I think that your quality of life is heavily dictated by your health. A great saying is its the life in your years not the years in your life.
People often say that you should enjoy life and not worry. Personaly I think that a bit of extra time put aside every week to improve your health is time well spent.
I have always been a pretty good cook but like so many people I use processed dead food for convenience. In many countries people live to eat not eat to live and I believe you can live to eat and live well with good food and a little time.
I felt cutting down alcohol to the odd drink every few months and eating plenty of fruit and veg was enough to be healthy but there is so much more that can be done.
Tumeric or curcumin for example has many fantastic benefits and is an antidepressant, stops athritis and is one of the best known anti cancer suplements as it prevents inflamation which is one of the main causes. When combined with black pepper it is 2000% more effective.
Dental health can play a part as mercury fillings and especialy root canals are things to avoid.
Detox is important and it is a good idea to look at cleansing the different areas of the body colon, gut, liver, kidneys lymphatic system etc. Perhaps consider looking at essiac tea which has some incredible stories attatched to it.
Your spine is important as problems with your spine can cause stress hormones which is an issue.
Hippocrates who is widely regarded as the father of modern medicine said..
Look well to the spine for the cause of disease.
and...
Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.
So what went wrong?
Modern medicine is the antithesis of how it was originaly conceived. Homeopathy, nutrition and natural medicine have taken a back seat and been replaced with a system that tackles the symptoms primarily and places relatively little emphasis on prevention and cures.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I think it is possible to follow a plan of healthy living and not only enjoy life but get more quality out of it too.
I think you can also enjoy things that are bad for you ocasionaly and in moderation and why not.
I think sceptisism can be healthy when combined with proactive research but cynisism can quickly lead you away from the truth.
There are countless accounts of people making incredible recoveries from cancer and all sorts of illnesses by looking at their nutrition. Surely prevention is better though.
I think you do not have to radicaly change your way of life but being aware of possible dangers to your health can surely only be a good thing. I do not feel encumbered by it, more enlightened and intrigued really.
I am sure all of these things will benefit running too.
That is just how I see it.