A good diet, a healthy exercise program, and stress management tools are absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt critical to your health. I believe this to be true to the core of my being. Many people still believe that these are "nice to have", but not essential. My cousin is one of these people. For years, she has had high blood pressure. She is on blood pressure medication. I have encouraged her many times to make changes to her diet, exercise more, and manage her stress better to help to reduce her blood pressure naturally—with the hope of eliminating or reducing the medication over time. Because the blood pressure medication is helping to reduce her blood pressure (though it causes other issues), she has opted not to work on her diet and lifestyle. My cousin feels that changing her diet, exercising more, and reducing her stress take too much effort and cramp her style (sound like anyone you know?).

Recently my cousin has not been feeling well, having symptoms of light-headedness, irritability, anxiety, and hunger. I suggested she might be hypoglycemic and pre-diabetic. Tests confirmed this to be true. If my cousin had focused on more natural ways to reduce her blood pressure years ago, I believe that she would not be pre-diabetic right now. After all, pre-disposing factors to Type II diabetes include blood sugar instability, being overweight, stress, and exposure to environmental toxins. Healthy eating, exercise, and stress management are not a luxury, they are a must.

My cousin feels a lot of anxiety around her health problems. She is a dynamic woman who is always on the go. The downside is that she does not have a lot of tools to manage her stress. She asked if she should take medication to help her anxiety. It is all too common for people's first reaction to be to reach for medication. As mentioned, this was her desired choice to handle her high blood pressure too. Would it be the same for her diabetes diagnosis? Drugs can have (serious) side effects and are often not as effective as more natural remedies (See Just Say No (to Prescription Drugs) for more on this). For example, according to the National Institute of Health, exercise in combination with weight loss can reduce the odds of developing diabetes by 58%, nearly double the rate of risk reduction by use of diabetes medication (31%). When I asked my cousin why she would want to take the medicine rather than trying to learn stress management techniques, she said because it's fast and easy.

At the end of every issue of Oprah magazine, Oprah writes "What I Know For Sure". I am not saying that all disease can be miraculously cured by healthy eating, exercise, and stress management. However, I do know for sure that these three elements are intimately connected to our health and wellness. We are not the victims of our health problems. We have control. Take back the power and spring into action. Educate yourself on how to eat well. Commit to an exercise program, finding movement that is fun for you. Take your stress management seriously, carving out time for yourself. Seek help in any or all of these areas when needed. For information on healthy eating, read Eat This Way and Snack Well in the "Body" section of the Four Quadrant Living website. For some ideas on stress management, visit the "Mind" section. And for some tips on exercise, read Walk 10,000 Steps and Find Your Gypsy.

I write this blog out of frustration, concern, and love for my cousin and many others like her. I have realized over the years after repeated efforts to encourage her to change her diet and lifestyle that I cannot make the choice for my cousin to take charge of her own health. It has to come from her. My concern of not helping her is that a few years down the road I could be blogging about how the diabetes led to more serious health issues. Diabetes, left untreated, can lead to heart, kidney, and eye disease. All I can do right now is give her the tools she needs and be there to help when she is ready. I do think maybe this might be a wake up call for her. She called me today to tell me she had walked on the treadmill at the gym. This is a great first step. Let my cousin's story encourage and inspire you. Don't wait for your wake up call—be proactive now.

I have never been more serious or felt so strongly about anything in my life. Your health is in your hands.