system. Now, let's talk about some of

those chronic diseases.

Let's begin with diabetes. When your sugar level is

all over the place, you'll probably end up in a

hospital emergency room to get your blood-sugar levels

back to a normal level. And each one of those ER

visits is gonna cost you. But if you eat healthy and

make exercise a regular part of your life, you'll have

a better handle on your diabetes and your blood sugar

levels. See? Your lifestyle choices play a major

role in managing your diabetes and keeping your sugar

levels in check. And...away from the

hospital.

Let's move on to high blood pressure. If you're

overweight, if you consume too much salt, if you don't

get enough exercise or if you smoke, then your blood

pressure will only continue to stay higher than it

should be. (Which can lead to a stroke or even a

heart attack.) And there you go, off to the ER again.

When your arteries are clogged, it's because you're

eating too much fat and that really plays havoc with

your heart, causing it not to work as

efficiently. When your arteries are all clogged, your

heart either beats too slow, too fast or the rhythm is

off. Well, when that heart of yours isn't working

like it should, believe me, you'll once again end up

being rushed to the hospital.

But if you get in control of your chronic diseases,

they won't send you to the hospital nearly as often.

And wouldn't that alone make you feel

better?

Here's something I found interesting. Today, lots of

doctors are giving their patients "prescriptions" that

can't be filled at Walgreen's or Rite-Aid. That's

because these prescriptions are for exercise.

Yep, some doctors are directing their patients to walk

for 30 minutes every other day, to join a gym, to take

a yoga or cardio aerobics class. Isn't that

fantastic? I'm so glad to be alive to witness this

kind of movement toward exercise encouraged by our

doctors. I'm impressed!

Now here's what you need to do to

stay away from the ER and the hospital in the

future. Reach and maintain a healthy weight by making

good lifestyle choices. Then, you'll only have

to go to the hospital because you're there visiting

someone else.

With the healthy

lifestyle choices we make, you and me, one person at a

time, can help bring down our country's healthcare

costs. And with all of us working individually, we

become a team and can help our healthcare

system work the way it's supposed to work for

all of us.

And who knows, if we keep it up, in time, maybe those

insurance rates will go down, too...for all of us.

Now wouldn't that be wonderful?

Love,