32 Comments
User's avatar
Miriam Rachel's avatar

Genetics can increase your risks for certain ailments but yes, your behaviour can either bring it on or stave it off or keep it at bay for a very long time. That’s why I got myself a standing desk. It’s not easy but attempting to work at it a little longer each day.

Expand full comment
Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

The standing desk is a great idea. I find I can only work standing for about half the time and I have to alternate with sitting to rest my lower back.

Expand full comment
Melody's avatar

Have you tried a cushioned floor mat for standing to help ease the pressure while standing at your des

Expand full comment
Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

That would help, I don’t have one of those at work. I will have to bring my own and try it

Expand full comment
Melody's avatar

Request it from your employer or through HR.

Expand full comment
Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

As a subcontractor and not an employee, I know what the answer will be! That’s why I bought my own standup desk top

Expand full comment
Melody's avatar

Got it. I understand.

Expand full comment
Melody's avatar

*desk

Expand full comment
Miriam Rachel's avatar

Yep that’s the thing as it’s hard on your back. You have to rest at times.

Expand full comment
Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

Miriam, I also recently purchased a standing desk converter for my regular desk. I now sit and stand multiple times a day and it feels good.

Expand full comment
Miriam Rachel's avatar

That’s great and same here!

Expand full comment
Daniel P. Hirschi's avatar

I don't know about any family without an uncle Bob. 🤣

Thanks for a very good read. It's very rare the genetics. Our daily lifestyle choices are decisive.

Expand full comment
Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

Thanks for stopping by! Uncle Bob is just like our genetics, we don’t pick our family lol

Expand full comment
Daniel P. Hirschi's avatar

That's so true...🤣🤣

Expand full comment
Jill_KeyWellnessllc's avatar

Uncle Bob made me laugh 😂. Sad but true. It is a choice in how one wants to live after 50. Seems like these habits catch up and cause disease in the 50s. I like to be the weird healthy person.

Expand full comment
Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

Uncle Bob lived an interesting life! But the last few years were very unenjoyable for him.

I had a lot of health issues until I turned 50. Then I had to change, or else.

Expand full comment
Good Humor by CK Steefel's avatar

This is great. Comical because most Americans follow this list.

Expand full comment
Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

Us Canadians aren’t far behind!

Expand full comment
Philipp Maerzhaeuser's avatar

This is the perfect collection of risk factors.

If in doubt on how to ruin your health, be depressed and a burden to the people around you, do this.

Highly recommended to not make it past your 55th birthday 🥳

Expand full comment
Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

Exactly! I never even considered that these same risk factors can help you become a burden on family and society as well, good point.

Expand full comment
Philipp Maerzhaeuser's avatar

Of course that aspect ranks a bit lower, but yes, it’s valid.

Great article - anti motivation

Expand full comment
Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

Some people are more likely to avoid pain than to make positive changes for other reasons.

Expand full comment
Orry's avatar

Recognizing that we hold power over our health choices is the first step towards real change. By making conscious lifestyle decisions, we can prevent many chronic illnesses and empower our bodies to thrive, small steps today can lead to big health wins tomorrow! Great written Tim.

Expand full comment
Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

Thanks for commenting! You said it, we need to recognize that we have quit a bit of leeway to affect things

Expand full comment
Keila (KJ) Aartila's avatar

We have so much more control than we think - taking some responsibility for one's life and choices is empowering, isn't it?

Expand full comment
Kristi Keller 🇨🇦's avatar

This is the easiest to-do list EVER!!! Probably because most people are already doing them.

Putting it in this format was kind of brilliant and most of these shouldn't be shocking to anyone, yet I bet they are to some.

Expand full comment
Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

I’m hoping to avoid doing the whole to-do list myself lol but there’s always the occasional step sideways.

Expand full comment
Marlo Leaman's avatar

This was a great article. And you say, "the fact that we know how much others have suffered with illness should help us realize HOW IMPORTANT it is to do everything we can to stay healthy." As a health coach, I've studied behavior change. One method of behavior change is the 'health belief' model, when someone sees something happen to someone who is similar to them, and then they think, 'if it can happen to them, it can happen to me', and begin to make a change. That's the hope, but I think people have a brief moment of 'oh crap', and then go back to their regular routines without making a change. It takes a conscious effort and awareness. We do our best to live healthy, happy lives without unnecessary stupid health choices that have been scientifically proven to make one ill, but you can still get ill. I believe in prevention, and hopefully when it's my time, I will have compressed morbidity and not a long illness.

Expand full comment
Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

Very eloquently put. What you just put into words here could turn into an article very easily! Thank you for commenting, this helps to clarify my post.

Expand full comment
Victoria Fann's avatar

The whole field of epigenetics emphasizes lifestyle changes to minimize the gene expression we may have inherited. Everything in your post suggests that without those lifestyle changes we are in for a rough ride, especially if we have inherited genetic tendencies toward certain diseases.

Expand full comment
Tim Ebl 🇨🇦's avatar

That’s exactly it, Victoria. It might be in our genetics, but stay dormant if we don’t antagonize it! Leave the sleeping bear lie

Expand full comment
Victoria Fann's avatar

Yes!

Expand full comment