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Most people have no idea what the definition of health really is.  Therefore, that which they believe about health cannot be true.  Most say they’re healthy when they have no pain, no runny nose, and no headache. In other words: I’m healthy when I feel good.  

There are three problems with this. First, when you think health is feeling good, what do you usually do when you feel bad? You take a drug to feel good and then assume you’re healthy. Yet, although a drug eliminates your symptoms, you may be even sicker.  

Second, when a friend recently died of a heart attack at the age of fifty, he died without prior symptoms of heart disease and had passed previous medical evaluation. His doctor told us that in more than two-thirds of people who have a heart problem, the first sign is a heart attack. Then, in two-thirds of those, the people die.    

I could go on with story after story of people I’ve seen in my office who chose to not follow through with or start care based on the fact that they felt fine or not that bad—only later to discover disease that was so far along by the time they discovered it, it was too late. By the time you actually know you have cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, spinal arthritis, extremity problems, sexual dysfunction, depression, and other physical/mental problems, these conditions have typically been ravaging your body for years and years.  

Third, there’s the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” myth. Thinking If I have no symptoms of a disease, then I don’t have to worry about disease is one of the most colossal errors in judgment you could ever make concerning your health. You might not have a diagnosed disease, but deadly dis-ease can go on for years without warning. 

Merck Manual of Medical Diagnosis lists the most common diseases and are all present in the body without any signs or symptoms noticeable to the victim:

Heart arrhythmiaGlomerulonephritis (Kidney disease) 

Atherosclerosis (Plaque in arteries)Hypertension (High blood pressure)

Osteoarthritis                                      Ovarian cancer and cysts

Breast cancer                                       Paget’s (bone) disease

Cardiomyopathy                                 Spinal degeneration

Polyps of large bowel                         Cervical cancer 

Prostate cancerCholelithiasis*(Gall stones)

Pulmonary valve stenosis*                  Renal calculi*(Kidney stones)

Coronary artery disease       Renal (kidney) failure (chronic)

Diabetes mellitusRetinoblastoma* (cancer of the eye)

Diverticular (colon) disease                Curvature of the spine and spinal decay

Emphysema (lung disease)Brain disease

Fibroid tumors of the uterus               Valvular heart disease

Seeking freedom from symptoms is easy to do and may even guarantee those results. The only thing it can never bring you, however, is health. In fact, as the Merck Manual shows us, being free from symptoms may just cover up signs of dis-ease and keep you ignorant of your perilous predicament.

Invest time, effort, and finances into your health every day.  Surely, it’s the best investment you will ever make.