An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

It’s estimated that 90 to 95 percent of cancers have their roots in environment and lifestyle; about 80 percent of people with diabetes are overweight or obese; more than 25 percent of deaths from heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke could be avoided; and between 33 to 90 percent of dementia is preventable.

Yet most people mosey along, thinking they can get away with being overweight (more than 70 percent of U.S. adults), having prediabetes or diabetes (more than half), fueling cancer with sedentary behavior (80 percent of U.S. adults don’t meet minimum activity guidelines) and continuing to inject toxins into their body through tobacco, highly processed meats and lots of ultra-processed foods.It’s time to:

Stop. Take a break and take time to smell the healthy coffee. Consider picking up some healthy habits.

Look. There are wonderful opportunities all around you. Seize a healthy lifestyle habit (or three) and revel in the positive results.

Listen. We’re offering you tips to launch you on the road to preventing disease instead of reacting to it.

Food is preventive medicine: Knock out cancer, dementia, diabetes and heart disease risks by dodging added sugars, sat and trans fats and any grain that isn’t 100 percent whole. Chow down on 12 walnut halves and seven to nine servings of produce daily, use olive oil and eat 10 ounces of salmon or ocean trout weekly.

A study in the journal Neurology found that eating a Mediterranean diet is associated with a larger brain volume, more gray and white matter and better communication between neurons. And a recent Harvard study says that one-third of premature deaths could be avoided by switching to a plant-based diet.

Develop devotion to motion: Every day, find chances to move. Make sure you get an additional 30 or more minutes of activity five or more days a week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that will reduce your risk for many cancers, heart disease, mental distress, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, plus provide weight control and strengthen bones and muscles.

De-stress your distress: Find time to meditate, enjoy friends, sleep sufficiently, help others, and/or do yoga. It’ll lower your chronic stress response and dispel the harmful effects of too much cortisol pumping throughout your vascular system. A chronic stress response can suppress immune, digestive, sleep and reproductive systems, causing them to stop working normally.

Find your fun: One study found the more enjoyable activities a person participated in, the healthier and happier they were. Writing in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine researchers associated fun with lower blood pressure as well as reduced levels of total cortisol, smaller waist circumference and body mass index, less depression and better all-around physical function.