Understanding Preventive Healthcare and Its Role in Increasing Your Longevity
If you’ve watched your loved ones get older and struggle with painful, debilitating, and even fatal diseases, you may have felt not only love, concern, and empathy for them, but also fear and dread for your own future…
Is it possible to get older and not be bombarded with disease?
Fortunately, it’s not all up to fate…
There are several measures you can take to live a longer and healthier life, such as employing preventive healthcare, following four healthy tips we’ll cover, and understanding the importance of your biological age.
Understanding the Potential of Preventive Healthcare
One way to lengthen your lifespan is to use preventive healthcare, which means identifying and addressing potential health problems before they become full-blown issues. Preventive healthcare includes things like yearly check-ups along with necessary screenings and immunizations.
Not only can this lead to a longer life, but it’s also a sound financial decision: Studies suggest that preventive healthcare could potentially lead to savings of $3.7 billion per year for the U.S. That equates to individual savings of $6 to $8 thousand per patient per year.
If you consider length of life, quality of life, and the fact that chronic health issues force many people into early retirement, preventive healthcare is a clear choice. Fortunately, most insurance plans cover 100% of preventive healthcare.
4 Tips to Help Add Healthy Years to Your Life
The following are preventive measures you can take to support your lifespan and your healthspan, or the number of years you’ll be healthy:
- Nutrition is pivotal. There are always new fad diets out there, but a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables, lean meats, healthy fats, and antioxidants–while low in saturated fats–is one way to help slow down aging and potentially stave off disease.
- Exercise is critical. 150 minutes of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, per week, can help improve your mood, slow aging, and prevent diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease, just to name a few.
- Managing stress is essential. Called the “silent killer,” stress ages you faster, worsens disease, and can paralyze your immune system. Discovering ways to effectively cope with stress can drastically improve your mind, emotions, and your body.
- Daily lifestyle choices matter. Making healthy choices like prioritizing quality sleep, nutrition, and exercise–while avoiding unhealthy choices like smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, social isolation, and exposure to environmental toxins–can significantly increase your lifespan and your healthspan.
Getting a Better Grasp on Your Biological Age
Your chronological age refers to the number of years you’ve been alive, but your biological age reveals how fast your cells are aging, or your “health age.”
Doctors can use various assessments and diagnostic lab tests like a CBC, CMP, and a full lipid panel to determine if your chronological and biological ages match, or if your cells are aging faster than you are. If needed, your doctor can help you tweak lifestyle choices to get you back on the right track to improve your health.
Hoag Can Help Lengthen and Improve Your Life
Understanding how preventive healthcare, lifestyle choices, and your biological age can all contribute to a longer and healthier life can empower you to take a proactive role in improving your health.
And Hoag is here to help, offering not just state-of-the-art diagnostics and exceptional treatment for present disease, but also personalized help in identifying and addressing any potential problems, before they start.
Make an appointment today with a Hoag doctor for a preventive check-up at any of our many convenient locations. Remember, preventive care is typically covered by insurance, but you can contact your provider for more information.
For more immediate consultations, join our monthly membership program, Hoag Compass, so your very own personal Care Coordinator can walk you step-by-step through determining your biological age and devising tailored strategies for improving your health.
You can even download our convenient mobile app for outstanding care from wherever you are.
Don’t wait to take an active role in improving your lifespan and healthspan. After all, a long, healthy life is less about luck and more about the choices you make.