Medical care in this country is very expensive. For the ordinary daily wage earner, the only recourse when confronted with a medical issue is to run to an overcrowded government hospital and duke it out with others in long lines, sometimes in the hot sun, to be seen by a doctor. When one is hospitalized, Philhealth coverage is often not enough to cover all expenses, and one has to purchase medicines and other medical supplies out of pocket.

Often, medical interns and clinical clerks are the ones who have to fork out the money to buy intravenous fluids and medicines for their patients, which I’ve experienced in the Philippine General Hospital as an intern 50 years ago and is still an everyday occurrence in the country’s largest medical institution up to this day. Yes, we’re celebrating our golden jubilee and things have not changed a bit in this aspect.

One has to be in the best of health even as we age and start to feel the infirmities of old age. Some diseases are hereditary, like some cancers and high lipid levels which lead to heart attacks and strokes. But majority of maladies are lifestyle diseases which are preventable, brought on by excessive eating and drinking, as well as lack of attention to self-care.

When we are young, we feel invincible. Our metabolism is in high gear. We can eat with abandon and not gain weight. Then, when we hit the thirties, our metabolism starts slowing down, and our waistlines start expanding. Nowadays, we also see a lot of obese young people, who start to get sick early with hypertension and diabetes. Then we complain about the cost of medical care.

Wouldn’t it be better if we start taking care of our health early on so we will be healthier as we get older? The old saying: An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, is never more appropriate now that we feel the inadequacies of our medical insurance system, notwithstanding the Supreme Court order to return the P60 billion to Philhealth.

It's easy to argue that we don’t have time for exercise. Sorry, but it’s not an excuse, unless you’re working two shifts or moonlighting in your spare time. We need to spare some time for our health, and that includes time for exercise at least twice a week for one hour. Now, that’s not too much an investment in your health, is it?

Let’s review our schedules and try to find time for exercise. It’s not necessary to enroll in a gym and buy designer outfits for this purpose, which is just to show off in public that we can afford to be stylish in our exercise outfits. In fact, it takes some time to get to the gym, other than the often-exorbitant cost of membership, which are disincentives to exercise. We can exercise in our homes, with minimal investment in basic equipment such as an exercise mat and a pair or two of dumbbells. For guidance, we can look to social media where exercise gurus offer free instructions and guidance on the correct way to perform exercises. I did just that when the pandemic hit, when gyms were shuttered along with the rest of the city. Up to now, I’ve been exercising at home, now doing two hours of circuit training once a week.

As for nutrition, we should be careful not to eat too much to not gain weight. Filipinos love their rice, and wolf down two to three cups every meal as if it is going out of stock. If we’re not manual laborers who exert a lot and burn the calories, those cups of rice will settle on our waistlines and around our internal organs causing the obesity epidemic we’re seeing in the country. It will lead to more serious conditions as we age, with increasing incidence of heart attacks and strokes, many of which are preventable to begin with.

So, if we’re afraid of getting sick, invest in your health. It really costs nothing if you refrain from eating too much, and eat balanced meals. In fact, we get to save on food if we eat to satisfy our senses and not fill our stomachs to the brim. It also relieves the country’s rice shortage which drives up prices of this commodity.

Round it off with at least two hours of weight-bearing exercises. Aerobic exercises won’t hack it. Toned muscles keep our metabolism going, and helps prevent sarcopenia (Preventing sarcopenia Sept. 30, 2025) that leads to poor balance and coordination. The latter are mainly the reasons why we have frailness in our seniors and lead to falls which are precipitating factors in hospitalization and deaths in the elderly.

Our health system can handle only so much. Tandaan: 'Bawal magkasakit!' (Remember: Do NOT get sick!)