PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – Exercise, eating well and getting enough sleep are habits doctors say can help prevent some of the nation’s leading causes of death… but a local physician says life often gets in the way.
Dr. Lee Magro, a family medicine physician at Tallahassee Memorial Health, said preventive medicine is not just about treating disease, it is about keeping it from happening in the first place.
“In my experience if somebody is regularly exercising and eating healthy that’s kind of the apple a day keeps the doctor away,” Magro said.
Magro said a healthy lifestyle can lower the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high cholesterol and some types of cancer. He said it can also improve mental health.
He recommends 30 minutes of exercise a day, five days a week, paired with a balanced diet, avoiding smoking, limiting alcohol and making sleep a priority.
“We get too busy in our life right, we have a plan when we wake up like I’m going to the gym or I’m going out for a run or I’m going to cook this excellent meal this evening that’s a healthy meal and then life comes at us and we get really busy and we say oh I just don’t have time for that,” Magro said.
Patients who regularly exercise and eat healthy tend to need fewer medications and can increase their life expectancy by as much as five to fifteen years, according to Magro.
“The goal is to never have to put somebody on a medication, you know medication has side effects but if it’s warranted it’s needed,” Magro said.
Magro said it is important to start building healthy habits early.
“The earlier the better come and do preventive medicine and get a checkup even if nothing is wrong with you, you should come in and get an annual wellness visit,” he said.
Doctors also recommend staying up to date on screenings, vaccinations and annual checkups to catch health problems before they become more serious. Magro said it is never too late to start living healthier, and that small decisions made today can prevent major health problems in the future.
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