“But my health was good.”
This is one of the phrases I hear most often from my clients when they receive an unexpected diagnosis.
“But I didn't feel anything...”, “But I exercised...”, and “But my tests have always been normal...”
And suddenly, the diagnosis arrives: hypertension, diabetes, fatty liver disease, hypothyroidism, or even a heart attack.
The feeling is that the disease appeared out of nowhere.
But most of the time, she didn't show up.
Because, in reality, it was being built silently over the years.
The body usually warns you long before.
Most chronic diseases don't start on the day of diagnosis.
Long before that, the body usually sends signals that something is losing its balance.
Constant fatigue.
Indigestion.
I'm bad.
Irritability.
Power outage.
Difficulty concentrating.
Swelling.
Constipation.
Unfortunately, these symptoms are often treated as “normal.” After all, we're working, taking care of the house, the kids, and trying to manage everything.
So we thought:
“It's just stress.”
“It must be age.”
“Maybe it's a lack of vacation.”
“I'll see that later.”
But these small signs can indicate that the body is experiencing a process of low-grade chronic inflammation—a state associated with the development of various chronic diseases, especially when combined with factors such as poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, insufficient sleep, persistent stress, and social isolation.
Instead of just asking “How do I make this symptom disappear?”, perhaps we should ask:
“What is my body trying to tell me?”
Health shouldn't start in the doctor's office
There's a question that always makes me reflect.
Why do we spend over a decade learning math, chemistry, physics, literature, and geography…
...but almost no one teaches us how to take care of our own bodies?
We learn how to study for exams, we learn a profession, we learn to drive, and we learn a new language.
More rarely do we learn how to sleep better, organize a healthy routine, deal with stress, nourish our bodies, strengthen our relationships, or build habits that truly protect our health.
Perhaps that's why so many people believe that health only means treating illnesses.
In fact, health is also knowledge.
It's a skill that can be developed throughout life.
Just as we learn any other skill, we can also learn to recognize our body's signals, understand the impact of our daily choices, and build habits that promote health before illness appears.
That's exactly what we call health education.
Prevention is still the best treatment.
We live in an era where life expectancy has increased.
But living longer doesn't necessarily mean living better.
Chronic diseases—such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and many lifestyle-related conditions—continue to grow in virtually every country.
At the same time, healthcare systems are facing increasing demand.
Crowded hospitals.
Long lines for appointments.
Difficulty accessing specialists.
Ever-increasing costs.
No healthcare system can sustain an increasingly ill population on its own.
Therefore, investing in prevention is not just an individual decision.
It is also a collective need.
Each person who learns to take better care of their own health reduces the likelihood of developing preventable diseases, improves their quality of life, and contributes to lessening the strain on a system that is already operating near its limits.
For those living abroad, prevention makes even more of a difference
As an immigrant, I am well aware of the challenges of living far from one's home country.
When a health problem arises, we don't always know where to go.
There is a language barrier.
The differences between healthcare systems.
The long wait times.
The distance from family.
The fear of not being able to explain exactly what we are feeling.
All of this turns an already difficult situation into an even more stressful experience.
Of course, no one can avoid all illnesses.
But many lifestyle-related conditions can be prevented, delayed, or controlled early when we learn to recognize the body's early signs and make consistent changes to our routine.
Prevention means more peace of mind.
More autonomy.
More quality of life.
And fewer urgent situations that could have been avoided.
Taking care of your health is learning to take care of yourself
Lifestyle Medicine shows us that a large part of our health is built on daily choices.
The way we sleep.
In the foods we put on our plate.
The way we handle stress.
In the quality of our relationships.
In the movement of the body.
In contact with nature.
In the capacity to take breaks.
Chinese Dietotherapy also reminds us that health is not merely the absence of illness.
It is balance, it is vitality, and it is the body's ability to adapt to changes without losing its strength.
Therefore, I believe that health education is one of the most powerful tools we can offer people.
Because when we understand how our body works, we stop just reacting to problems and start building health consciously.
The question that remains
Your body speaks to you every day.
Are you listening?
Perhaps true prevention doesn't start in the doctor's office or the hospital.
It begins when we decide to learn about the only home we will live in for our entire lives: our own body.