Health check up

Nothing exciting has happened since the great vacation in South Dakota last weekend other than I get hailed on almost every afternoon riding home from work. We all know how I feel about the weather here in Colorado Springs, so there's no use in me beating a dead horse (although I still kick it every now and then!!!).

Though not very exciting (relatively speaking anyway!), I came across an interesting website on one of my professional list serves. In a collaborative effort between Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, this website was designed to help you assess your risk for chronic disease. Now I know you're probably thinking that there are a ton of these out there and you already know which diseases you have a higher risk of developing, but this one has a twist. You click on a chronic disease state (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis or stroke) and it takes you through a series of questions specific to your genetics, environment and lifestyle. The twist is that at the end of all the questions, along with your risk assessment is a summary of the things you could change to decrease your chances of developing the disease and a summary of the positive things you are already doing that contribute to a lower risk. The risk factors are all based on solid scientific studies, so the evaluation of your risk and ways in which you can change that risk are legit. Nutrition contributes to quite a few of these chronic diseases (both good and bad), so of course I am excited about a website that helps folks identify exactly what they could be doing nutritionally to help themselves. Especially for the folks I care about and want to be around for a good long time!!!!

I hope that you will click on the link in the post and educate yourself on what you could be doing to ensure that you not only live longer, but have a better quality of life during that long life!