Had I the forethought and understanding when I was younger to think futuristically, I would have saved myself a lot of undue suffering and health issues. I would never have ended up obese, I never would have smoked, and I never would have spent years ingesting "food" and "dink" products containing harmful chemicals that can cause irriversible internal damage.
Unable to change the past, one of the benefits of getting older is 20/20 hindsight - everything looks clearer in the rear-view. Rather than dwelling on past mistakes, and armed with the knowledge of how our present actions can both positively and negatively impact our future life, we have the ability to think of the future from where we are now.
Aging is not for the timid...knowing that as we age, our bodies begin to weaken, shrink and stiffen; and knowing that chronic health issues arise as years of self-abuse in the form of food habits surface, one can make better choices now with the intent of truly being able to enjoy life later.
The average retirement-aged American spends roughly $285,000 a year on healthcare; and attends roughly 20 or more appointments just addressing upkeep type issues - not including specialty visits. At the end of the day, perhaps it is somewhat unavoidable; but seeing as how much of their time is spent addressing chronic conditions that could originate with diet, perhaps it would be prudent to take care of our bodies now, in the hopes of a better and more comfortable golden years, than to not try at all and be left to wonder...if only I had done things differently.
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