September Health Update
Can I Afford To Buy Vitamins?
This is a question that many people often ask themselves. With the tough economy, scarce jobs and higher prices on everything, some people find it hard to justify spending money on vitamins and other health supplements.
So what’s more expensive, supplements or poor health?
Let’s look at the cost of poor health first.
In a study done 3 years ago by the Mayo Clinic, The True Cost of Poor Health¹, health care costs over $2 trillion dollars a year with U.S. employers shouldering most of this burden. The cost for each employee’s health care costs the company approximately $8,800! And this cost is just rising. These mounting expenditures are eroding the profit margin of companies and jeopardizing an already fragile job market. No wonder companies have a hard time staying in business!
There’s more than just the cost of health care added to employees and their employers, there’s the cost of lost productivity due to missed days. The costs of lowered productivity and absenteeism are registered in the billions of dollars every year! And this doesn’t even include the amount of days parents have to take off to care for their sick children!
OK, that’s what it costs companies when employees call in sick, but what is the cost to individuals and families every time they have to stay home from work, go to the doctor, buy prescriptions, etc when they and their children are sick? I believe that cost cannot be accurately calculated. I shudder to think of the amount of lost wages that people lose when they miss work when they or their children are sick. Times are hard enough as it is without having a short paycheck.
The increase in people developing heart disease, strokes, cancer, diabetes and more is startling and downright scary. And when facing a potentially life threatening illness, the cost of treatment even with insurance will bankrupt most people.
What is causing these people to miss so much work and is there anything that can be done about it?
Many people just lead hectic lives and put their health on the back burner. They all know they need to improve their diet, exercise more and stress less, but they can’t seem to ever get around to doing all that.
They run like hamsters in a wheel, always running, but rarely getting anywhere except to a doctor’s exam room when their bodies start to give out. Then they wonder how they got there, how their health failed them and what they could have done differently.
Often it is then that they end up on strict diets, potent medicines and now have high health care costs they never had before. Then and only then do they reprioritize the important things in life, like taking care of oneself. It is then they realize all of it may have been prevented if they only took care of themselves.
Many of these health problems are related to obesity and the sedentary lifestyle we have. Our Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) is sad indeed and is a leading contributor to the many preventable diseases plaguing Americans. Time Magazine wrote an article in their Health Issue² that proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle can prevent many major diseases 60-90% of the time. This includes preventing heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many more illnesses!
Imagine the amount of money that can be saved in health care costs alone!
If you or someone you know has ever been seriously ill, then you know how much money it costs in the long run. The medical bills not covered by insurance – the copay’s, deductibles and other out of pocket costs all add up fast when you are ill and need medical attention.
We all know that good health is priceless and if lost, we will pay almost any price to get it back. The saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is an old saying, but so very, very true. It rings truer in today’s world than it ever did.
It’s no secret that health care facilities, doctors, insurance companies and employers are stressing prevention to help keep people healthy longer and to keep health care costs down. Many companies have wellness programs in place to help their employees kick bad habits, exercise more and choose to lead a healthier lifestyle. The reason they are implementing these wellness programs is more than just caring about their employees, they are trying to lower their healthcare costs!
Experts in medicine, biochemistry and nutrition all believe nutritional supplementation positively affects overall health. A recent landmark study of people who took a wide range of high quality nutritional supplements for 20 years or more showed dramatic benefits compared to those who just took a multivitamin or no supplement at all. This significant study showed they had better health and had a significant reduced rate of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and more.
So when someone tells me they can’t afford to buy high quality vitamins, I have to ask, “So what is more expensive, sickness or prevention?”
Also, when it comes to supplements, you truly get what you pay for. Shortchanging your health by buying cheaply made vitamins with little to no research is money wasted. Your health is not something to bargain with.
One thing I have learned when justifying the cost is breaking it down into a daily cost. Our Multi, the Vita-Lea only costs about 38¢ a day. Our Vitalizer, which is the absolute best program out there providing the most concentrated form of essential nutrients only costs a little over $2.50 a day. Many people spend more than that each and every day on coffee, vending machine snacks and fast food!
I used to have to take medicine for a health condition I am now able to control with a healthier lifestyle. Exercising, trying to cut back on the “bad stuff” like too much sugar and fat, and adding high quality supplements has allowed me to get off all medication and best of all, I feel better! Unlike medicine that has side effects, I have side benefits from supplementing my diet – weight loss, more energy, less pain and clearer thinking!
For less than $3.00 a day, you can help prevent many of the major diseases plaguing us and leading a more fulfilling life because you will have the energy and good health to enjoy it!
So the question to ask isn’t, “Can I afford to buy vitamins?” it’s, “Can I afford not to?”
Best Wishes for Good Health,
Julie
For more information on our Vitalizer you can check them out here: Shaklee Vitalizer
And Shaklee is offering a FREE membership with every purchase of Vitalizer.
Plus, for every person you share your reason for buying Shaklee and when they buy $25 or more themselves, you get a $25 dollar credit to your next order! Recommend us to 3 or 4 people and your vitamins could be free!
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* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
¹The Cost of Poor Health by The Mayo Clinic 2008
²Time Magazine’s Health Issue June 2009
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