Why Health is Your Greatest Wealth
Wellness is everywhere. The $1.8 trillion industry (according to McKinsey & Company) has given us meditation apps, boutique fitness studios, and enough green juice to fill an ocean. While we are incredibly grateful for the focus on self-care, the uncomfortable truth is that we are not addressing what really matters.
Our emphasis on surface-level wellness cues, such as the yoga pose, the skincare routine, and the aesthetic, distracts us from what keeps us alive and thriving: the internal organs. Your liver, kidneys, heart, and gut may not show up on selfies, but they determine whether you will have the energy, clarity, and vitality to enjoy life in your 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond.
In our view, even McKinsey’s six dimensions of wellness (health, fitness, sleep, mindfulness, appearance, and nutrition) overlook a critical aspect. The true definition of wellness must place internal organ health at its foundation. For example, you cannot sleep well if your thyroid is struggling. Your skin cannot be clear, peachy, and beautiful if your liver is overworked. No amount of mindfulness can address untreated or poorly managed high blood pressure. We need to redefine wellness beyond the superficial to make it meaningful. Here are some suggestions for a more comprehensive approach to wellness:
1. Master your Body’s Signals – Understand how your internal organs respond to what you eat or drink, how you rest or move. For instance, if you learn how to manage your glucose intake, you know when to stop eating for the day to have a great, restful night, or how to eat in ways that nourish your body for heart health, etc. This is not tedious information; it is what makes the difference between feeling 40 at 60 or feeling 60 at 40.
2. Stress & Ageing – Life pressures, whether from work or personal relationships, are played out in real life, not on stage. Your body, therefore, reacts to stress by releasing cortisol, which we believe accelerates cellular ageing. Thus, managing stress is essential and urgent.
3. Prevention: Your Superpower – We must monitor and measure through health screenings to have actionable information. The adage, “prevention is better than cure,” underscores the importance of catching issues early, in fact, before any symptoms, so that we can course-correct rather than crisis-manage.
4. Your Understanding – Medical jargon can intimidate people into inaction, with detrimental effects on health. Honest and accessible conversations about what is happening inside our bodies and why, give us the chance to take action.
What you Gain – Freedom!
When your health comes first, the benefits are evident: you do not have 3:00 pm crashes; your skin glows not from expensive serums but from excellent cellular health; you are sharp and clear-thinking. This is freedom. The freedom to enjoy life’s pleasures, such as that glass of red wine, spontaneous travel, and relationships without anxiety.
We have written a series of articles that explore common health challenges such as high blood pressure, exercise, and type 2 diabetes because we genuinely believe that wellness is not just skin-deep; it is organ-deep.
We urge you to schedule regular health checks, including dental, eye, and blood pressure. These are the appointments through which unexpected ailments are detected, as many severe conditions develop silently. High cholesterol, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, vitamin deficiencies, and even cancers show no symptoms until they have progressed. By the time you feel unwell, you may have lost valuable intervention time. Let us be intentional about wellness, shaping it so profoundly that it impacts our longevity.
How to build your health check routine:
1. The Self Meeting: Lock It In – Book your health check early in the year. Be as intentional about it as when you plan holidays. Choose the provider and be consistent.
2. The Reward Strategy – If you are afraid of the process, plan an after-test event such as lunch with a friend. You will have something to look forward to afterwards.
3. Employer Benefits – If your employer offers health assessments as part of their benefits package, please take advantage of them. You may also be eligible for National Health Service checks, so find out. Otherwise, research private health providers, as many offer affordable options. Remember, this is ultimately cheaper than treating preventable conditions later.
4. Accountability Partners – Share your results with someone who cares, as they will help encourage you to take necessary action. If nothing sinister shows up in your results, there support will encourage you to maintain the habit of regular checks.
5. Act Now – Do not ignore results. Act on areas that need attention; follow up with your GP or a qualified health practitioner. This is precisely the reason you took the tests.
This article is not personal advice. The information contained in this article has been designed for educational and informational purposes only and not for your specific circumstance. It is provided solely to enable you to make your own choices. No material in this article is a substitute for professional advice.
All products have been selected by our editorial team; however, we may earn a commission on some products purchased through links in this article. Please note that any hyperlinks or references are provided for your convenience & information only. We are not responsible for the quality, accuracy, timelines, reliability or any other aspect of these products and services that you obtain from a site we have posted a link to. We also have no control over third party websites and accept no legal responsibility for any content, material or information contained or accessed in them. We make every effort to attribute the correct source of every image we use. If you think an attribution is incorrect or missing, please contact us at info@violasedit.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.