Claim Your Health Before It Claims Your Wealth

I have stood in line at a funeral for a friend, one of the wealthiest men in our state, who died at 56 years old. Another very wealthy friend died at 62 years old after retiring. In fact, on the same day he retired, the company gave him a Tesla, and he got back test results that he had brain cancer. Both friends left their widows millions of dollars, multiple homes, and incredible financial legacies. I have spoken with their wives, both great friends of mine, and both of them told me, “I would rather have my husband back and no wealth.” 

These stories hit way too close to home when, at 58 years old, the “Big C” attacked me. Over my serial entrepreneur career, I was fortunate to have created a lot of wealth. But as my intense battle with bladder cancer progressed, the wealth became inconsequential. Over two years my bladder produced 21 cancerous tumors that required three surgeries. Ultimately I had to succumb to two rounds of chemotherapy to be cancer-free. 

I was fortunate to survive this “cancer roulette” when my two friends did not. It wasn’t until five years later during a speaking event my wife and I were doing together that I found out Carla had started preparing to become a widow when the doctors told us the cancer had come back for the third time. 

A true wake up call

For so many years I had been focused on my career success and had pushed the boundaries when it came to my health. My cancer battle was one of many health problems, but it served as a real wake up call. At 61 years old with very poor health and dealing with an unbelievable amount of pain, I finally started on a journey to reclaim my health. 

A turning point came when I decided to do stem cell therapy for my right knee. At the time I was on 10 medications. Doctors had started prescribing them in 1999 and just kept adding more, one after another, until years later when I was sitting in front of Dr. Kahn. He told me that I had to stop taking one of those medications for 30 days before I could start the stem cell treatment. Initially, I told him “no way,” but finally relented as my amateur athletic career hung in the balance. This was the beginning of many additional changes that helped me take back my health.

The Importance of Making Smart Health Choices Early

If only I had figured out the importance of my health earlier! There truly is such power in prevention, and the earlier you start, the better. I have made many health and lifestyle changes, and now, at age 65, I am healthier, more fit, and feel better than I have in decades.

Let me share five tips for healthy living that you can start and focus on now. This will save you money, pain, and time –  before it takes all of your wealth to reclaim your health.

1) SLEEP! 

The foundation for building a strong immune system, optimal brain function, and so many health benefits is sleep. I am talking about 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep that averages 50% of that time between deep sleep and REM. It takes conscious work to prepare for and execute what I am talking about. I discuss specific concepts for restorative sleep in greater detail in my book, Eating To Live: Unlocking the Leaky Gut Code, as well as the other four tips below. 

2) Drink more water! 

Before I got attacked by cancer, my beverage of choice was not water. The beverages I preferred were full of sugar and caffeine. Both of those substances severely affected my sleep and created so much inflammation in my body. Today I am happy to report that I only drink water, and I make sure I’m consuming around 90 ounces per day. It is a habit that I have developed to protect myself from having to experience poor health again.

3) Remove as many processed foods as possible!

Thanks to Dr. Steven Gundry, I learned how much hidden sugar and gluten are in our diets today. By decreasing those foods, I was able to dramatically reduce inflammation in my body. Reducing toxins that are a byproduct of the chemicals that food companies have to use to preserve processed foods is so important.

4) Foods you should not eat! 

Learn what foods you should not be eating based on your genetics. My wife Carla is a Certified Functional Nutrition Coach and she teaches that there is no one diet that fits everyone. My health dramatically improved as I did an elimination diet and then added one food at a time over a four-day period to see if I had a negative reaction. These negative reactions include gas, bloating, constipation or diarrhea, pain, and a decrease in quality sleep. .

5) Optimal foods as fuel for your genetics! 

Finding foods that fuel your body is a worthy cause. At 65 years old I compete in pickleball and cycling races. My wife and I have commented many times about how much better we could have competed in our triathlon days had we been eating the right foods and drinking water. 

It is my hope that these five tips will inspire you to consider focusing on creating optimal health now. Claim your health now! Don’t wait, as I did, at death’s door, or like my friends, who died way too young to create an optimal health plan. When I decided to be more than healthy by making diet and lifestyle changes specific for my body’s needs, I realized that I can have both health and wealth. 

In our More Than Healthy graphic below, you will see that the first foundation is, “Finding Your Why.” Don’t wait until you are at death’s door to find it. I strongly encourage you to find your “why” to optimal health today. 

Prevention is definitely cheaper than trying to find a cure when you have lost your health. Trust me, when I finally got off all 10 medications, I experienced true freedom. I was able to take back my health because I got all the inflammation out of my body, and I did not need medications to mitigate the pain. I finally achieved a pain-free life using food and water as my medicine.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Meine is a speaker, author, and ‘serial entrepreneur’ who has spent his career launching and running highly successful companies. He and his wife Carla recently founded the company Eating to Live™, LLC, which provides functional nutrition counseling, a robust e-learning program, meal plans, recipes, brain training, and nutritional supplements. They also authored the accompanying book, Eating to Live, and produce videos, podcasts, and speaking events to support others in their journey toward optimal health.

David also co-founded IdealShape, an internet company focused on health and nutrition, which reached 40 million in retail sales before being purchased by a multi-billion-dollar international e-commerce company.

He has always had a passion for product development and earned a degree in business. In 1979, while attending BYU David and three partners built the line of Sounds Easy® stores, which successfully grew to 110 stores in 28 states. He has written and co-authored four books and created a Brain Training CD series. In 2016, David was nominated by Ernst and Young as an Entrepreneur of the Year.

Over the past two decades, David has motivated thousands of people to get healthy. As a cancer survivor and someone who has fought and overcome multiple other health challenges, his mission to help others achieve their optimal health is extremely personal.

David and Carla are currently advisory board members, investors, and mentors for multiple companies and entrepreneurs. When he’s not working, you can find him fly fishing, traveling, playing competitive pickleball, or enjoying life with his 7 children and 18 grandchildren.

You may also contact David at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.