“Doctor, but what should I eat?” and “Doctor, isn’t there anything I should be doing?” are probably two of the most common questions physicians hear on a daily basis. Due to the short visitation times doctors usually allot for patients, however, these fundamental questions often never get answered. Unfortunately, if the building blocks to health are not present then disease will inevitably result, and any and all pills will only be masking the underlying problem. By building blocks we mean those lifestyle patterns that are foundational for the wellbeing of the body. That precisely includes what we eat and what we do, the two areas mentioned above that people ask about because they innately realize the impact it has on their health, but which most doctors endemically don’t give time to correct. Instead, patients will quickly be thumbed a prescription to correct their problem, and such an approach to medicine will only result in dependency, something far from wellness.

Although we may be sick, it doesn’t necessarily mean we have a disease that requires medical treatment. Often illness is just a manifestation of inappropriate stress being placed on an otherwise healthy body. The symptoms, therefore, are just the body’s way of alerting us to remove the stress, whether that is those greasy Big Macs congesting our system or that comfortable couch stuck to our seats for hours on end. Stress, in this sense, then is an obstacle for the body to overcome in attaining balance, which would include food that taxes metabolic processes and even a lack of exercise that inhibits proper blood circulation and weakens muscles. As such, it makes most sense to allow our bodies the chance to bounce back into balance by removing stressors and replacing them with health sustaining building blocks first. Similarly, it would be rather unnatural to maintain disease promoting activity and then forcefully suppress the body’s symptoms, its alert messages, with drugs, to correct the problem.

But listening to the body and responding takes so much time and prescribing a pill seems so much quicker in quieting those annoying alarm sounds… for the time being.

Those who have found themselves caught in the vicious cycle of taking pill after pill for symptom after symptom must ask themselves that although they may not display any sign of disease due to medications that have suppressed their body’s response, are they really healthy? For those who believe “yes”, then to them the definition of health is merely the absence of disease. For those who believe that health is something more than not having the signs of disease on the body, the recommendations below may be of some interest. The following is a summary of what people feeling sick might want to consider doing before going to get “a pill” from the doctor. It might just be that the building blocks making up the health of your body simply need to be paid a bit more attention to. Once corrected numerous diseases may naturally disappear and keep you away from the doctor altogether. As for those already on various medications, you may likely experience a decreased dependence on drugs such as pain relievers, skin creams, laxatives to name a few, but countless others as well, if not a complete and natural recovery that you never knew could have been possible simply by correcting the basics.

How to make sure that your body is at its best

 

System Instructions

Digestion
  • Start every day with a glass of warm water with the juice of half a lemon to help take a load off your lymphatic system, help cleanse your system and detoxify your liver cells.
  • Chew your food well, and do not drink anything while eating
  • Add 1 -2 Tbsp. of organic apple cider vinegar to 6 – 8 ounces of water and drink 15 – 30 minutes before meals. This will enhance your body’s digestive capabilities.
  • Include more healthy oils in your diet. Take 1000mg of Evening Primrose Oil and 1 tsp of liquid fish oil daily. They provide Essential Fatty Acids in the diet that are often lacking.
  • Probiotics: Take 1 capsule of high quality acidophilus daily with meals. (Don’t forget to store it in the fridge!)

Urinary Tract

 
  • Drink 8 – 12 glasses of filtered or spring water everyday.
  • You can fill a water bottle (1 L) and drink 2 throughout the day. You can add 1 – 2 tsp of liquid chlorophyll to the bottle if desired.

Skin and lymphatics
  • Alternate hot and cold showers: Ouch! This sounds pretty hard to do but you will find that adjusting is not so bad. Start with moderate warm and cool temperatures. Soon you will find the showers very refreshing and not the bother they used to be. 3 minutes hot, 30 seconds cold for at least 3 cycles. This stimulates circulation and immunity and lymphatic flow.
  • Dry skin brushing: Thoroughly brush all of your skin, using a natural fiber brush or a loofah sponge, with short, very light, frequent strokes toward the heart for 45 – 60 seconds. Excellent to help stimulate circulation.

Liver, lymphatics and immune system
  • Castor oil packs: Apply castor oil to a flannel cloth, and place pack

directly onto the skin, over your liver. Cover with a thin towel and place a hot water bottle on the towel. Use the pack for 30 – 45 minutes every day; take some deep breaths and relax.

  • The mind and emotions have a tremendous impact on immune function. Practice anti-stress techniques such as deep abdominal breathing at least 5 minutes, two times per day (instructions below)

Lungs
  • Deep breathing: Do this in conjunction with the castor oil pack and anytime you need to relax. Place your left hand on your upper chest and your right hand on your abdomen. Inhale deeply through the nose, while pushing outward on the stomach so the right hand can feel the abdomen rise. Try not to move the left hand while inhaling. (breathe with your stomach muscles not with your chest!) Purse your lips and exhale slowly pushing the abdomen inward and upward towards the ribs feeling your right hand move down. Try to exhale as long as you can before inhaling again.

Adrenal glands
  • Routine! Try to go to bed at the same time everyday and get up at the same time everyday. Every hour of sleep before midnight is worth 2 hours after midnight. A good night’s sleep will improve your mood, and help balance your hormonal system (cortisol, growth hormone, melatonin, to name a few). Try to get at least 7 – 8 hours of sleep per night.
  • Play! Do something fun everyday.

Heart
  • Exercise at 60 – 70% of maximum heart rate (calculate max heart rate = 220 – age). For example, if you are 30 y.o.a, max HR = 190 bpm; so stay within the range of 114 to 133 bpm. Exercise 3 times a week for 20 minutes, not including warm-up or cool-down (5 min. ea.). Among its various benefits, exercise improves heart and lung function. You’ll have more energy to complete day to day tasks and have an overall sense of well-being. It also decreases your risk for heart disease, diabetes and stroke

Muscles
  • Stretch at the end of every work-out for 10 minutes
  • Hold each stretch for 10-30 seconds in a stationary position
  • Stretch all major muscle groups every time.
  • Helps relieve tension, prevents injuries and keeps muscles limber, and improves balance and mobility