Many of us are fortunate enough to have had decent health through the first half of life but eventually we pay for the misuse and inattention to our bodies. What we put in and on our bodies are extraordinarily important. Did you know that hot flashes and hormone fluctuations can often be reduced just by eating a healthy diet? And, that you can sleep better by eating earlier and not eating sweets including ice cream in the evening? How about that old fashioned glass of milk? Calcium is mandatory for muscle relaxation. Relaxation is a necessity for sleep. Did you have charlie-horses with pregnancy? Do you now? That glass of milk will help. It also has protein to help you sleep through the night. If you awaken, eat a few nuts. The blood sugar will level out making it easier to drift back to dreamland.
Youth keeps you feeling good and thinking you have great health but most of us don't think seriously about maintaining it until it ever so slowly begins to slip away. With age taking care of yourself becomes mandatory for most to feel good and live longer.
What is health? My dictionary defines it as physical and mental well-being; freedom from disease. That makes sense but what does it really mean? We have all heard of people who are healthy one day, then dead the next and not because they got run over by a truck. What's the deal with cancer? A seemingly robust person all of a sudden is diagnosed with it. Why does that happen? While physical and mental well-being can be indicators of good health, they clearly are not the whole picture.
Think about two people who eat spoiled food. One gets violently ill with vomiting and diarrhea unable to manage both at the toilet. The other may have a bit of a stomachache that antacids and a few hours on the couch seem to manage. Which one is the healthy individual? Who is retaining toxins in their body and who is dumping it out? Most people don't like being sick but sometimes nature is attempting to bring the body back into homeostasis or balance. Being sick can be healthy.
Holistic and natural healthcare practitioners tend to use herbs, vitamin and mineral supplements and other remedies closely derived from natural sources. They look at the entire person to find out what is not in balance and may incorporate natural medicines as part of the treatment. They also may incorporate chiropractic, energy medicine, acupuncture, massage, nutrition, and other therapeutic methods for the body, mind and spirit. The root cause is addressed rather than the disease process. Why did the disease begin in the first place? What's out of whack?
No matter what the discipline, good medicine should address nutrition. Everything you put in your mouth counts. Everything. Natural and holistic medicine suggests you only eat real, unadulterated food. That pretty much means the organic, fresh, cooked at home variety. As you probably know, processed and most restaurant food is high in salt, sugar, saturated fat, and has been chemicalized for preservation and to make it a prettier color. This is a nightmare for your body to deal with.
With aging some effects of wrong eating such as a sensitive stomach, heartburn, gall bladder removal, diabetes, feeling sluggish, increased allergies, bowel difficulties or stiff joints and arthritis begin. Just remember that whatever you consume has to be digested properly. For that to happen, all the necessary digestive enzymes must either be included in the food itself, which get destroyed by over-processing, or be produced by the various body organs. The stomach has to be acidic enough to digest protein and minerals without which meat will rot causing that feeling of too much acid. The intestines must have good motility and the kidneys must be healthy enough to get rid of the toxic waste quickly. To be healthy the digestive system has to be functioning to absorb the nutrients and to expel the unwanted waste. Even if you don't have any digestive disturbances a broad range of digestive enzymes from the health food store is recommended because after the age of thirty, stomach acid diminishes and few enzymes are left in food after cooking.
The upside of natural and holistic medicine is that there is little toxicity involved whereas, allopathic medicine (western medicine that routinely uses drugs or surgery) does have adverse effects. Drugs, whether over-the-counter or prescribed, have their repercussions. All are toxic. Look in the PDR or watch television advertisements to see for yourself. Anything toxic that goes into the body, which is everything artificial or chemically made, has to be filtered by the liver or kidneys and excreted as waste somehow. That may be fine for awhile if everything in the body is functioning to a high degree, but these days our world is deluged with chemicals. We are subjected to an overwhelming amount of toxins everyday and the less we breathe, absorb or consume the better. But, what happens when someone has genetically weak organs or over the years has bombarded their body with chemical after chemical? The struggle becomes nearly impossible. Illness, cancer or degenerative disease is the result.
For optimal health eat real food and lots of fruits and vegetables. All processed foods including white flour, sugar and the obvious packaged foods should be kept to a minimum. Care for your body more than you do anything else because it houses your mind, keeps you mobile and provides quality of life. The filters can't be changed like in your car or vacuum cleaner. And, you can't go out and buy a new one. Minimize chemicals in and on your body. Change your eating habits and you'll feel better. Acquiring new tastes may take time but for your health, it's worth it. Remember that food is your medicine and that there are better ways to do entertain or comfort yourself than with junk-food. Besides, this is the time of life when joy and fun ought to be filling you. Maximize your pleasure by feeling good and staying healthy. Enjoy yourself. ©2006
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