There’s a big difference between a cold and cancer. No one would dispute that I’m sure. But have you ever thought about the difference between “catching” something like a cold, the flu or some other contagious virus and “developing” something like cancer?
When you catch a cold, you are exposed to a virus and if your immune system is weakened for some reason, you will “catch” that virus and experience the runny nose, sneezing and general yuckiness of a cold. You may be exposed to it on Monday but not begin seeing symptoms until Thursday. It happens relatively quickly if you do catch it.
Now that’s not to say that you can’t do things to avoid catching colds and other viruses because you can. You can wash your hands, cover your mouth, drink lots of water, get enough sleep, optimize your nutrition and take specific supplements. Those things will definitely help keep your immune system strong and help you avoid catching whatever virus happens to be circulating at the time.
Cancer, on the other hand, takes years and decades to develop. Now I know you may say – but what about small children who develop cancer? I don’t have all the answers – no one on this earth does. So I don’t know. But generally diseases like cancer or arthritis or heart disease take a long time to develop. You have to consistently do the things that create the right environment in your body for those diseases to develop, like smoking, drinking or eating junk for 40 years for example.
We know now that even though we have a genetic propensity to develop a certain disease, like cancer, how we live – our diet, exercise habits, lifestyle – can either switch on those genes and the disease develops or can switch it off and you never develop it. Both my dad’s parents and one sibling died of cancer and several other of his relatives did as well. He did not. My mother’s dad, cousins, grandparents and other relatives died from cancer and she did as well. However, she drank and smoked most of her short life.
What I’m trying to say here is that we are not necessarily slaves to our genetics. We aren’t victims to our heredity. We have a choice in how we live and it makes a difference. All too often people think simply choosing to eat a nutrient-dense, whole foods diet doesn’t matter much – after all there are all kinds of toxins in the air and water – so why bother? Well who’s to say just making some small, intentional changes won’t result in a huge impact to your health and longevity? You will never know if you don’t try!
The way I look at it, whatever is in your power to control, it’s up to you to make the best choices available to you. No one does it perfectly 100% of the time – no one. But that’s not an excuse to do nothing. No one but you are responsible for your health. Not your doctor, not your parents, not your spouse. Just as you can develop a disease or a disorder like diabetes by making the wrong choices or not doing anything, you can develop a healthier lifestyle one small baby step at a time.
Are you proactive about your health? If not, why not?
Simple is best! Baby steps are the most powerful way to make truly impactful changes. Here are 125 of my best ones!
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3-D Vitality 
Ann, hopefully if we sow good health habits we will reap the reward. Thanks for encouraging us to press on!
Absolutely Debbie – we have more control over this than we realize.