Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Thanksgiving and Family Health

Healthtip: Since most of us gather with family over Thanksgiving, this is a good time to review together your family health history. Much of what we know today about chronic disease is related to genetics and heredity. The more you can document on your family health history, the more equipped you will be to understand your own health. The National Institute of Health has devised a great chart to help with this: https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/fhh-web/home.action

One thing that every patient visit with a doctor has in common: asking about family history. You probably notice this more and more: that your doctor asks you if there's any family history of heart disease, stroke, cancer, etc. This helps equip your doctor to an understanding of your own health risks. And then the preventative measures can be taken to promote your health accordingly.

Theres so little in our lives that we can truly control or understand well. I think the older I get, the more I realize that my life is not under my control. I take greater and greater satisfaction in understanding that while my choices affect me, ultimately the plan God has for me cannot be thwarted. With the ups and downs of life, I find more comfort in understanding WHO holds my life, rather thatn trying to hold my own.

In this holiday season, the greatest gratitude comes in knowing and understanding that whatever our history, or our family history may be, leaning on God's providence, and not our own understanding ( Prov 3: 5, 6), is the foundation we all seek in this life!

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