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10 Reasons Why Filipinos Should Prioritize Health and Wellness
10 Reasons Why Filipinos Should Prioritize Health and Wellness
by Manry G.
May 16, 2019
The leading causes of death in Filipinos are heart disease, cancer, pneumonia, hypertension, and diabetes. A change in lifestyle may be the key in preventing the onset of these degenerative diseases.
With the daily grind and demands of modern day-to-day life, Filipinos are finding it harder to balance all aspects of life. Oftentimes, we neglect the most important area of our life which is our health and well-being. Neglecting our health always results to detrimental effects in our body which often leads to the development of various degenerative diseases. This is the reason why the mortality rate of Filipinos for these diseases increase each year.
In the 2016 data provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the leading causes of death in Filipinos are heart diseases (12.7%), cancer/tumor (10.4%), pneumonia (9.9%), stroke (9.8%), hypertension (5.7%), and diabetes (5.7%). This rates would continue to increase each year until today, 2019. A huge amount of government funds as well as personal funds of Filipinos are used for the treatment and prevention of these degenerative diseases.
While the data may seem doom and gloom for everyone, the positive side is we have more access today than ever before in various medical equipment, treatments, medicines, vitamins and supplements, and disease prevention. We also have access to clean water and food and we can even join various health communities in the internet or our local gyms. Furthermore, we have more access now in a wealth of information about living a healthy life and disease prevention.
A change in lifestyle may be the key in preventing the onset of degenerative diseases that continue to plague our nation and the world today. If you're interested in leading a healthy lifestyle, here are ten reasons that may convince you to prioritize your health and wellness.
1. Hospitalization costs and medicines are expensive.
In the Philippines, getting sick is not an option, especially for the poor.
While the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act automatically enrolls every single Filipino, giving them access to basic health care services, it is still in its development stage and a number of medical-related expenses are still out-of-pocket costs for the typical household. Considering also that out-of-pocket spending on 2017 was in excess of P372 billion while the UHC Act's 2019 budget is only P217 billion, Filipinos cannot still expect to rely entirely on government subsidies.
If we learn to prioritize health, we can begin to shift our focus from incurring massive medical costs to preventative health care, which is definitely a much more desirable path. Just imagine the amount of money we can save if we were able to avoid the financial impact of expensive health care by practicing a healthy lifestyle.
2. Other areas of our lives will improve.
The status of our health and well-being can have a domino effect on other areas of our life too. When we are sick, our bodies are not the only ones affected. Even our work, schooling, relationships, and finances are affected as well.
For example, if we called in sick to work, our tasks at the office pile up quickly, deductions will be charged from our salaries (unless we have enough sick leave to cover our absence), and long-term absences due to sickness may negatively impact our team's productivity. Our household companions can also be burdened by our incapacity to do our duties for them. Let us not even forget to mention the impact and stress our sickness will cause to us and our finances.
When we prioritize health and wellness, we are less likely to become sick and experience its negative effect on us and other areas of our life. We feel better physically, mentally and emotionally and this can have a positive domino effect on our work, relationships and overall well-being.
3. We can meet new people and become part of a community of like-minded people.
While meeting new people may not be one of our expectations when we start to do health-related activities, we are eventually bound to have a conversation with someone who are also on the same wellness boat with us. This is a common experience in gyms and fitness clubs where conversing with other members is a common scene. We can also join groups, classes and communities focused on wellness activities. Who knows if we even meet our future spouse or business partner in the gym?
4. We will have more energy to survive the hard times.
As Sylvester Stallone's character, Rocky Balboa, pointed out in a movie, life is not always sunshine and rainbows. Life is tough and if we're not readily equipped to face the challenges it throws at us, it will beat us down to our knees. If we are rendered incapacitated by any illness, we might have a lesser chance of surviving or successfully dealing with the hardships of life without the help of others. However, if we invested in ourselves through wellness and a healthy lifestyle, we will have the vitality and stamina to take on the challenges of the world.
5. We will have more energy to do the things we love.
In the movie, Limitless, Bradley Cooper's character received a drug that enhances mental and physical sharpness. With the help of the drug, he was able to achieve a lot of things and do the things he wanted to do with outstanding performance. He obtained the strength and acuity to show up for the important things in his life. In short, he became limitless. Now just imagine the possibilities if we have all the energy to do the things that matter most in our lives without being limited by any sickness or incapacity.
6. We will be in a position to help other people.
When we are healthy, we can become a sturdy pillar for others, especially the important people in our life. We are in a position of strength to look out for others and give support to those who needed it. Having a healthy body and mind gives us more strength to serve others. This comes with the saying "We can't give what we don't have". We can't possibly love others if we don't love ourselves and our body; nor can we serve others if we ourselves are doing a disservice to our body. We should have a storage of energy that won't be drained if we are to serve and support others. This can only be achieved if we prioritize our health and well-being first.
7. We will look and feel great.
Most of us have seen celebrities who look very young and fresh when they were just starting out with their careers, only to look horrible after several years of depression, alcohol and drug addiction. These people allowed vices to take control of their lives, causing detrimental effects on their health and physical appearance.
Once we start living healthier and focusing on personal well-being, we will begin to notice positive changes in our lives. The fruits we eat and the exercise habits we adopt leads to increased collagen production, resulting to our skin looking invigorated and glowing. Looking good makes us feel and look confident and great, giving us self-esteem to take on more challenges in our work and in life as a whole.
8. We become the best version of ourselves.
When we start to take care of ourselves today and embrace a healthy lifestyle, our future selves will surely thank us. Leading a healthy life is not just about focusing on our current selves; it is about investing on our future selves as well.
Prioritizing health and wellness will make us more aligned with our purpose and goals. We can start removing all the negative things that doesn't make us feel good and that doesn't contribute to our purpose. Our minds become clearer and more focused on important things that bring fulfillment. With a clear mind, we can make firmer and better decisions, taking us closer to our full potential.
9. We become a source of motivation and inspiration to others.
We all look for role models in our lives that we can get inspiration and advice from. By being healthy and having a wellness routine, we can become role models for others too. Other people will find motivation from us to follow our steps and establish their own health habits as well. As a role model, we become a better friend, parent, spouse, and colleague.
10. We only have one body throughout our entire existence in this world.
The one very important thing that we should realize is the body we have right now is the only vessel we have that houses all our physical and spiritual assets. It can never be naturally replaced and our whole existence and consciousness can never be moved to another vessel, despite any scientific breakthroughs that may be discovered in the future. That alone should motivate us into taking care of ourselves and prioritizing health and wellness.
Always remember that it's better and more efficient to prevent a disease or illness from happening than curing it after its onset.
As a reward for reading until the end, here's a bonus fact just for you.
Bonus: The quality of our sleep improves.
A lot of studies have already proven the importance of sleep in our well-being. We spend almost one-third (1/3) of our life sleeping which is why we need to be informed more on why sleep matters.
Sleep is our body's way to restore and heal the cellular damage done to our body by oxidation stress, which is the imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body. Lack of sleep will take a toll on our energy, productivity, and cognitive functions. When our body is healthy, the quality of our sleep improves greatly which results to having a genuinely restful night. High quality sleep allows our body to reset and restore the strength needed to tackle the challenges each day brings.
Begin your health journey now
After reading the above reasons on why Filipinos should prioritize health and wellness, are you already convinced to take on the challenge of adopting a healthy lifestyle and wellness routine?
Among the reasons above, what gave the most impact to you in pursuing a healthy lifestyle?
Do you know other reasons that should be included above? If yes, you can comment below or send us a message HERE.
What will be your first steps towards a healthy mind and body?
The food that we eat affects our body in many ways. If you want to have a healthy mind and body, you should strive to eat healthy foods. However, not all the food we intake are created equal and may not provide the essential nutrients our body needs. In this case, we need to take food supplements to fill in the gap that our food might have left.
We, at Essentials for Daily Living, can help you live a healthy life. We have the right kind of health supplements you need for your journey towards a healthy body and mind. Visit us and shop now at https://www.essen.ph/.
Here's a short description of our natural health supplement products:
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Essen Mangosteen - helps in promoting and maintaining good health.
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Essentur - helps relieve arthritic pains.
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Essen Avocado - helps lower bad cholesterol.
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Essen Gravi - may help lower the risk of getting cancer.
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Morinji - helps in preventing malnutrition.
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Next Read: Turmeric: Why You Should Add Them To Your Health Regimen
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Manry G.
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