Disease is Not Random

There exists a misconception which is sadly common in our times, and which I feel is the first issue that must be addressed in our attempt to achieve optimum health. Therefore the subject of this my first post to my health blog is this misconception that disease strikes randomly.

Cancer, heart disease, Alzhiemer’s, Parkinson’s, arthritis, diabetes, asthma and other degenerative diseases do not strike an individual because he or she is unlucky. Cancer rates in the United States are currently about 50% for both men and women. Half of us will get cancer. Which half? God is not tossing a coin to decide who gets cancer and who doesn’t. Neither is nature the coin-tosser. There are natural laws at work, just as true and predictable as the law of gravity. The biological processes involved in the health of our bodies are very complex, and there are many things we do not understand. However, there is much that we do know and understand at least at some level, and much that we can do to ensure that we have the best health possible.

What can we do? Well, as an individual human being, there are exactly three factors that determine my health, including every aspect of it. How much energy I have, how susceptible to colds and flu I am, whether I develop arthritis, whether I get cancer, whether I develop Alzheimer’s disease, how strong my bones are, etc., etc. These three factors are:

• Genetics
• Environment
• Lifestyle

Let’s look at each of these one at a time. The first one is the simplest, at least from my personal perspective regarding my own personal health. I have no control over my genetic makeup. It was irrevocably set when I was born. There is nothing I can do to change it. Whatever inherent weaknesses and strengths, in the biological sense, that I was born with, I am stuck with. However, I do have quite a bit of control over the health of my future children. Studies have shown that the health of both mother and father before conception, along with of course the health of the mother during pregnancy, have a very strong effect on the health of the child.

Number two is environment. Environment includes everything that touches my body in any way. The air I breathe and live in whether clean or polluted, the water I bathe and/or swim in, cosmetics, shampoo, soap, deodorant, clothing, furniture, bedding, detergents, cleaning agents, car and truck exhaust, mold, pesticides and herbicides, chemical fertilizers, airborne toxins in factories and offices, … well, you get the idea. Some of this is under my control. I can choose, within limits, where to live. I can certainly choose the kind of products I use to wash my clothes and my body, what I apply to my hair and body, and what I use to clean my home, dishes, and furniture.

Number three is lifestyle. By lifestyle I mean what I eat, how and how much I exercise, and how I spend my time.

Diet

Eating is a big one. My experience indicates that people are generally more resistant to changing how they eat than they are to any other change. With most of us, we don’t change what we eat until we experience a sufficient level of pain to provide the motivation. With some that threshold is never reached. Similar to the smoker dying of lung cancer who refuses to give up smoking, many of us eat ourselves into our graves despite readily available solutions to our health problems that would simply require us to change what we eat.

I hope to cover more of the details about nutrition in future articles, but as a quick start guide, here are some nutrition tips:

• Minimize, eliminate if possible, sugar. Sugar is an anti-nutrient and is bad for us in numerous ways. The common sweetener corn syrup is worse than sugar. And do not replace sugar or corn syrup with artificial sweeteners; they are even worse. Stevia is a healthy, sweet-tasting herb that works great as a sweetener for foods.
• Minimize starches, especially refined starches such as white flour, white rice, bread, and pasta. Grains are best when boiled as a whole grain. Barley is very healthy, and quinoa is a popular grain with many nutritional benefits. If you are hooked on bread, try sprouted grain breads. If you must eat pasta, look for some made of brown rice or whole grain spelt.
• Maximize vegetables, raw or cooked, and aim for a variety of colors. Fresh is best, frozen is ok in a pinch, canned is worthless. Organic is ideal, and yes, it does make a difference.
• Eat sufficient good-quality animal protein. Raw egg yolks are almost a perfect food, assuming the egg comes from a healthy hen. Shelton’s eggs and Organic Valley organic, free-range eggs appear to be some of the best widely-available eggs. Raw milk is also extremely nutritious. Beef or lamb from grass-fed animals is ideal. Otherwise at least try to get antibiotic, hormone and pesticide-free meats. Same for chicken and turkey, try for organic and free-range. Eat the meat with the fat.
• Eat only healthy fats. This includes naturally occurring fats on healthy meat, butter and cream (raw is best but expensive), coconut oil (Omega Nutrition is my favorite), palm oil, and organic extra virgin olive oil. Coconut oil can be used for high-heat cooking; olive oil should not be heated above 300 F. Do NOT eat margarine nor any of the bottled so-called vegetable oils in the supermarket.
• Fruit is ok, especially with other foods. Berries (except strawberries) are best. Fruit juice is not good, containing too much concentrated sugar that is too easily and quickly absorbed.
• Avoid foods with additives, whether colors, preservatives, artificial flavors, etc.

Exercise

In my reading and experience I have heard from multiple sources the advice that if, in your quest for better health, you had to choose between changing your diet or starting to exercise, choose exercise. We cannot be healthy without regular exercise. That’s the way our bodies are made. Biology does not listen to excuses, and is unaffected by how much we like or hate physical activity. These natural laws do not limit themselves to apply only to persons for whom it is convenient to exercise, or who do not have to work long hours, or who do not have children to care for, or any other reason to not exercise, whether valid or not. Lack of regular exercise equals poor health, both short term and the long term. Period.

Most experts agree that some combination of moderate-to-strenuous aerobic exercise combined with strength training is necessary to get the maximum benefits from exercise. One hour per day or more seems to be an average consensus as well.

How I spend my time

The other aspect of lifestyle is everything else. Getting enough sleep. Balancing work, home life, and relaxation. Maintaining healthy relationships. Letting go of the past. There are many pressures and problems in life, and everyone faces them. There are good and bad ways of dealing with the pressures and problems, and each of us must find what works for us to maintain our spiritual, mental and emotional balance. Most of us seem to need some outside help in order to accomplish this, whether from a church, counselor, support group, etc. Emotional health is essential to physical health, and vice-versa. They work together. It is not uncommon for someone who is working on improving physical health to be presented with situations and insight that help to improve the emotional side of things, and for someone who is making progress on the emotional side to experience improved physical health.

Taking Control

The point of this article, and the reason I’m bothering to publish any of these articles at all, is that each of us can take control of our health. I, as an individual, can make changes in my environment, my diet, and my lifestyle which will improve my health. I can’t change my genetic makeup, and if I was born with a weakened immune system or other problem, I can’t change that. So I don’t have absolute control over whether I will be affected by disease. But I can certainly take action that will dramatically improve my chances of a happy and healthy life both now and into the future.  I am not helpless in the fight against disease. I can do something.

For a good source of information on nutrition and health and lots of worthwhile book reviews, see David Getoff‘s web site.