What I Learned From My Parents
By: F. Canez
I am the oldest of three children who are first generation American. Both our parents came from Mexico in hopes of having a better life and raising children that would have the best opportunities. They worked very hard almost all day and night yet were able to instill the values of a close and loving family. Yet there was something they didn’t know how to teach. That was how to take care of themselves physically. My mother has type 2 Diabetes and has past experiences with skin cancer. She comes from a family that not only is light complexioned but has the tendency to carry extra weight. My grandmother, her mother passed away from lung cancer after having survived breast cancer two decades earlier and her father also has type two diabetes. My father suffered from diverticulitis and recently had four inches of his large intestine removed along with high blood pressure issues. He has always been a very poor eater and when he did it was very low in fiber. He also has a love for high sodium foods. His mother, who we had not met until a few years ago lost her legs to diabetes.
I began to notice a trend in my parents and grand parents. There were some very significant health issues that seemed to me to be due to not only genetic factors but cultural oversights. I think along with the generation of not knowing that what you do now will affect you later also had a lot to do with their health issues. This information began to map out what we may have complications with later if we were not careful. This began my change of habits in many forms. I began to incorperate an exercise routine that followed with a cleaner diet. Being mindful of how cancer runs in the family I had quit smoking almost 10 years ago. Yoga and quiet time have been great ways of reducing daily stress as well in hopes that i can maintain a lower blood pressure in the future. I have decided to take more control of what my body needs in hopes of reducing the issues that may lie ahead.
I think this is a lesson all of us should learn. We should look back at our family history and see what problems there have been and make sure that we attempt to lessen them with better habits early on. No one can predict exactly what will happen but wouldn't it be better to have a strong body to fight anything that comes at us from the get go?
I began to notice a trend in my parents and grand parents. There were some very significant health issues that seemed to me to be due to not only genetic factors but cultural oversights. I think along with the generation of not knowing that what you do now will affect you later also had a lot to do with their health issues. This information began to map out what we may have complications with later if we were not careful. This began my change of habits in many forms. I began to incorperate an exercise routine that followed with a cleaner diet. Being mindful of how cancer runs in the family I had quit smoking almost 10 years ago. Yoga and quiet time have been great ways of reducing daily stress as well in hopes that i can maintain a lower blood pressure in the future. I have decided to take more control of what my body needs in hopes of reducing the issues that may lie ahead.
I think this is a lesson all of us should learn. We should look back at our family history and see what problems there have been and make sure that we attempt to lessen them with better habits early on. No one can predict exactly what will happen but wouldn't it be better to have a strong body to fight anything that comes at us from the get go?
