Stop Waiting to Get Sick: A Physician's Guide to Preventive Health
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
By Dr. Kyle Hoedebecke MD, MBA, MPA, MS, FAAFP, CPE
It’s true that people today are living longer than the generations that have come before us.
But that doesn’t mean we are living better. We have access to health information, science, and technology our predecessors could only dream of, yet the rates of chronic diseases, metabolic dysfunction, and preventative illnesses continue to rise.
So, what’s wrong?
In my opinion, it’s the way we think about health itself. Most people consider themselves “healthy” because we have not been diagnosed with an illness. But chronic illness develops slowly, over years of small issues that go ignored. By the time symptoms appear, the condition is much harder to treat. The good news, however, is that most chronic issues are preventable.
All we have to do is stop reacting and start preventing. That shift in mindset starts with our habits, the tools we use to monitor our health, and debunking the health myths that are holding us back.
Lifestyle Habits Influencing Long-Term Health Outcomes
One of the main keys to living longer is maintaining regular daily habits over time.
Sleep is the biggest factor in establishing these routines. When you wake up, get natural sunlight within an hour if possible. After sunset, eliminate artificial light sources that interfere with sleep. By synchronizing your sleep cycle with your circadian clock, your body produces cortisol and melatonin more efficiently, which is necessary since these hormones regulate nearly every function of your body, including immune health and hormone balance.
To maintain your overall health, you also need to be metabolically flexible—able to switch between burning carbs and fats—by using strategy-based macronutrient cycling or time-restricted feeding.
Your relationships also have a critical influence on long-term health.
Researchers have found that keeping strong social connections is just as important for health as not smoking and a healthy BMI.
How People Can Better Understand Preventive Health
The way we approach preventive health has changed.
We now have the ability to monitor items like heart rate variability (HRV) and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in real-time, which provides information about our autonomic nervous system and its ability to recover from stress.
This lets us take control of our health by changing how you ask questions: instead of: "Am I sick?," ask "How efficient is my system?"
Change your focus from being concerned about a single piece of information to examining how trends in your data change over long periods of time.
Clarifying Common Health Misconceptions
Rethinking our definition of health is essential.
While you can have a chronic illness for many years before it shows physical symptoms, health is a continuum. Since the goal is prevention, your focus should be on finding balance so that a condition doesn't develop into a chronic illness.
The idea that you only need aerobic exercise for a healthy heart is another misconception. While cardio is important, if you only do cardio and avoid weight and balance exercises, your likelihood of falling and fracturing bones (leading causes of death in older adults) as you age increases.
A balanced exercise program of stability, endurance, and strength is essential to living a long, healthy life.
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