Although it seems obvious that good health is definitely something well worth having, the benefits of being healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are worth pointing out, if only to confirm what you already know, or perhaps remind you of what you’ve been taking for granted for so long. Here are just a few of the enormous benefits that being healthy can bring:
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1. Energy
A healthy body converts food to energy efficiently. It ensures that there is enough energy for the task in hand, whatever it may be, and plenty in reserve, always available, for instant use whenever needed. Stamina, endurance, and strength, are all maintained at high levels in a healthy body. When you have a lot of energy, you can take on challenges that an unhealthy person wouldn’t even consider. People with lots of energy are more active, which means they are in a position to achieve greater success. Of course, in life, many other factors can always conspire to hinder and even prevent success in any particular venture, but at least lack of energy won’t be one of them.
2. Mental Alertness
When all of the body’s systems are working in harmony, as they do in a healthy body, there is balance, not only physically, but also mentally. Dependable short and long term memory, mental agility and critical decision making are just some of the mental benefits that can be expected by those who lead a healthy lifestyle. The older we get, the more important it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, as good overall health can slow the effects of aging on mental faculties, considerably. Just as physical exercises is the way to good physical health, mental exercise is the way to maintain good mental health and to resist any deterioration in mental faculties as a natural part of the aging process. 
3. Look GREAT!
If you’re healthy, you look healthy, which is always considered an attractive quality. Good health shows in many ways, not only in your physical appearance, but also in your demeanor, movements and body language. You cut a much more impressive figure when striding purposefully through town in obvious good health. You look like a person in control of your life, and, being healthy, probably means that’s exactly what you are. As a result, people engage with you much more positively when you’re healthy. A visibly unhealthy person, by contrast, doesn’t create such a positive first impression. They may not deserve to be seen in any such negative light, but it seems to be human nature that they will be. A person who isn’t suffering from any specific illness, injury or handicap, but is just generally unhealthy, tends to be regarded with less respect. Often, it’s felt that they’ve brought their poor health upon themselves through simple neglect. Whether such a comment is deserved or not, it’s a reality of life. The healthier you look, the more attractive you look. The more attractive you look, the greater your influence on those that you come into contact with.
4. Feel GREAT!
When you’re healthy, both physically and mentally, you feel that anything is possible. It’s much easier to maintain a positive outlook on life when you’re healthy. Your focus is sharper, as you’re not being distracted by annoying or uncomfortable symptoms that continually assail the unhealthy, and threaten to rob them of their motivation. Many people in excellent health never give the health benefits that they enjoy a moment’s thought. They’re too busy enjoying those benefits to waste time thinking about them. Leading an active and healthy lifestyle makes you less susceptible to attacks of depression, anxiety, low self esteem and a whole host of other psychological conditions and neuroses. Feeling good is infectious. Your positive outlook shines through and can impress and inspire others around you. A person who feels good about themselves, assuming they maintain an air of modesty and don’t appear smug, will always be well received by friends and colleagues and can expect a full and rewarding social life. 
5. Be Independent
You’re less reliant on others when you’re healthy. The feeling of independence that being healthy brings is priceless. You are able to plan your life more confidently. Less healthy people are more likely to depend on you, than you are on them. With a healthy lifestyle, you can plan well ahead, confident that, barring accidents or being struck down by an unavoidable illness, your independence will continue for a long time to come.
6. Resist Illness
Anyone can be struck down by any number of illnesses at any time throughout life. However, a healthy body also has a healthy immune system that is well able to deal with countless daily assaults from various bugs, toxins and viruses. An unhealthy body doesn’t have the same level of protection. That’s not because it has a defective immune system. It’s simply that it’s constantly working overtime, and its resources are overstretched. Obviously, a healthy lifestyle ensures a better than average chance of living to a ripe old age. In short, good health promotes continued good health. 
7. Inspire Confidence
Compared to an unhealthy person, a healthy person is usually considered to be more dependable and reliable. A prospective employer will feel safer in offering employment to a fit and healthy applicant, than to one who is similarly qualified, but whose obvious poor health means he or she is frequently going to be absent on sick leave due to a variety of minor ailments. Of course, this is purely a common perception on the part of employers everywhere. The healthy applicant may well be a dishonest rogue, while the unhealthy applicant may be as honest as the day is long. The employer, however, can only be guided by his first impressions, and there’s no escaping the fact that a healthy person inspires more confidence than one who is visibly unhealthy.
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