Six Steps To Better Health
Almost every person who sends me a letter or calls our clinic
requesting help asks some form of the following question: what
can I do right now to get better?
Although I usually end up providing unique recommendations in
accordance with each person's health condition(s) and life
circumstances, there are six fundamental recommendations that I
share with everyone who asks for help with their health:
1. Ask yourself the golden health question.
Why do you want to be healthy?
If your answer to this question is not powerful enough to keep
you motiviated to consistently make healthy food and lifestyle
choices, chances are good that you will not reach your health
goals.
You have to have an extremely compelling reason to want to be
healthy. So compelling that you feel that there is no other
choice but to get and stay healthy.
Do you want to reach and maintain your ideal weight? Want to
quit smoking? Want to recover from a thyroid problem? Only when
you have a powerful enough reason to accomplish these and other
health goals can you realistically and confidently expect to
attain them and be at your best for the long haul.
2. Don't let anger, frustration, or self pity destroy your
health.
These are the three emotional states that I have found to be the
most significant root causes of many chronic health challenges.
I spend at least one and a half hours doing an initial
evaluation for every single person who visits our clinic, an
evaluation that includes a close look at presenting symptoms,
medical history, family medical history, dietary habits,
lifestyle habits, social issues, and emotional health. I can say
without hesitation that anger, frustration, and self pity are
three of the most common emotional states that I've identified
in people (myself included, at times) that are extremely
detrimental to health. I can even say that I firmly believe that
these emotional states can have more of a destructive influence
on a person's health than his or her food choices.
I would include "being easily offended" in the same category as
anger.
If you want to experience your best health, and a period of
honest self reflection reveals that anger, frustration, and/or
self pity are a regular part of your existence, you must address
this facet of your life. And if you aren't convinced that your
emotions have signficant influence on your physical health, you
may want to read my article on emotional stress and your
autonomic nervous system.
3. Move, move move.
Your body is designed to be able to move across uneven terrain,
climb trees, exert bursts of speed and power, and perform many
other physical activities that require strength, flexibility,
balance, and a certain amount of cardiovascular conditioning.
Not only is your body designed for these activities, it actually
requires these activities to stay healthy and strong. Healthy
blood circulation, a healthy lymphatic system, strong muscles
and ligaments, healthy joints, efficient lungs, and a well
conditioned heart all require regular movement.
If your daily work requires that you sit or stand in one
location for several hours at a time, you must find a way to
incorporate more movement into your day.
4. Fresh air and sunlight.
Just as your body is designed to be physically active, it's also
designed to be outdoors and exposed to fresh air and sunlight on
a regular basis. If you don't get regular exposure to fresh air
and sunlight, make a concerted effort to do so for at least two
weeks (weather permitting) and feel the difference yourself. The
only caveat to this recommendation is to make sure that you
don't get sun burned.
5. Make restful sleep a top priority.
Healing and growth of new cells occur most rapidly and
efficiently during restful sleep. If you know that you need more
sleep but are having trouble getting it, review Margaret
Chuong-Kim's excellent article on Nine Steps To Better Sleep.
6. Eat more raw foods, especially vegetables.
Raw vegetables are invaluable for preventing and reversing
disease for two main reasons:
1. They are rich in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and
other nutrients that are needed to fuel your healing mechanisms.
2. They have very little potential to damage your cells the way
that many processed foods can.
In providing health care to literally thousands of people over
the past nine years, I have come to believe that a raw vegan
diet does not support optimal health for the long term for most
people. However, with a few exceptions, I generally recommend a
diet that is centered around a lot of raw vegetables for people
who are suffering with health challenges and striving for a
speedy recovery. And even after a person has restored his or her
health, I recommend that a combination of raw and cooked
vegetables become dietary staples.
These six steps can produce good results for almost everyone
because they support the body's own healing mechanisms. And
ultimately, healing of all disease and dysfunction in your body
is accomplished by the same healing mechanisms that are
responsible for healing a cut or bruise on your skin.
Health recovery and maintenance are not accomplished by special
therapies, superfoods, or exceptional doctors and
state-of-the-art procedures. Rather, good health is always
created by self healing mechanisms that are optimally supported
by food and lifestyle choices. Put another way, the key to
preventing and reversing disease is to strive to align your
daily choices with your body's ongoing effort to get and keep
you well.
Once you begin supporting your self healing mechanisms by
following the steps listed above on a regular basis, you can
expect to gradually restore any sense of well-being that you
have lost over the years, and to eventually experience the
physical comfort, energy, and mental clarity that are all
natural consequences of accessing your health potential.