How staying healthy can make you wealthy By Ken Freedman, D.C. What would you say if I told you that it is costing you, and each United States citizen, $6,280 for health care each year? According to a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the overall cost of health care - for visits to the doctor, drugs,medical equipment, insurance, nursing homes,home health care and hospitalization - doubled from 1993 to 2004. In fact,more than 15 percent of America's production is spent on medical care, or $6,280 per person. So for every $100 you spend, $15 goes toward covering the cost of being sick. We should have serious concerns about the financial toll health care is taking on us. In the United States, every 60 seconds a serious health problem causes someone to file for bankruptcy.A recent Harvard University study showed that excessive medical expenses were the direct cause of 50 percent of all bankruptcy filings in the United States. Since 2000, insurance premiums for employer sponsored health insurance in the United States have risen five times faster than workers' earnings. General Motors spends more on health care costs than it does on steel. Starbucks Coffee spends more money on health care costs than it does on coffee. What is the most effective solution for all of us? It involves a shift in the way we take care of ourselves. Instead of waiting for problems or diseases to occur, and then drug or cut them out, we should shift our focus toward developing lifestyle activities that promote wellness. Instead of taking therapies or drugs to make us less sick,we should do things that would make us healthier. What would this practical approach look like? For starters, here are five recommendations: 1. See your chiropractor for a checkup. The first and most important step is to ensure that you body is functioning at its absolute best. From your brain, all of the energy that controls virtually every function of your body is carried over your nervous system. It is imperative to make certain there is no interference to this process. Once interference to the flow of energy occurs, it is impossible for your body to heal or function optimally. In addition, an adverse cascade of effects can result in compromising the function of your muscles and joints, organs,performance, resistance and the aging process.When muscles and joints are not permitted to work correctly, they are more prone to overwork,pain, swelling, injury, excessive wear and decay.When your organs are not permitted to function correctly, the negative impact on your body can have effects that are wide ranging and profound.Your digestion, resistance to germs, ability to heal, and overall vitality are not as good. If you want to be sure your body is firing on all eight cylinders and working at its full capability, is imperative to have a chiropractor check you.Their specialized training enables them to determine if a problem exists, exactly where it is located, how severe it is, and what needs to be done about it. Most importantly, it is the safest form of true health care available for anyone of any age,period. 2. Mother knew best: Eat well, think well, and move well. Eat well: Eat a variety of fresh,wholesome meals. Reduce excessively fatty and fried foods. Limit candy, soda, artificial ingredients (including sweeteners) and refined sugar. Check with a nutritionist about the foods that are best for you.Have a chiropractic checkup to ensure you are fully capable of properly metabolizing the foods you are eating. Redirect things that are destructive to your health, toward things that are constructive to your health. If a pack of cigarettes costs nearly $4, then a pack-a-day habit costs more than $100 a month.Become smoke free and invest the savings into health promoting activities, such as a health club membership.What about doing the same thing with the money you spend on alcohol,empty calorie snacks and fast food?What would you save in a month just by eliminating the bar bill, $25-$100? What would you save a month by drinking water or fresh juice instead of Starbucks coffee? Think well: You may not be able to control what happens to you; however, you can control how you respond to what happens to you. Positive statements and visualizations about yourself, meditation, goal setting and associating with quality people nurture patterns of thinking and behavior that serve you better. Move well: Exercise moves oxygen into your body. Exercise at least three times a week,performing activities that improve your muscle strength, heart and lung function.Before starting any exercise program, check with your medical doctor and your chiropractor for advice on which type of exercises will be most effective for you to safely stress your heart, lungs, and spine to reach your health goals.You will yield multiple physical and emotional benefits.By the way, every extra pound your body carries translates into four extra pounds on your spine.Reduce unnecessary stress off of your heart,muscles and joints by slimming down. 3. Stay well and fully fund a health savings account as an additional retirement investment vehicle. Check with your investment advisor or accountant. 4. Stay well and invest the money you would have spent on pharmaceuticals. The average drug co-payment is $15-30 per month, often more. This money would serve you better if invested into your health savings account, IRA or other investment.You would also avoid the harmful effects from taking drugs that only manipulate or mask the symptoms that show your body is not working properly 5. If your body performed better, how would that affect your earning potential? If you were more productive during the time you do work,how would that translate into increased revenue, salary increases,bonuses and commissions? Better energy would help you earn more money working overtime. Imagine how much healthier your retirement account would be if you were able to bank the equivalent of one to three extra hours earnings per week ? There are many forms of wealth. The information I have provided will help you become and remain wealthy on many levels.Taking responsibility for your life and adopting healthier lifestyle activities will save you money from unnecessary drugs, surgery and medical devices. You will have more vitality, and be free to enjoy more options between work and play. Most importantly, you will be able to become and remain healthy, because a healthy person is the wealthiest of all. Dr. Ken Freedman is owner of Freedman Chiropractic Center in East Brunswick. For more information, call (732) 254-6011, email ken@freedmanchiroracticcenter. com, or visit www.freedmanchiropracticcenter.com.