Award Winning Doctor Gives 10 Tips for a Healthy Life

Dr Mark Pettus helps everyone take control of their health in 12 steps in his book "The Savvy Patient."

Dulles, VA (PRWEB) February 23, 2005 -- According to the National Committee for Quality Assurances State of Health Care Quality 2004, the health care systems regular inability to give necessary care caused nearly 66.5 million avoidable sick days and more than $1.8 billion in excess medical costs in 2003. Dr. Mark Pettus, one of the Consumer Research Council of Americas 2003 top American doctors and the author of the newly released book "The Savvy Patient: The Ultimate Advocate for Quality Health Care," gives people 10 tips for taking healthcare into their own hands and improving their lives.

"You have more control over your health than perhaps you ever imagined," says Dr. Pettus. "You have much more potential to impact your health and wellness than any physician, medication, or hospital ever will."

"The advice you are about to read may add years to your life. It will however, take a lot of work," explains Dr. Pettus. Here are his 10 tips for improving health from "The Savvy Patient":

1) Wash Your Hands. "Most respiratory and common gastrointestinal infections are spread from contamination on our hands. Washing your hands, whenever possible, will most definitely improve the quality of your life."

2) Walk 150 Minutes a Week. "The evidence is clear; simple walking improves health and wellness through greater mobility of your joints, enhanced muscle tone, improved bone strength, and emotional wellness."

3) Kick the Habit and Stop Smoking. "Smoking is a brutal habit. The key ingredient is motivation. There is no easy or surefire way to kick this unforgiving habit, b but people can overcome the intense habitual craving and conquer the seemingly impossible."

4) Losing Weight Can Save Your Life. "Obesity is an epidemic in our society and arguably public enemy number one. Diabetes and hypertension, clearly related to weight, are two potent risk factors for heart disease, stroke, kidney failure requiring dialysis, loss of vision, and amputation."

5) Nutrition: We are What We Eat! "Good nutrition is essential to health and wellness. While there may always be some debate and uncertainty about the ideal constituents and proportions in our diets, the basics have held true and should be the basis for your daily meal planning."

6) Watch Out for Diabetes. "The number of people with diabetes in America is rising at an alarming rate; it is triple what it was some thirty years ago. If you have diabetes, be vigilant in your healthcare. If you are at risk for diabetes, do not wait for symptoms to trigger your need to be checked for the disease."

7) Get Your Blood Pressure Checked. "High blood pressure is deceptively silent until the problem hits you. High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for heart disease and stroke."

8) Trim the Fats. "Make sure you have regular checks of your lipid profile, a blood test that includes your total cholesterol."

9) An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure. "It is important to stay up to date on disease prevention and health maintenance issues. Some proven, safe, effective measures to stay healthy and to decrease the risk of developing more serious health problems are: periodic height and weight screening, screening for coronary artery disease, colonoscopy, PAP smear, self breast exam, and bone densitometry.

10) Remove as Much Stress as Possible. "Nothing, and I mean nothing, will have a more immediate, lasting and profound impact on the quality of your life than unloading as much stress as possible."

Dr. Mark Pettus provides the information needed to understand the health care system in a caring and compassionate manner in "The Savvy Patient." Dr. Pettus helps you understand how to obtain the knowledge you need, communicate with health care workers, and negotiate and resolve conflicts as they come up. "The Savvy Patient" also provides question templates to guide you in acquiring the necessary information. If you ever wanted to just pick up the phone at any time of day or night and have a frank and caring talk with your doctor, The Savvy Patient is that conversation.

Dr. Mark Pettus graduated from Boston University in 1979 and the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1983. He completed his graduate medical training at Harvard Medical School training programs and his nephrology fellowship at The Massachusetts General Hospital in 1988. Dr. Pettus has written medical articles in various journals and has won several academic and community awards. He hosts a community access television program called The Berkshire Health Program. Dr. Pettus lives in Pittsfield, Masschusetts and works at the Berkshire Medical Center. He is recognized for his empathetic and compassionate quality of clinical care.

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