I want you to think about how you care for your car or your house. Both have a particular value both in what they afford you in life and the monetary number associated with their worth.

Now, I want you to place a value on your body. Yes, I know you are thinking that I might be a little cuckoo but let’s really think about it.

If your human body, the only vessel that takes you around to do everything you do in a day, a week, a year could be traded or bought just like a car or a house, what would it be worth?

Obviously, the exercise of putting a price tag on your human body if futile … I’m not selling mine and I’m sure you are not selling yours.

The point is that we often take better care of our cars and homes than we do our own human, fragile bodies.

If you are smart, when it comes to your car, you get oil changes, new brakes and tires when needed, and most anything else that you can do in order to keep you safe while using that care and helping preserve the value as the care ages. Your house … many more things need maintenance but

I’m sure you factor those things in smartly as the year goes on to make sure that the systems that you need are “healthy.”

If you defer maintenance on big ticket items like those noted above, you are in for a world of hurt.

Eventually you will see the straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back, and your pocketbook will be much lighter. The same goes for our own human body …. if we don’t maintain our health and mobility, eventually we are going to be dealing with something that impacts our lives in a negative way.

The two most important things you can do to maintain your health are eat healthy and exercise.

If you are fully aware and educated about what the body thrives on and more importantly what can actually harm the body, your meals become maintenance, keeping your systems healthy.

If you exercise regularly trying to keep muscles long and strong, you are drastically reducing your chances of tissue breakdown as you get older. This happens with injury or just over time as tissues slowly breakdown. Both can be slowed down drastically if you do the right things.

I love analogies. Let’s see if these makes sense. If you eat the traditional Western diet, the one that has caused over 50% of Americans to be obese, it’s the same as driving over a street of nails into a wall with your car on purpose.

If you don’t exercise, it’s like toasting marshmallows every night around a campfire in your living room. Not only are you likely deferring your maintenance, but you are silently and slowly abusing your body.

I don’t want to see it all the time, but I do.

My sincere wish is only that these columns serve as some inspiration to seek out good information about nutrition and exercise or find someone who can help you make the decisions that don’t lead you the problems that the human body experiences with deferred maintenance.

Be well and do good!

Joel J. Digris is a Schuylkill County resident with a master’s degree in physical therapy. He is employed by Achieva Rehabilitation as an outpatient provider of physical therapy and serves residents in Carbon, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties.

The Times News Media Group do not endorse or recommend any medical products, processes, or services or provide medical advice. The views of the author do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Times News. The article content is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician, or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.