Our health like our wealth is OUR OWN business!

Our health like our wealth is OUR OWN business! What are we doing to take care of ourselves?

I am not a Doctor, or health practitioner, nor am I a financial service professional. I am alive, so my state of health is important, especially to me. My personal and family wealth is also MY responsibility! As Don Lawson a health wise, and financially free man used to say, “I’ve been rich, and I’ve been poor, rich is better!” The same saying could be adapted for health, “I’ve been well, and I’ve been ill, well is better!”

Many people choose to abdicate their responsibility in both health and wealth; this is most commonly done by blaming someone or something else. Instead of taking responsibility for the choices we have made which led us to where we are now, we blame our health care system for the poor state of our health. We blame our family, employer or government for our financial situation! We blame our genes, culture or social status, or worse someone else’s culture for keeping us confined to our station in life! Remember, where you are right now is the result of choices you have made, where you could be (better or worse) is the result of the choices you make RIGHT NOW! Your range of choices may be limited by your current circumstances, but you will always have some choice. Your circumstances can be incrementally changed by making the best choice for your current circumstance and repeating. As your circumstances change so do the range of choices available to you!

Accepting responsibility is personally empowering! If we accept responsibility, we also accept the POWER to make changes, when we blame something else; we give it our power, and therefore cannot make changes, or take action, because we feel POWERLESS! We are ALL connected to the source of all power, and to each other. Surely with this realisation, we take back our power of choice, choose wisely and reap the benefits associated with those wise choices in our future as it unfolds in the ever present moment of NOW!

Education is the key, we must educate ourselves in order to improve and maintain our good health! The same is true of our wealth, the more we learn the less we lose while gaining experience! The more experienced we become the easier we will find improving our circumstances! Education has never been easier; the internet is full of commercial as well as free education! Exercise caution; remember anything free is often worth exactly what you paid for it!

The amount of choices available can be quite daunting. Start somewhere; take samples on your chosen subject from more then one source, cross check what you learn against more then one source. The truth is out there! Truth can be distorted but it cannot be destroyed, it will emerge even when it is actively suppressed.

One of the ways I use to narrow down the facts is to check them against what I already know. This is not foolproof especially if you do not know much about the subject, but with practice can be very revealing. Another way is to ask what the motivation of the source is. Ask an insurance salesman if you need more insurance you will usually get an affirmative answer from him, he is motivated to sell insurance to you, what you need is your business as far as he is concerned. He is correct, you should educate yourself to the point where you know without asking what you need, and then you should do whatever it takes to get it! As part of your education you can still ask the question, and then ask for justification, if their justification makes sense from your own perspective, perhaps you do need more insurance!

We are the light, against which darkness cannot prevail. Darkness only exists so that we can realise the light within us when contrasted by darkness.

Suplements, Natural vs Synthetic.

If I wait for there to be a medical reason before I take supplements, it means that I haven’t looked after my body?
I either eat wrongfully, eat foods produced in depleted or polluted soil and maybe develop a foodborne disease.
I also chose to ignore the fact that there are whole food supplements available that boost my immune system and give me the minerals, vitamins that are lacking in the supermarket food (10% of supermarket food is nutritious or natural, the rest is chemical rich and carcinogenic) so that my body can win over disease before there is a medical reason for me to take supplements.
Please distinguish between synthetic, natural, organic and wholefoods. 
I expect the medical professionals to treat me, once I have the medical reason to take supplements, hoping they know about these non invasive whole food products without referring to “their” book of listed drugs and synthetic supplements to be used on me – the guinea pig.
They might get it right when it is too late for me.
I therefore think the best advice to anybody is: –

 Be informed about the food you eat.
About the pollutants, added chemicals, soil depletion etc.
The WHO (World Health Organization) is a good place to start researching.
– Avoid any readily available, cheap, synthetic, natural products.
If your Pharmacist can’t tell you which one is which, do not buy them.
Synthetic products affect your liver first.
– Choose wholefood products that have been available for many years and that are known not to have wrong side effects.
– If we can buy it in the supermarket leave it out of our lives!
These supplements do not do what the labels says and cause long term suffering.
– If we have a headache, do not take a pain killer, find out the cause.
A Headache is not aspirin deficiency.
– Bioavailable, cold pressed unpolluted food that belongs in the normal and natural human food chain, make good wholefood supplements.
If we do not know the difference between these products and what is advertised, do not buy them.
– Wholefood supplements help us to avoid a medical reason before we need a medical reason to take supplements.
They boost our immune system and prevent diseases.
– Know the difference and make an informed decision.
Look around and find out why a friend, a sister or somebody you know is sick.
The signs are there.
What touches our skin, passes through our mouth, where we walk, what we hear and even what we choose to see through our eyes and mind have an effect on our body.

By Isa

Foundation. Elimination.

Foundation. Elimination.

 Cellular nutrition is essential to our well being. As important if not more so is elimination! Nutrition is effected when the nutrients we have taken in (eaten) are broken down (digested) transported through the blood stream and are taken up by the cells that need them (assimilation) for fuel, maintenance and building blocks for new cells or specialised functions such as enzyme production.

 The by product of healthy working cells is waste, once the energy has been extracted or protein, minerals, and vitamins are converted for healthy growth repair or energy, what is left needs to be eliminated. First from the cell, through the cell membrane, and then from the blood through the organs and systems that specialise in elimination of these waste products! Then from the body through the same systems that deal with excess and waste products of the digestive process, as well as the lymph system.

 Many of these waste products are poisonous or toxic to us, they need to be carefully managed by the correct organs and safely stored until they can be eliminated if the organs are overloaded or the elimination channels are backed up! This is one of the reasons we should minimise the toxins we voluntarily introduce into our bodies. Our bodies are working hard enough dealing with the natural by products of life, without being further burdened by unnatural toxins like pesticides, chemical fertiliser, exhaust fumes, smoking, distilled alcohol, and chlorinated drinking water.

 Dietary fibre is essential for the proper functioning of our digestive systems. Not only is it essential as a bulking agent for carrying waste products out, it is also the “food” source of the beneficial bacteria that live in our intestines, the bacteria are beneficial to us as they play a crucial roll in breaking down nutrients making them more usable to us. Contrary to the impression created by TV adverts you cannot get ALL your daily dietary fibre requirements from a single bowl of single source flakes! Dietary fibre is a complex subject, and as with the human food chain should have diverse sources, there are six categories of dietary fibre; three are soluble, meaning they can be dissolved in liquid, the other three are insoluble! The definition of fibre is that it cannot be digested, it passes through our system relatively unchanged.

 Our dietary fibre supplements should come from a source within the normal human food chain, either as the whole food, or as an extract of the whole food. Wood pulp fibre extract may fit the definition of fibre, is a natural organic product, and may even perform a similar function. Wood is not however part of the normal human food chain so no matter how it is dressed up should be avoided as a supplement. Also single source extracts even if they come from the normal human food chain should be avoided as they cannot contain all six categories of fibre! Adequate daily intake of complex dietary fibre is essential to our wellbeing; it keeps us regular and helps to keep our intestines and colon clean and fully functional. It also keeps our internal flora happy; the beneficial bacteria will help to defend us against malignant toxin producing bacteria that may enter our systems.

Foundation Protein

Foundation Protein

All living things are made up of various combinations of elements, oils, minerals, and amino acids or proteins which are the building blocks of life. Our human bodies are made up of various combinations of 22 amino acids minerals and water, there are 8 essential amino acids, essential means our body cannot manufacture them, they have to be taken in from an outside source, the food chain! The rest of the required amino acids can actually be synthesised by various organs in our bodies, provided sufficient quantities of the 8 essential amino acids are available!

Of course it is vastly preferable to have sufficient quantities of all 22 amino acids available from our nutritional intake (food). The mechanism’s that synthesize the more common amino acids from the 8 essential ones are more gainfully employed contributing to the strength and resilience of our immune systems! Also if a specific amino acid is required by the immune system for manufacturing an anti virus it is preferable to have it readily available, “off the shelf” rather then waiting for it to first be synthesised from a possibly limited supply of the 8 essentials.

Beware of protein supplements that are not complete, especially those that do not contain all 8 essential amino acids. Single source protein supplements should also be avoided as it is almost impossible to obtain the rich variety and balanced quantities required for optimal nutrition. After all few of us ever entertain the idea of subsisting on a singles isolated source of food, This is what was meant when we were taught to eat a balanced diet at school, obtain your daily nutrition from a variety of foods taken from all the food groups.

I have never understood humans that have clawed their way to the top of the food chain only to become vegetarians. What we eat is definitely a choice for most of us, I chose balance and moderation, I also demand balance and variety from my supplements! The foundation for nutrition should be lipids and sterols, and a good 22 amino acid protein. The lipids are required for cell wall construction, and the amino acids are required for everything else including manufacturing enzymes needed to assimilate all the other nutrients our bodies extract from our diets!

Foundation. Nutrition.

Health Pyramid

 A good foundation is the basis for anything meaningful and also necessary if you require lasting and beneficial results. 

 This is true for most things in life and is essential when we intend to work on our diet in order to become healthier or prolong our health and wellbeing.

 The foundation for the nutrition part of the pyramid is WHOLE grains; I put the word WHOLE in capitals because it is the most important part of the statement.

 Approximately one hundred years ago our western diets were irrevocably changed by the invention of the steel roller mill. Up to the time of its adoption grain milling was not as efficient, much of the husk of the grain along with the germ and most of the lipids and sterols, vitamins and minerals in the grains were left in the flour after milling, .This had advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that the goodness and essential nutrients and roughage or fibre remained in the meal and flour that were then processed into bread and cereal products. The disadvantage was that both the milled flour and the finished products had very short shelf life, the lipids and sterols (grain oils) tended to go rancid quickly when no longer protected by the husk of the grain after milling.

This posed a problem for modern city folk that no longer lived on the farm near their basic staple food source. The steel roller mill solved that problem, because it could mill the grain to much finer tolerances. The husks and hulls and germ of the grain could be easily and completely removed, and the remaining starch finely milled. Without the grain oils, most of the vitamins and minerals the flour and the finished product had vastly increased shelf life, at the expense of human nutrition!

Of course the nutrition does not go to waste; it is processed into many by-products that are sold separately as animal feed, and other products! The human food chain was essentially broken, without the grain oils our diets were deficient. Of course we compensated in other ways, but without the essential grain oils in our daily diets we opened ourselves up to a vast array of dis-eases that have been attacking us ever since!

Daily use of whole grain foods are essential to our health as they ensure that cell membranes can function optimally. They support the cell’s ability to receive other nutrients, absorb and utilize them appropriately, export important metabolites and properly eliminate cellular waste. If our cells are healthy, we are healthy. Unhealthy cells are unable to process nutrients necessary to promote physical well being.

Foundation. Fitness

A good foundation is the basis for anything meaningful and also necessary if you require lasting and beneficial results.

This is true for most things in life and is essential when we intend to work on our diet in order to become healthier or prolong our health and wellbeing.

Looking at most current health pyramids, you will notice there is a new lower layer on which the former foundation now rests; this “new” layer is exercise for health and   fitness!

Any health or diet program that advocates some magic pill or potion that will lead you to optimal health and that does not contain physical exercise as an essential element should be avoided.

It is however important to realise what is meant by exercise.

The term exercise usually conjures up visions of sweating away in a gym or jogging on the road for hours. While this can be beneficial if not overdone, it is not essential since   most of us can easily accomplish our required fitness simply by changing some of our daily routine.

On waking in the morning, before getting out of bed, do a few stomach crunches. Start with 3 deep breaths. Inhale deeply to the count of 4 and exhale on the count of 6 while bringing awareness to all parts of body. It helps to focus within yourself. With your feet on the mattress and knees bent and belly button pulled towards back, keep your hands behind your head and crunch. Continue with deep breaths for a good supply of oxygen. This and the support of the mattress give a feeling of calmness and you are able to do more, although you should start with a few crunches and increase by one every   day. Never perform stomach crunches with stretched legs as this position causes back injury. (As advised by Biokinetics) It is always important to ease into any exercise routine as most people quit exercising because they over do it in the beginning, suffer the pain and stiffness and quit before realising the benefit!

Of course if you are over 35 and have not been exercising or have specific health challenges, it is always best to consult a qualified health professional and at least gain basic fitness levels under their care before developing your own routine!

Another basic change could be made when parking your car. Instead of elevating your blood pressure fighting for a parking space close to the entrance of a store, office or mall, park in an open spot away from the entrance and walk. The benefits of 15 to 20 minutes of brisk walking every day (even when broken into short walks) go a long way toward fulfilling your daily exercise requirement. Choose to take the stairs instead of an escalator or elevator, which will also prepare you for when these are not functioning especially these days when power cuts seem to be more widespread, and common.

Gentle stretching and own body resistance exercises require no expensive apparatus, are easy to learn and apply, and definitely improve your sense of wellbeing as long as you do not overdo them or hurt yourself by attempting too much before you have achieved basic fitness.

Consult a fitness coach, or look up simple stretching and exercise routines on the internet, walk to your local library and take out a book, the important thing is to learn and apply, fitness cannot be obtained by learning alone, application is essential! Start slowly and build your way to a good base for your own foundation of health! Eastern cultures can not understand why westerners start anything physical (exercise), spiritual (praying) or psychological without first using breathing exercises. It takes 3 deep breaths to centre your awareness within your being. Keep on with deep breaths during physical exercise and it becomes easier, heart rate stays low for longer and the mind resists less. A good oxygen supply is as important as warming up with some slow stretching exercises before the main exercise routine.