From: Identities.Mic

By Raynald Samoa

Manage your stress. Make better food choices. Become less sedentary. Those are the three recommendations I made at the end of my last article to manage diabetes or even better, avoid getting it in the first place.

A patient/physician relationship is certainly one of the more important aspects of attaining and maintaining good health. Most patients have an idealistic vision of their expected physician relationship as follows: a caring, articulate physician who has the time and interest in them personally to guide them through the health care maze. 

Are you afraid to look too closely at your health because you’re afraid you’ll find something wrong? Ignorance may be bliss in some situations, but when it comes to your health, ignorance can put you at great risk. Living in fear of getting sick can become a self-fulfilling prophecy if you don’t take the necessary preventative steps to protect and maintain your health – and that includes self-screening for chronic diseases, especially when you are at greater risk because of age, sex, ethnicity, family history, and/or genetic predisposition. 

I have had countless conversations with friends about their decisions to eat healthier and go to the gym more often.  In fact, many New Year’s resolutions revolve around getting healthier. However, it is important that we not forget about preventive health in our quest to eat more veggies and to hit the gym.