Top 7 blog posts of 2011 --Choices

Today we begin 7 days of our favorite blog posts of 2011.  These were selected by several criteria:  number of viewers that day; large number of comments,  and favorites among my readers.  I hope you've had a great New Years holiday and enjoy my top 7 posts of 2011. 

We make many choices throughout our lives.  Some are simple.  For example, should I wear blue jeans or dress pants to the concert tonight?  Some are complex.  What do I want to do with my life?

Each person's choices affect his health.  Each day we decide whether to go to the gym and exercise or drive by on the way home.  Will I drive through a fast food restaurant and eat a burger and fries for supper?  Will I eat a salad instead?  Many small choices become a habit and then a way of life.  Soon our way of life affects our health.

We cannot change our genetics, our inherited genes.  Some people are tall and thin.  Others are short and heavy.  Some people are fair and blonde; others are dark skinned and brown eyed.  We live with the genes our parents gave us. 

For many diseases, doctors talk about risk factors.  Risk factors we cannot change include our genetics, our age and sex (whether you are male or female).  However, often there are other risk factors that we can change and improve through healthy behaviors.  For example, when the doctor says your blood pressure is high and your cholesterol is out of sight, those are two risk factors that you (with the help of your doctor) can work to improve.

The experts are telling us how to improve our health.  Should we heed their advice, talk to our family doctor and begin a journey to healthy living?  It's our choice.