Your Health Outcome Sits Largely Within Your Own Two Hands

 

“Just by maintaining your body it offers the preventative means of not becoming a ward of the state.”

 

We have come to believe that the state of our health is out of our control. Medical doctors tell you all the time that the ailments and decline of your health is to be expected at your age. What a pack of lies! We have largely accepted this point of view since it takes away our responsibility for making lifestyle changes and places it in the hands system to be in control. You may be saying I am not a doctor, how am I supposed to know? You would not, this becomes true for first aid when we need to rely on qualified healthcare professionals, but what about preventative steps to daily living while in a healthy state? We have heard it said: if you are going to die from something, at least make it something you like doing.

When I was clinical practice dealing with patient sickness, I would suggest lifestyle changes were needed: within the diet and with exercise, going on a cleanse, and monitoring their alcohol intake. From the looks on their face you would think I was putting their head in a vise, with each change suggested they appeared to look less comfortable. They would say to me: my medical doctor advised that if I took such and such drugs that my symptoms would improve, what do you think? I had to agree, their symptoms would improve because their core illness was being suppressed, the drugs would keep them functioning yet their declining health would continue unabated.

This also happened with my cancer patients while seeking alternative treatment. When describing my treatment protocol with restrictive lifestyle changes many took the pathway of chemotherapy instead. But then again, how can a naturopath compete with a rigged system where everything is paid by the medical system? If a cancer patient were to pay the full costs of four chemo sessions a year, it could cost them up to $48,000 total, which is well beyond the average family budget. If we had a fair medical system based on patient preference, deciding on their treatment options between allopathic medicine or naturopathic medicine, (both doctors licensed by the state), I am sure many would seek the natural path—without side effects and fees covered by the state. Unfortunately, that may never happen. The Rockefellers set the medical system up this way at the turn of the century, everything is being controlled both the disease state and the treatment options and presented as health-care when in fact it is disease-care.

Who would have thought that your lifespan could be evaluated and determined by how you get up from the floor—well, it could and it has been tested to be accurate. According to a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, “[t]he ease with which a person can sit on the floor and rise to their feet, using as little support as possible, may help predict how long they will live. (…) The study added to the body of evidence showing that various measures of physical function beyond aerobic fitness, including flexibility, the ability to stand on one leg, and grip strength, can predict longevity.”[1]

“[P]eople have a large degree of control over their own health and can protect themselves from many illnesses — including age-related diseases — by preventing or reducing excess weight,” said Stephan Martin, MD, chief physician for diabetology of the Catholic Hospital Group Düsseldorf and director of the West-German Centre of Diabetes and Health, Düsseldorf, Germany, in an interview with Medscape’s German edition.[2]

Muscle is really valuable and we need to figure out how to maintain it as much as we can throughout our lives. So are there any obstacles to that? Adults typically achieve peak muscle mass between their 20s and 40s, after which a gradual decline begins. On average, people lose about 0.5% of their skeletal muscle mass annually starting in their 40s, 1–2% per year after age 50, and around 3% each year beyond age 60 so you really need to work on maintaining what you have while you still have it.

Research[3] has looked closely at how exercise and amino acids help build and maintain muscle. Both can trigger specific signals inside muscle cells that promote muscle protein synthesis. When muscles are under stress from exercise, certain signals—like calcium levels and specific molecules—activate a key growth pathway called mTORC1. This same pathway can also be activated when amino acid levels rise, thanks to special nutrient sensors and transport proteins that help move amino acids, especially leucine, into cells. Interestingly, exercise can also change how amino acids work inside cells, activating similar growth signals. It is clear that both exercise and amino acid supplements are powerful tools for maintaining or increasing muscle mass—especially in people at risk of losing muscle.

Another research showed that when  “interrupting prolonged sitting with brief periods of activity, such as body weight squats or short bouts of walking, improves the efficiency of dietary amino acid utilizations for muscle contractile protein synthesis. This further emphasizes the importance of minimizing sedentary time to improve the postprandial metabolism of all macronutrients.”[4]

This means that you really do not need to start lifting heavy weights in order to improve your health. In fact, a “growing body of evidence suggests that when lower load resistance training [i.e., loads < 50% of one-repetition maximum (1RM)] is completed within close proximity to concentric failure, it can serve as an effective alternative to traditional higher load (i.e., loads > 70% of 1RM) training and in many cases can promote similar or even superior physiological adaptations.”[5]

Resistance training has been proven to be efficient in other areas as well. A recent study investigated the effects resistance training on the brain anatomy and cognition in older adults with mild cognitive impairment. “Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) refers to cognitive alterations with preservation of functionality. Individuals with this diagnosis have a higher risk of developing dementia. Non-pharmacological interventions, such as physical exercise, are beneficial for the cognition of this population.”[6] The results showed that resistance training “improves memory performance, positively influences white matter integrity parameters, and plays a protective role against atrophy of the hippocampus and precuneus in MCI.”[7]

Why is muscle important? It plays a critical role in overall health and not only in strength and mobility. It helps regulate blood sugar (by improving insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake), reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Muscle also contributes to a higher resting metabolic rate, aiding in weight management. It protects against bone loss by placing mechanical load on bones, which supports bone density and lowers fracture risk. Moreover, muscle supports immune function and it acts as a reservoir for amino acids during illness or injury, and improves outcomes after surgery or hospitalization. Healthy muscle mass is also linked to lower risks of cardiovascular disease, frailty, and early death, making it a key factor in healthy aging and long-term wellness.

This is crucial because the number of people with frailty is increasing with an ageing population. According to a population-based cohort study[8], investigating the time period between 1999 and 2018, frailty has become more common in recent years, with fewer people classified as non-frail and more falling into all categories of frailty—from very mild to severe. Frailty increased more rapidly with age in newer generations. While frailty rose in both sexes over time, the gap between men and women narrowed.

Beyond frailty, cardiovascular disease and events are also associated with lifestyle choices and their outcomes. In a recent study, researchers looked at the different risk factors for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Their analysis confirmed “adverse effects associated with 7 factors (ie, time spent using the computer, fed-up feelings, greater arm fat mass and percentage, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and lower education level). Between 40% (conservative elimination) and 63% (thorough elimination) of SCA cases could be prevented by improving unfavourable profiles, with lifestyle modifications accounting for the largest proportion of preventable cases, followed by improvements in physical measures, psychosocial factors, socioeconomic status, and the local environment.”[9]

Prevention is better than seeking a cure as it puts you in the driver’s seat. Think of it as your life insurance plan where a life well maintained helps you to receive more than what you contributed. Keeping your muscles toned using light weights and your weight under control, so you are not carrying an extra burden. Being a bit more active, even if it means some deep knee bends by your desk throughout your day, you can increase your lifespan, prevent illness and be healthy and happy. Just by maintaining your body it offers the preventative means of not becoming a ward of the state.

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References:

[1] Remaly, Jake. 2025.

[2] Bromerkel, Anke. 2025.

[3] Pasiakos, Stefan M. 2012.

[4] Moore, Daniel R. et al. 2022.

[5] Weakley, Jonathon et al. 2023.

[6] Ribeiro, Isadora C. et al. 2025.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Blodgett, Joanna M. et al. 2021.

[9] Luo, Huihuan et al. 2025.