| There are several key factors to good health. This list is very concise for a reason. If you eat and drink well, sleep well, exercise and take good vitamins, you are giving your body it’s greatest chance for a healthy life. Besides good genetics, this is really all you need for vitality.
MOVEMENT IS VITAL TO YOUR HEALTH Movement on a muscular level provides immunity from disease. Your lymph system, a crucial part of your immune system, does not function or flow without help from your muscles. This is why paraplegics have to have massage and assistance in limb movement exercises. Movement on a cellular level through circulation is an exchange of energy; receiving nutrition and getting rid of waste. If this does not happen, your cells will eventually turn diseased, mutate and/or die. Your body in its “less-than-perfect” state, may have inhibited circulation from many causes, such as chronically contracted muscles, injuries, toxicity and illness. All of these factors hinder good circulation and therefore cell homeostasis. Regular exercise, especially to the point of sweating is vital to good health. The other processes of eliminating wastes through good bowel movements and urination are just as important. Think of the body’s circulatory and digestive systems as you would think of plumbing. Food and water enter into your body’s plumbing, get used or stored, and then move to be eliminated. You need to be able to flush wastes into the sewage system (blood by-products, food wastes and toxic chemicals). Your waste pipes leading from your house can get a buildup of sludge. When this happens, waste products do not flow properly down the pipes. Eventually, your waste will start backing up and you’ll be in a world of crap, to put it bluntly. The same thing happens with your colon. Only, besides there being possible backups, there is also a lack of re-absorption of water and some nutrients. This can lead to constant diarrhea. Get the sludge out with Dr. Schulze Herbal Intestinal Cleaning System NUTRITION Proper nutrition is key to insuring good health. Logically, whole and raw foods are ultimately the best for your body. Food that has been processed, canned, frozen or comes in a box, lacks the vital energy of whole foods. We, as Americans, have been feeding ourselves processed foods for a few generations. Our bodies can not transfrom these foods into energy as readily as whole foods. Food molecules not recognized by our bodies are seen as foreign invaders. Those molecules are not used for energy and become trapped as toxins. Just like a plant becomes more susceptible to pests and disease from poor nutrition, toxic foods and a toxic environment create an atmosphere that is right for viruses, harmful bacteria and cell damage. Astonishing implications of the ties between nutrition and illness is produced in the book, The China Study, by Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II, which gives detailed report of the largest and most comprehensive research ever produced on eating animal proteins. Our foods lack the vitamins and minerals they once contained. Our current farming practices (not including certified organic farmers), deplete the land of minerals by using pesticides and planting the same crops every year. Our government’s denial and profit from the harmful pesticides used on our foods keeps us in the dark. We are bombarded with persuasive television advertisements that lead us to eat processed foods with chemicals that we can’t even pronounce; and include toxins that lead to cancer and other illnesses. It is essential to eat certified organic food and supplement with whole food vitamins. CAFFEINE We’ve all been told that caffeine is not harmful to our health. Even the IFIC (International Food Information Council) reports no adverse effects (they are backed by big money from soft drink makers) Stephen Cherniske, a Clinical Nutritionist, wrote the book Caffeine Blues which proves this idea is wrong. Caffeine causes:
It can take up to 12 hours to detoxify a single cup of coffee. A single 250 milligram dose of caffeine (the equivalent of about 2.5 six ounce cups of coffee) has been shown to increase levels of the stress hormone epinephrine (adrenaline) by over 200%. This puts your body in the fight or flight response for the majority of your day. Because the liver works overtime to detoxify the caffeine, it releases higher amounts of sugar and fat into the blood stream, therefore stressing your pancreas and slowing your digestion. Cherniske reported that 90% of people who came to him who suffered from depression and gave up caffeine completely for 2 months reported that their depression went away! Cherniske suggests that you will never know the full effect the drug is having on you until you experience what life is like caffeine free (which takes two months to do). Caffeine depletes your supplies of thiamin and other B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron and zinc. Caffeine increases calcium loss and risk of osteoporosis. In one large study, the risk for hip fracture for those women who consumed the most caffeine was 300% greater than it was for the group that consumed little or no caffeine. Adenosine plays an important role in energy transfer (ATP & ADP), is an anti-inflammatory agent, Most of the pharmacological effects of adenosine in the animal brain can be suppressed by relatively low concentrations of circulating caffeine (less than 100 µmol, which is the equivalent of 1-3 cups of coffee). Adenosine decreases the neuronal firing rate and inhibits both synaptic transmission and the release of most neurotransmitters.* At high concentrations (0.5-1 mmol), caffeine interferes with the uptake and storage of calcium by the sarcoplasmic reticulum in striated muscles. This action can account for observations that such concentrations of caffeine increase the strength and duration of contractions in both skeletal and cardiac muscles. Similar actions can enhance secretion in certain tissues.* Average caffeine consumption from all sources is approximately 76 mg/person/day but reaches 210-238 mg per person per day in the United States and Canada and more than 400 mg per person per day in Sweden and Finland, where 80-100% of the caffeine intake is from coffee alone. In the United Kingdom, the consumption of caffeine is similar to that in Sweden and Finland, but 72% is from tea.* Caffeine and related compounds are natural insecticides that plants use toward off damaging pests, reports James A. Nathanson an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. SLEEP WELL Sleeping is a time for your body to repair and restore. Sleeping at least 7 hours is ideal but longer may work for you. Your body needs extra rest if you are building muscle or doing extreme activities. We spend 1/3 of our lives in bed. So spending money on a good bed is vital. I believe in buying the firmest bed available and one that can be flipped and rotated. A bed that dips in the spots where you sleep is guaranteeing a back ache. If you prefer a softer bed, buy an additional pillowtop pad. A soft bed will only dip sooner, wearing out faster. The next thing to invest in is a good pillow. Have you tried the cervical neck pillows? Lots of chiropractors recommend them. I have a feeling those chiropractors have never experienced neck pain. We’re all built differently so a pillow that keeps one shape is made for no one. Buy a pillow that you can scrunch up to support your spine correctly. A feather pillow or buck wheat pillow suits everyone. When sleeping on your side, the pillow should support your neck so that it is in alignment with your spine. When sleeping on your back, you should either remove your pillow or sleep with a small rolled-up towel under the curve of your neck. Elevating your head is not a good idea while on your back. It allows your anterior (front) neck muscles to shorten which will cause your posterior (back) neck muscles to over correct by pulling your head back. Neck Ache! The best buckwheat pillow I’ve come across is made by Makura *Neurologic Effects of Caffeine: Author: Jasvinder Chawla, MBBS, MD, MBA, Associate Professor of Neurology, Director of Neurology Residency Training Program, Director of Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory, Assistant Director of Neurology Clerkship Program, Department of Neurology, Loyola University Medical Center. Coauthor(s): Amer Suleman, MD, Consultant in Electrophysiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Medical City Dallas Hospital |
The best Buckwheat Pillow I’ve come across is made by Makura. Click the picture below to go to their site. Buy a pillow that you can shape to a form that is right for your personal spinal alignment. A high-end feather pillow or buck wheat pillow suits everyone. Here is a site for quality Down Pillows
When sleeping on your side, the pillow should support your neck so that it is in alignment with your spine. When sleeping on your back, you should either remove your pillow or sleep with a small rolled-up towel under the curve of your neck. Elevating your head is not a good idea while on your back. It allows your anterior (front) neck muscles to shorten which will cause your posterior (back) neck muscles to over correct by pulling your head back. Neck Ache! We spend 1/3 of our lives in bed. So spending money on a good bed is vital. I believe in buying the firmest bed available and one that can be flipped and rotated. A bed that dips in the spots where you sleep is guaranteeing a back ache. If you prefer a softer bed, buy an additional pillowtop pad. A soft bed will only dip sooner, wearing out faster. Here are some of the best beds: |
