Make a Decision
How long do you plan to live?
What steps are you taking to get there?
And will you be healthy and wealthy, or decrepit and broke?
Placebos
The first thing that you need to realize is that you are responsible for your health. The mental attitude comes first, because all else flows from that. There have been too many placebo studies to have any doubt that our beliefs have a very powerful effect upon our health. Even medicine that itself is quite potent will often only be as useful as the patient thinks it will be. So you need to think healthy all the time. Picture yourself as completely healthy, and as acting only as a completely healthy person would act.
Action
The next thing you need to do is act on your beliefs – otherwise you will consider yourself a fraud and erode those very beliefs. Begin by moving more. Movement is the key to life. Muscles, blood, oxygen, and waste – everything needs to move. I have done Aikido, a Japanese martial art, where we move our bodies, our breath, and our ki (or chi/energy). In fact, in the East, they measure your health by the movement of your internal energy. When you are ill they say you have a blockage. So move. Take a walk. Climb the stairs. Do some gardening. Slow and steady is the safest, and will keep you living the longest.
Eating
Again, many studies confirm that you will live longer if you simply eat less. Digestion is the largest single expense of energy your body has to make during the day. We literally wear ourselves out with our large plates of food. Also, another handy guide to eating that is less well known is to compare the acidity and alkalinity of your food more than the calories. Your body and blood need to be slightly alkaline to make the most energy out of your oxygen. Foods like avocadoes and almonds may have a lot of fat, but they are alkaline foods, very healthy. Green foods are alkaline. Meats and dairy and breads are acidic foods. Eat them in moderation and make sure that you have a lot of vegetables and water to go along with them. If you are really serious, check out apple cider vinegar, the elixir of the Greeks, & favored by the Braggs.
How will you feel?
When you reach your target age, whether it is 75 or 100, how are you going to feel? Of course our health care system has serious problems – but what if every individual took it upon himself to think, act, and be completely healthy? It will be a small consolation when you end up feeble and diseased to be able to blame the poor health care system. Instead, take control of your destiny, and choose today to think, act, and live as healthy as you possibly can.
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Health Savings Accounts
Is a Health Savings Account for you?
A Health Savings Account can be a great option to consider as more and more employers are cutting back on their health care offerings. The health care industry also recommends that employees understand the true cost of their health care, and having to pay for more of their health care certainly is doing that. But a Health Savings Account is one way to take more responsibility for your family’s health care that has a number of benefits.
How it works.
An HSA can only be created alongside a high-deductible health insurance option. The idea is that the savings in your account will cover your first health care costs until you reach the deductible in your plan. The insurance companies can charge much lower premiums for the coverage because they don’t have to pay for all the small charges that fall under the deductible.
The benefits:
· The high deductible health plans save on premiums
· The HSA belongs to the individual, even when he changes jobs
· HSA contributions – and growth – are non-taxable
· Qualified withdrawals (for health care expenses) are non-taxable
· No limits to the amount that can accumulate in an HSA
· HSA’s roll-over; they are not “use it or lose it.”
· Employer and employee can both contribute.
· Contribution limits are released on June 1 every year, so you can plan ahead. And if you start mid-year, you can still contribute the maximum amount.
Healthy, Wealthy & Wise
Having more financial responsibility for your health often leads to making healthier lifestyle choices. And as you become healthier, your Health Savings Account could grow wealthier.
A Health Savings Account can be a great option to consider as more and more employers are cutting back on their health care offerings. The health care industry also recommends that employees understand the true cost of their health care, and having to pay for more of their health care certainly is doing that. But a Health Savings Account is one way to take more responsibility for your family’s health care that has a number of benefits.
How it works.
An HSA can only be created alongside a high-deductible health insurance option. The idea is that the savings in your account will cover your first health care costs until you reach the deductible in your plan. The insurance companies can charge much lower premiums for the coverage because they don’t have to pay for all the small charges that fall under the deductible.
The benefits:
· The high deductible health plans save on premiums
· The HSA belongs to the individual, even when he changes jobs
· HSA contributions – and growth – are non-taxable
· Qualified withdrawals (for health care expenses) are non-taxable
· No limits to the amount that can accumulate in an HSA
· HSA’s roll-over; they are not “use it or lose it.”
· Employer and employee can both contribute.
· Contribution limits are released on June 1 every year, so you can plan ahead. And if you start mid-year, you can still contribute the maximum amount.
Healthy, Wealthy & Wise
Having more financial responsibility for your health often leads to making healthier lifestyle choices. And as you become healthier, your Health Savings Account could grow wealthier.
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