Health Quiz 101

I’m confident that as my children you are genetically wired to wonder about your health.  And maybe you don’t want answers.

But I was raised in a family culture that impressed upon me the responsibility for my own well-being.  In some ways, this was good.  My parents handed down a wealth of knowledge (when I listened) about healthy foods, necessary supplements, faith and positive thinking.  Essentially, I was raised on a mix of Adelle Davis, the Bible, Dianetics (before Scientology) and The Power of Positive Thinking.  The only thing they missed was the ethos of exercise.

All of this information didn’t stop me from years of being a self-destructive junk food junkie who was most comfortable reading a book on the couch.  But then…”train up a child in the way he should go”*…and all that…  I have come back to the basics of my parents’ teachings of how I can impact my own health.  Of course, now I think I am superwoman and can control everything.  I feel sure that when my knee swells up or my back gets crazy, it must be something I have eaten, not eaten, done, not done, thought, not thought, etc., etc.

And so I’ve found something right up my alley.  A quiz to let me know my risks for all of the big ones: heart disease, diabetes, cancer of many types, osteoporosis and stroke.  And then it tells me how to eliminate these risks.  Wow!

Here it is “Your Disease Risk”  courtesy of Washington University and that wonderfully informative Dr. Oz.

Now I know…this doesn’t protect me from my Mom’s genes for high cholesterol and high blood pressure.  It doesn’t erase the family history of cancer. But it tells me what I can do to mitigate genetic factors.  I love it!

I like knowing what I can control.  Even if it gives me a false sense of security, I can feel powerful, and I don’t have to wonder.

xxoo

* Proverbs 22.6