---
title: "Editor's Letter: Prevention First, and the Best Treatment Is the One You Never Need"
description: "Dementia, diabetes, heart health, flu and vitamin D: Marina Nani introduces Prevention First, the November 2026 edition of Rich Health Magazine."
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-11-06T13:56:42.086Z
updated: 2026-11-06T13:56:42.098Z
canonical: https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/editor-s-letter-prevention-first-and-the-best-treatment-is-the-one-you-never-need
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/rich-health-november-2026-card-16x9-1920x1080.webp
categories: Health
content_type: Letter from the Editor
publication: Rich Health Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

When did you last book a check-up while you felt perfectly well?

Most of us wait for a reason. A pain will not go away, a test result comes back wrong or a friend receives bad news, and only then do we pick up the phone. Yet the most valuable appointment is the one you make before anything goes wrong.

We have called this edition Prevention First. Every story in it starts from one idea: the habits you keep this winter shape how you feel in ten, twenty and thirty years.

Start with the long view. Our guide to [lowering your dementia risk](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/lower-dementia-risk) sets out 14 factors you can change, and our [plan to prevent type 2 diabetes](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/prevent-type-2-diabetes) gives you seven steps to take now. If you read one piece this week, make it our [holistic approach to prevention](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/holistic-health-prevention), where food, movement, sleep and meditation work together instead of as separate projects.

Some of the most useful findings are also the simplest. [Three hard minutes a day](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/vigorous-activity-cancer-risk) are linked to a lower cancer risk. [Sitting for more than ten hours a day](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/sitting-all-day-sedentary-lifestyle) harms your heart even if you exercise, so the walk to the kettle matters as much as the gym. [Eating whole fruit instead of drinking juice](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/whole-fruit-vs-fruit-juice-heart-health) is linked to a healthier heart, and our [inflammation prevention diet](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/inflammation-prevention-diet-10-foods-to-eat-and-5-to-limit) lists ten foods to eat and five to limit.

Winter brings its own risks. [Flu is rising early this year](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/flu-jab-2026-who-is-eligible-side-effects-shortages) and some pharmacies have already run out of the jab, so book yours now if you are eligible. From October to March [the British sun cannot make enough vitamin D](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/vitamin-d-winter-uk) in your skin, and deficiency is [rising in teenagers and young adults](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/vitamin-d-deficiency-symptoms). We also look at what the evidence shows on [the shingles vaccine and dementia](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/does-shingles-vaccine-prevent-dementia), and who can have the jab free on the NHS.

Prevention looks different at every stage of life. Women live longer than men but [spend more years in poor health](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/womens-longevity-7-ways-to-stay-healthy-for-longer), and menopause symptoms [push one in ten women out of work](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/menopause-at-work-support). A 12-year study of 52,000 women found that [modern HRT did not raise heart attack or stroke risk](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/hrt-heart-disease-risk), and we tell you what to ask your GP. For the men in your life, Movember is the month for [seven health checks](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/movember-health-checks-jeremy-clarkson-chris-hoy) and the lessons Jeremy Clarkson and Sir Chris Hoy learned the hard way. Whatever your age, you lose muscle every decade after 30, and [lifting weights after 50](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/strength-training-after-50) wins it back.

Look after your mind with the same care as your body. Loneliness [raises your risk of heart disease and stroke](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/loneliness-making-friends-midlife), so a phone call to an old friend is a health decision. Two hours a week [in nature](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/naturemaxxing-7-ways-to-get-more-nature-into-your-week), a daily [winter walk](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/winter-walking-benefits) and a few minutes to [calm your nervous system](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/how-to-calm-your-nervous-system-7-fast-techniques) all protect you long before stress turns into illness. Christmas stress [starts building in November](https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/christmas-stress-burnout), so start now and reach January rested.

You do not need to change your whole life. Choose one habit from these pages, keep it for a month, then add another. Small steps taken early protect you better than big promises made too late.

Book the check-up. Take the walk. Call the friend.

Then write and tell me which habit you chose. I would love to hear how you are getting on.

Marina Nani Editor-in-Chief