We do not have a health care system in the United States; we have a sick care system.  We have systematically neglected wellness and disease prevention.

We think of our bodies much like we do our automobiles.  We drive the car until something goes wrong and then we take it to the shop for repairs.  Keeping your car in good working order by preventative maintenance is the least expensive path and extends the life of your car.

In the U.S.A., 95 percent of every health care dollar is spent on treating illnesses and conditions after they occur. But we spend peanuts on prevention.

Consider this: Right now, some 75 percent of health care costs are accounted for by heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and obesity. What these five diseases and conditions have in common is that they are largely preventable and even reversible by changes in nutrition, physical activity, and lifestyle.

We also have to realize that wellness and prevention must be truly comprehensive. It is not only about what goes on in a doctor’s office. It encompasses workplace wellness programs, community-wide wellness programs, building bike paths and walking trails, getting junk food out of our schools, making school breakfasts and lunches more nutritious, increasing the amount of physical activity our children get, and so much more.

Your body has the capacity to heal itself, but like a factory where the product is a result of raw materials and craftsmanship, we are not producing a very good product.  Eating the right foods in a balanced diet without exercise prevents the nutrients from reaching all the cells in our body. 

Not taking time to care for our mental wellbeing allows stress to ravage our brain, heart, and circulator system. Not caring for "The Self" can lead to reduced productivity and mistakes and at the extreme it leads to family and workplace violence.  We live in a culture that is religiously obese and spiritually malnourished.  When people feel disconnected they can retreat into very dark places.

A culture of wellness is one that encourages and enables a person to take responsibility for their health and wellbeing.  A few changes in lifestyle to yield dramatic and positive gains in your health, happiness, and productivity.