In many countries, the idea of medical bills causing serious debt is hard to believe. This is because a lot of countries have a public healthcare system. This means that the government either partially, or fully subsidizes any healthcare costs someone might have.
But, in the USA, healthcare is largely privatized. This means that a lot of people have to cover the cost of medical procedures and drugs out of their own pocket if their insurer won’t cover it. This risk of out-of-pocket bills and the often huge cost of healthcare can lead to mounting debt. In fact, debt from medical bills is one of the leading causes of debt in America.
This leads to many people using things like a Lantus manufacturer coupon, a Lycra discount card, or other vouchers to try to minimize costs and avoid debt.
But, there is another way you can minimize your medical bills. Changes that improve your lifestyle can prevent illness and disease. A healthy lifestyle also reduces recovery time and the amount of treatment you need for an illness in many cases.
This means you need less treatment, which can drastically reduce your medical bills. Below, we laid out a few ways your lifestyle can impact your medical bills, and how you can change it for the better.
Hopefully, this will help you make the changes you need to get healthier and avoid the hospital and large bills.
How Your Lifestyle Can Impact Your Medical Bills
A sedentary lifestyle is one of the leading cases of illness and disease
Sitting around on the couch can seem harmless enough. But, it’s actually one of the leading causes of illness, disease and death worldwide. A sedentary lifestyle has very little exercise, if any. It’s also usually accompanied by a poor diet.
These things increase the risk of gaining weight, which can lead to obesity. It also raises the chances of getting diabetes, common illnesses like the cold or flu, and osteoporosis and arthritis. These can all lead to extra trips to the doctor and mounting medical bills.
So, moving regularly through activities like walking, moving around at work,or even cleaning, can make a big difference to your health and financial situation.
Exercise can reduce inflammation and protect against illness and disease
We now that moving more during the day can help keep you healthy. But, what about more structured and intense exercise?
As you can probably guess, structured exercise has been shown to be even more beneficial for your health. Cardiovascular exercise, like cycling or running, and weightlifting, have all been shown to protect you from illness and help keep you physically and mentally healthy.
But, be careful not to overdo it. Over training can had the opposite effect on your health. It can increase your chances of getting sick and cause injury.
Doing 1 to 2 cardiovascular sessions per week, and 2 to 3 weightlifting sessions per week should provide good results. Adequate rest and a good diet should also accompany this.
Diet deficiencies can lead to illness
Not taking in enough of certain nutrients, like vitamins, minerals, or healthy fats, can cause deficiencies in your body. This means that certain functions in your body won’t work as well as they should. This includes processes the immune system, the brain, and the bones and muscles.
So, a good diet is essential to keeping healthy and avoiding unnecessary medical bills. Yih should aim to take in at least one bowl of mixed vegetables, some oily fish like salmon or cod, and a variety of fruit to make sure you’re getting enough of all the above nutrients.
Using supplements like multivitamins and fish oil tablets daily can also be a big help in improving your diet. Keeping a diet like this, and combining it with the exercises mentioned above should help you minimize illness and keep you out of hospital.
Managing stress can protect heart health and mental health
Many people manage to change their diet and start exercising, yet still find themselves being treated for high blood pressure or feeling low.
This can be due to a high-stress lifestyle. Stress can have a negative effect on heart health and can contribute to anxiety and depression.
Managing stress through activities like meditation, yoga, or relaxation can improve all of the above factors and may keep you from needing any expensive medication.
Combining this with all the above changes should also help you lead a happier, more productive life.