As important as health is to all of us, it’s surprising that many people pay more attention to maintaining their homes or cars than they do to maintaining their bodies. Fortunately, it is never too late to begin a preventative maintenance program. Changing your health habits, even late in life, can dramatically reduce the chances of contracting many serious illnesses. That’s why it is important for you to learn about good health strategies, assess your own health risks and problems, and begin a program of sensible prevention.

Educate Yourself about Health:
With the internet readily available, most of us can acquire a library of health information materials easily and inexpensively. After you have acquired some general knowledge about health and the normal aging process, you need to assess yourself and your lifestyle. If you haven’t had a physical examination recently, now is the time to do so. In addition, self-assessment guides can give you an idea of your general level of risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, and other common conditions.

Maintain Your Good Health:
Following the guidelines above should alert you to a number of important steps you can take to maintain good health and reduce the chance of serious illness and disease:
• Stop smoking or using tobacco products
• Control blood pressure
• Eat right
• Take action to reduce the risk of accidents
• Work to maintain a proper weight
• Exercise regularly
• Use medications properly

Today, on the average, we can expect to live well into our 80’s. This longevity has rewritten our long-standing definitions of “middle age” and “old age”. People who take the time to become better educated about health and the aging process, who follow sensible health prevention practices, and who are knowledgeable health-care consumers, have dramatically better chances of enjoying those extra years.