My mom's battle with MS & why I will never give up on health and fitness

I am a complete "Mama's girl". There is not one person in the world whom I could ever love more. My mom has been my rock ever since she gave birth to me. She is my best friend and the only person in the world I can tell my every secret to, no matter how dark, and not be judged. I can go to her for anything. She has given up so much for me and done everything in her power to ensure that I have the best life possible. Needless to say, she has done a damn good job at doing that. My mom has always been a passionate nurse and puts everyone before herself. As long as my brother and I are happy and everyone else she loves is taken care of then she is happy.

When I was 15 years old my mother was diagnosed with MS. At that time, I did not understand what the heck this disease was and what a long hard road we had ahead of us. I just noticed that she could never lie by our pool anymore (her favorite thing to do), she did not have any energy, she was always sick with flu-like symptoms, and the most heart wrenching part was seeing her in a wheel chair. I was angry at all of this, I did not understand why this sickness was taking so much of her life away and why she was not being the normal mom she usually was. I was absolutely dumbfounded at what was truly going on with her health. Seeing the person you love more than anyone in this world suffer with an incurable disease is the most aggravating pain you can endure. Why? Because you are completely helpless. What can you do to make this disease better? Nothing. Over the course of the next few years I watched her try medication after medication for MS with nothing ever working. Whenever she started a new medication we were so hopeful that this would be the one - the one that could help her live a steady life. We were always wrong. The side effects of those medications were worse than dealing with the disease itself. She would have good days and she would have bad days. The bad days always outweighed the good days at a significant percent but still, my mother never complained nor did she EVER give up hope. The bad days that happen so often included not being able to get out of bed, no being able to walk, unable to eat, fever's, skin aches, and the list could go on. I for one, can not fathom having to suffer with those symptoms on a daily basis.

She now gets "Infusions" to shrink the lesions in her body to prevent them from going to her brain. Though this makes her extremely sick, she keeps fighting. She kept her strength in her faith, worked a full-time job as much as she could, went to school to obtain a double Master's degree in Health Administration and Nursing - all the while being a single parent to my brother and I. She graduated school in July of this year with her double Master's and landed a lucrative job with the hospital system in Greensboro, NC. All the while still living her battle on a daily basis.

Preventing a disease such as MS at 100% is inevitable. However, from watching my mom suffer with this disease, I knew I wanted to find ways to help prevent myself and others from getting MS among other diseases. Upon my research, I found a preventive similarity between them all: healthy eating and regular exercise. In anyone's life there are so many things that happen beyond our control. If there is one thing I can try to help and control I want it to be my health. I want to prevent as much disease as possible. Healthy eating can be as simple as picking grilled chicken over fried and going for an hour walk instead of watching t.v. There are little changes we can all make to try and keep ourselves as healthy and possible. Not only for the sake of ourselves, but for our family and friends.

This is a reason why I will never give up health and fitness not only for myself, but for others. When I was 19 years old I went to the doctor's office for a check up and my weight was almost 270 pounds. The doctor was astonished at my significant weight gain and she asked: "Is this how you want to live your life?". Watching my mom suffer and then my health being at risk, I knew there was no possible way I could live my life like that anymore. So I made changes. I made a lot of changes and everyday I am still working on those changes and I will never look back. If you say you do not have time to exercise, you really do. If you say you don't enjoy eating healthy, you really could. We ALL make changes for what we truly want in life and we make sure we have in our life what it is a top priority. Preventing major diseases and keeping oneself healthy should be a top priority on anyone's list. The longer, harder and more often you exercise, the greater the health benefits, including reducing the risk of diseases such as cancer and diabetes, according to the recommendations, which were based on a decade of scientific research. Below you can read of just some of the major benefits you can enjoy with a healthy lifestyle, according to Web MD.

A sedentary (inactive) lifestyle is one of the top risk factors for heart disease. Fortunately, it's a risk factor that you can do something about. Regular exercise, especially aerobic exercise, has many benefits. It can:

•Strengthen your heart and cardiovascular system.
•Improve your circulation and help your body use oxygen better.
•Improve your heart failure symptoms.
•Increase energy levels so you can do more activities without becoming tired or short of breath.
•Increase endurance.
•Lower blood pressure.
•Improve muscle tone and strength.
•Improve balance and joint flexibility.
•Strengthen bones.
•Help reduce body fat and help you reach a healthy weight.
•Help reduce stress, tension, anxiety, and depression.
•Boost self-image and self-esteem.
•Improve sleep.
•Make you feel more relaxed and rested.
•Make you look fit and feel healthy.

One important way to try and prevent MS is: diet. Managing our diet is the most important thing to prevent MS. There are many food components that we can control to avoid this disease controlling our life. Knowing who they are and how they affect our body means a step away from MS.

Listed on NutriStrategy.com are specific health benefits of exercise:

Heart Disease and Stroke. Daily physical activity can help prevent heart disease and stroke by strengthening your heart muscle, lowering your blood pressure, raising your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels (good cholesterol) and lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels (bad cholesterol), improving blood flow, and increasing your heart's working capacity.

High Blood Pressure. Regular physical activity can reduce blood pressure in those with high blood pressure levels. Physical activity also reduces body fatness, which is associated with high blood pressure.

Noninsulin-Dependent Diabetes. By reducing body fatness, physical activity can help to prevent and control this type of diabetes.

Obesity. Physical activity helps to reduce body fat by building or preserving muscle mass and improving the body's ability to use calories. When physical activity is combined with proper nutrition, it can help control weight and prevent obesity, a major risk factor for many diseases.

Back Pain. By increasing muscle strength and endurance and improving flexibility and posture, regular exercise helps to prevent back pain.

Osteoporosis. Regular weight-bearing exercise promotes bone formation and may prevent many forms of bone loss associated with aging.

Psychological Effects. Regular physical activity can improve your mood and the way you feel about yourself. Researchers also have found that exercise is likely to reduce depression and anxiety and help you to better manage stress.

Millions of Americans suffer from illnesses that can be prevented or improved through regular physical activity.

This is your life and your choice. You only get one chance.

More information about the benefits of exercise and healthy living: http://www.nutristrategy.com/health.htm