Opinion

Don’t be afraid to be healthy

Now that Thanksgiving has ended, all the turkey has been eaten, and your guests have returned to their destinations, now is the time to decide on a new course of action that will be beneficial for your overall health.

While holidays bring a lot of joy with them, they may also bring a lot of pain linked to the way that we feel once they are gone. We must examine ourselves and determine if we've had enough of this emotional-roller-coaster feeling.

Today needs to be the beginning of you deciding to make some simple but important decisions about achieving optimal health. The journey, the path and your road of choice have a beginning and an ending point. As you get started down the path, you will have to make some soul-searching decisions that initially will make you feel uncomfortable. Factor in that those decisions will yield changes that will improve your quality of life, with a real possibility of extending it.

The first step is a leap of faith amid the presence of fear. The road will come into focus as we move forward, increasingly relying on our inner strength to overcome the fears we have about breaking out of our habitual eating zones.

The majority of America's health issues are related to the way we consume our favorite food dishes. We give far too little weight to the outcome, overindulging in greasy, oil-fried foods or sugary desserts and fruit juices. It's as if we are saying, "They will not have any adverse effects on my health, but bad things could happen to somebody else."

Our bodies are temples that must be cared for and nurtured. If a building is not properly cared for, the paint starts to peel and the roof leaks. You get the picture.

So many of our children, friends and family members are dying prematurely from diseases and other health-related issues that are preventable. The time is now for us to take action by becoming more health conscious and more observant about the foods we consume. Read the labels. Look at the ingredients. Determine the product's nutritional value and assess how it will benefit your health.

We are quick to consider the source as it relates to unimportant things that can be easily acquired or replaced. The body is our most important asset, yet we routinely fail to put it first, completely ignoring the labeling or the source.

Take action to prevent and reverse health-related issues. Then you can truly enjoy your life.

(Dr. Timothy Moore teaches nutrition, heart disease and diabetes reversal through a plant-based lifestyle. He is a professional speaker, wellness coach and personal plant-based chef. He is the author of "47 Tips To Reverse Your Diabetes." He can be reached by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , visit him at www.cheftimothymoore.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/cheftimmoore.)