Naturopath Jeremy Hill says take responsibility for your health and your life

Do you take better of your car than you do of your own body? I know it's a clichŽ, but for so many people it may well also be the truth. Perhaps you might be the diligent type getting an annual checkup? If so, then I suppose you might have had your blood pressure and cholesterol checked, perhaps even your red and white cell count and your blood sugar, and maybe even your liver, thyroid and kidney functions were looked at. That's usually about it, which is terrific. But these tests typically serve more as indicators of disease than providing insight into the causes of such illnesses.

I'm all for finding out if you're sick, but I'm even keener on preventative measures. The causes of disease are even more important to be testing for, don't you agree? If you find yourself nodding along with me then you may be left wondering just why your diligent self has never been tested for excessive oxidation, methylation, inflammation or glycosylation. Why, you might ask, have you never had your level of insulin sensitivity checked or the relevance and importance of your expanding waist measurement explained? Are you losing muscle mass with each passing year, is this being monitored and, more importantly, what are you doing about it? What about your immunity? Have you had your actual immune function looked at? Is your immune surveillance doing a good job of keeping infections and cancer cells under control these days? This is surely a fact worth considering, given that stress can drop your immune activity by up to 75%, and that you can have only half the immune function at age 40 of that of a 20 year old?

Is toxicity considered as a causative factor in your state of health? We live in an increasingly toxic world. Everywhere I look I see sources of toxins that can make us unwell and the many studies that highlight the impact of these toxins on us must surely make some form of toxic load evaluation a priority when your health is assessed? And let's not forget the great scourges of the modern age - are activity and stress levels considered at your checkups?

Simply testing, discovering and medicating your high cholesterol and blood pressure may not be enough to let you be really healthy. After all, it may have been excessive stress that dropped your immunity, allowing a bacterial infection of ecoli or candida to develop in your gut, causing inflammation in the liver, which triggered insulin resistance which led to high your cholesterol and blood pressure.

If you nodded all the way through my little diatribe, well done on seeking out such a proactive and progressive health coach to guide you through the maze of true healthcare. For the rest of you who were utterly bamboozled, those tests are for the major promoters of ageing and disease. Who's watching your back and what sort of checkups have you guys been getting? You are your most valuable asset and you need to care for your mind, body and spirit as if all of your hopes and dreams depend upon it - because they do!

Live your knowledge! And if you don't know enough, surround yourself with experts, they are worth the time and money. Don't make excuses. I hear the escape clauses every day (It won't happen to me. I never have enough time. I'm just not into exercise. I don't like the way water tastes), and they always make me smile, but I'm not fooled. Use excuses by all means, I won't lose any sleep over it, but I would hate them to be your famous last words...

Most people value a fit and healthy lifestyle as their greatest priority, and yet most people eat and drink badly and don't get enough exercise. And the reasons most people will be challenged with poor health will so often be the very same reasons they will also find themselves unsuccessful in other aspects of their life. The lack of clear goals to work towards is so often what stops good intentions being turned into actions and, more importantly, results! So, set your goals and then remember, the only time that success comes before work is in the dictionary.

And you might need to adjust the odd attitude along the way. The acknowledgement of, and working on, changing old ingrained attitudes can help undo past habits allowing new, more motivated, ones to develop. Saying, "I can't change" is often the same as saying, "I'm not willing to make the effort to change", or "I haven't yet identified the reason to change". Many people die at least 20 years too early, often overweight and yet malnourished, and often as a result of this very attitude.

The reality is you don't have to feel sick to be unwell and that good health is so much more than just the absence of disease. Don't just cross your fingers, hoping for the best or trusting on good genes, or even worse, relying on the healthcare system to look after you. It's your health, it's your responsibility, it's your life. I hope I can leave you with the motivation to go out and live the healthiest life you can because the alternative may make you very sick.

Good health,
Jeremy Hill (Diploma of Natural Therapy), Qualified Naturopath