Where Your Health is Concerned, It All Adds Up

There is just no getting around it, if you want to get healthy and stay healthy, you must commit to a healthy lifestyle. Though it may not seem like it, every little thing you do each day from eating a banana to walking around the block makes a big difference in helping you to maintain your overall health and longevity potential. And, in just the same way, every little thing you don’t do makes a big difference as well.  In fact, according to a new study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the cumulative impact of smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, and excess alcohol consumption can add up to increased risk of death. Or to put it another way, these four bad habits can shorten your life by as much as 12 years. Not to mention, of course, the low quality of life enjoyment you’ll experience right up until “the end” prematurely comes along! In fact, the study authors say that, when compared to a healthy lifestyle that includes none of the above (or excludes all of the above), the combined effect of all four behaviors tripled or even quadrupled the risk of death.

So, yet another wake up for you procrastinators out there. The bad habits you eliminate and the good habits you develop will tip the scales significantly in your favor. Don’t put healthy changes off one more day. A healthy lifestyle can profoundly affect your chances of living to a happy old age.