The desire for good health is universal. What is the importance of good health? More than 35,000 children under five die daily in the world because of malnutrition or water borne diseases. Millions of other small children, infants, and adults die daily because of diseases like cholera, malaria, tuberculosis, hepatitis, river blindness, strokes, cancer, heart and lung diseases, among others. Fifty million refugees in the world and many millions of other very poor people have inadequate health care. This is probably a factor for about half the world's entire population. In the United States, it is estimated that 35 million have substandard health care. One quarter of the people have been affected by the HIV-AIDS virus in sub-saharan Africa. These viruses have eliminated from their populations many young people between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five. This is already a major problem in Asian countries such as India and Thailand. The Chinese Government has begun to take this threat to the health of the Chinese seriously. Millions throughout the world die annually because of tobacco and alcohol related diseases. The estimated figure for China alone is 200 million. In Russia, today, life expectancy has dropped ten years for men and eight years for women, because of tobacco and alcohol related illnesses, malnutrition, declining health care, and environmental degradation.
If we had a preference in our lives, we would rather always be healthy than chronically sick or ill. How can we assure both personal and universal good health? Different cultures and societies have different views on keeping individuals and the society healthy. Preventive medicine is often a good place to start. This includes ongoing education about good health practices; good prenatal  and well baby health care; good nutrition with a balance of good foods and avoidance of greasy or fried foods; cleanliness including always having sanitary conditions for water, food, waste elimination; regular medical contacts even when people feel well; always trying to keep a good blood pressure and heart rate; good dental and good eye care; avoidance of unhealthy products such as various drugs including tobacco or other unhealthy practices; moderate use of alcohol for adults and young people; working toward the right weight for one's size and energy needs; and maintaining a balance in one's life, both physically, mentally, and spiritually. Regular and systematic exercise is important to maintain good health. Such exercise may be different at various times of our lives, but should be consistently practiced over our entire lives. Leading a happy life is very important for good health.
As a health conscious American, I have known these methods of staying healthy for much of my life, and have tried to follow as many of the best practices as possible. Though I am not sure that the American saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" makes perfect sense, I always make an effort to follow the best medical practices correctly identified by the media or medical professionals. Where I have been least efficient in the past has been in the areas of weight control and appropriate exercise. Learning some of the best Chinese practices, eating nutritious food in China, and walking a lot more than I am used to doing in the US, have all been very helpful in keeping me in good health. I continue to be glad that both American and Chinese medical professionals have told me that I have the blood pressure and heart rate of a healthy young person. Also, both in the US and in China, I have generally led a happy life.