“Health is wealth.” This is one of the most popular sayings or statements. You hear it from almost everyone addressing any issue concerning health. From health professionals and practitioners to those with little to nothing to do with health as regards work and practice, it's become a common one. By now it should be evident in how people live, showing that health is considered wealth. Sadly, we don't see a good representation or reflection of that.
It's more of a cliché than a message. We see it in how people live with little to no regard for their health. We see it in the things we do, how we live, what we eat, how we take care of our bodies and our environments, and everything that has an impact on our health and can influence and affect our health status. Yet, we hear it always being said that “health is wealth.” But many tend to ignore this wealth for the wealth we most yearn for and desire.
There are comments we make and how we even treat health concerns that clearly reflect what we think of our health; whether we truly value it or not. We have a popular statement here in my part of the world which captures that. It's a way to brush off taking due considerations about our health, thereby ignoring the health concerns so we can do what we want. The irony however, is that nobody wants to fall sick but we neglect what will save us from falling sick.
It's more of a problem because we don't see our public and government agencies taking this health matter seriously. For many countries, like mine, it's safe to say that the health of people isn't something that's valued or even considered because of the lack of resources, infrastructure, and equipment that we see. Nevertheless, we have a responsibility to ourselves for our health, and in our little way, we can take care of our health and avoid some issues.
If only we had or hadn't done some things, we wouldn't have suffered or be suffering some health issues. I saw a video recently where the man was pleading with the public to drink water regularly. He was on kidney dialysis. His lament was simply that he wasn't taking water well, and now he has to suffer it health-wise and financially. When it comes to our health, there are dos and don'ts. I think this is where the battle and struggle lies, for the sake of our health.
One can't lie, it's easier said than done. To stop or start drinking this, eating this or doing this. Some can be quite exhausting and demanding. But when we see health as wealth, we see them as things that are doable. I'd say that even if not to the best of one's abilities or as per the demands and requirements, trying and doing the best that one can for what's necessary and helpful for one's health is something and a way to go towards the good health goal.
Without good health we can do little to nothing, making it an asset for a person. Everything can stop when our health is affected. Which is why some helpful health tips would be to drink water well, exercise, rest well, eat fruits, avoid consuming substances harmful to our organs, have regular checkups, avoid self-medication, watch and pay attention to our health, and take no health concern for granted till it becomes serious or too late. “Health is wealth” indeed.
Image is AI-generated.