Why You Should Practice Preventative Wellness Today

When I was diagnosed with a neurological disease that has no known cause, cure or truly viable treatment, it was a blessing in disguise.

Yes, I said "blessing!" I thought I was healthy, a young and vibrant athlete, but I was blissfully unaware of the unforgiving damage many of my daily habits (too much stress, too much alcohol and too many processed foods) were doing to my overall and long-term health and wellness.

With very few traditional medical options (that I exhausted rather quickly) and out of a desperation that filled every cell, I began to look for ways to become empowered and take control of my health and wellness for the first time in my life. We do the best we can with the knowledge we have, but I often wish, regrettably, that I had more knowledge earlier in life so that I could have been proactive and taken care of myself long before a crisis occurred.

With that in mind, below are four reasons why you should take control of your health today.

1. No one will do it for you. 

It’s always a treat to be taken care of and pampered; to have others take control every once and a while. But when it comes to your health, only you can make it a priority. Jump on board the health and wellness train or it will take off without you. Don’t be left in the dust with regrets. Be bold. Be a trailblazer. Act now.

2. Your life depends on it. 

Even if you haven’t been diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness, your current quality of life and your future will depend on your continued good health. Before you know it, time has gone by, illnesses are diagnosed and stressors pile, while you're left wondering what you could have done to prevent it. I should know because I’ve been there, wondering if I would have been diagnosed with a “progressive and incurable” disease in my early twenties had I known that what I ate, drank and thought played a role in my health and wellness.

Don’t wait until it is too late. Prevention is a better and more fruitful plan than damage control.

3. You will feel and look better. 

Not only will you feel better physically, mentally and emotionally (hopefully even spiritually), but you will also look better! Your outsides reflect your insides, and this goes for more than just your thoughts. Some of the many pluses of a healthy lifestyle, for me, have been clear, glowing skin and the maintenance of a healthy weight. Can’t beat that!

Looking better while you feel better is just the cherry on top of your super healthy sundae.

4. You will feel empowered. 

When I was diagnosed, I felt helpless, hopeless and disempowered. Thankfully, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it forced me to open my mind and look outside of the traditional medical model to find ways to cure the disease, and at the very least, maintain the health I still possess. I went from feeling powerless to empowered, when I changed my diet and lifestyle

to reflect my goals of health and wellness.