Health Prep Tips

While you are busy getting ready for the holidays, take some steps now to make sure you enter the new year in the most healthy way possible. When it comes down to it, your health is one of the most basic factors in your preparedness arsenal because without reasonably good health you will be seriously behind the eight ball when TSHTF. Here's how:

• Have a complete medical check up. Even with no or limited health insurance, paying out of pocket for a preventive health screening makes good financial sense. This should include screening for common medical problems (cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, and a colonoscopy/mammogram/other age-related health screening)
• Have a dental check up and cleaning, or a reline for dentures, or whatever else it takes to make sure your teeth are in good working order.
• Have your vision checked and corrected if necessary. Good vision is necessary for many survival situations.
• Have your hearing checked and corrected if necessary. Good hearing is also necessary for many survival situations.
• Exercise everyday. Exercise isn't a five day a week thing. Our ancestors were physically active all day, every day in centuries past and the need for such activity hasn't diminished just because technology has made our lives more sedentary.
• Eat nutritious food every day (and skip the chips, pop, donuts, cookies, Big Macs, etc). Surprisingly many people standing in line at the food pantry are fat. Seems odd doesn't it? People often go for cheap high calorie/low nutritional value food when they could ratchet back their spending and live much better on simple grains and whatever fruits and vegetables are on sale each week.
• De-stress. Stress is one of the leading killers in our society. Living in a constant state of semi-panic does nothing to solve the problem you are experiencing and can seriously trash your immune system.
• Do some of the old fashioned things that your grandparents used to do: go fishing, grow your own food, get fresh air every day, play outside, open the windows to air out the house on a regular basis, etc.

Good health isn't as hard as it seems--the old fashioned basics tend to work better then all of the new fads that come down the pike. Take care of yourself now so that during an emergency, your body can take care of you.