Whole Food Whole Life

A broad principle of good health involves the function of the gastrointestinal tract.  This means that in order to be healthy, you must eat good food, digest that food, absorb the nutrients provided and eliminate waste.  If any one of these does not occur then your health can be greatly impacted.  Most chronic illness starts in the gut.

Food choices are often individualized.  Blood type diets(1) can be helpful, but I find there are subtypes of these.  It is not likely that we can completely categorize the world’s population into 4 diets.  Hereditary impact is an important factor.  The diet of an individual in the tropics varies greatly from those in Scandinavian countries.   Switching diets for those individuals could result in health problems.  We can also factor in the changes in our foods from large farming and food processing.  Our food production and distribution systems are amazing as they provide food for the world’s populations and our have it now society.  You can get any seasonal food year round. 

The other side of this coin is that we are no longer eating foods the way they were offered in nature.  Fruits and vegetables are picked before their peak ripeness, irradiated, gassed and shipped all over the world.  Real food will spoil.  Have you noticed how long bread will last? 

This whole food concept is simple: if you can’t pick it or kill it then don’t eat it.  We have devolved to eat foods high in calories and low in nutrients.  We also used to eat seasonally.  Most of our ancestors did not sit down to the bountiful spread of meat, vegetables, fruits, breads and desserts that we enjoy.  Ideally, each food requires different digestive environments.  Watery fruits are easier to digest than a steak. 

Fresh garden food is wonderful, especially raw.  These vegetables have enzymes and bacteria that aid in digestion.  Rinse these foods properly and eat the skin.  For gardeners, it makes no sense to have a nice garden only to dust your vegetables with Sevin.  Use a liquid soap in a sprayer to keep bugs away. 

It is becoming easier to get good protein in the form of beef, chicken and fish as there is a movement to provide these locally.  Avoid all farm raised fish.  Also avoid processed meats including lunch meats, hot dogs, and sausage.  Pork is delicious but not considered healthy.  Eggs have gotten a bad rap due to the over focused cholesterol industry.  Eggs are a wonderful whole food that should not be overlooked. 

We typically eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch and supper.  It is much better to rotate your foods so that you don’t eat the same things more often than every 4 days.  Each type of food requires a different digestive environment.  Fruit is best eaten by itself or 15 minutes before a meal.  Other digestion friendly food combinations include meat with vegetables and vegetables with starches. 

1. “Eat Right for Your Type”

Got Water?

One of the foundations of health is hydration.  It should be obvious that we should drink water.  If there were an owner’s manual for the human body, the recommended fluid for consumption is water.  Many recommend 8 glasses per day but this does not take into account body size or the time of day or year.  If we are working and sweating then we may need more.  My general recommendation is body weigh divided by two equals the number of ounces to consume per day.  Most people have an obligatory amount of water to consume of approximately 18 ounces for the body to just get by.

There are many estimates of the percentage of water in the body.  Let’s just say around 75%.  The body needs fluid to perform basic functions that includes the elimination of waste.  Dehydration can contribute to or cause joint pain from decreased synovial fluid, headaches, gall stones, kidney stones, gout, and high blood pressure to name a few.  How many times do you use drug therapies to treat simple dehydration? 

Are you drinking soft drinks or coffee and counting them as water?  I can probably say that if your fluid intake is primarily these drinks then you will not be healthy.  As a matter of fact, most of you that fall in the category are already on multiple drug therapies.  It is not wrong to drink coffee or have the occasional soft drink but it could be one of the most detrimental things you could do if you are not healthy.

Late signs of dehydrations may include dry mouth, infrequent urination, headache, back pain, constipation, heartburn, leg pain, or joint pain.  I am often asked what kind of water to drink.  The answer is relative to the individual.  If you are drinking soft drinks it is better to drink municipal tap water.  Of course it is better to avoid chlorine and fluoride in these water systems so you could purchase a filter.  Then you could get into which type of bottled water or water system.  Some recommend distilled water that is devoid of minerals and not the best choice. Some recommend alkaline water.  There is always someone that has the answer but the first answer is drink water.

For some, it seems that water will just run thru them.  Some may drink enough water but still experience dry mouth.  This happens when the cellular membrane has been compromised.  Cell wall function is imperative for health.  Improving this membrane calls for the elimination of trans fats and increasing good fats such as Fish Oil , or flax oil.  I often recommend Hydrate I or Hydrate II drops to enhance the body’s utilization of water.  These homeopathic products enhance fluid absorption thereby increasing intracellular water.  It is a great place to start.  Hydrate I is for individuals under 40 years old and Hydrate II for those of us over 40.

There are many inexpensive things you can do to enhance water.  This includes fresh cut lemon or lime juice.  Herbal teas are nice and have mild nutrient and therapeutic effects.  You could also use Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar that has many wonderful effects.  It is great as a digestion aid before a meal.  Nitro Powder is a wonderful electrolyte replacement formula that is better than the commercial sugar drinks.


Stay Well!

New Beginning

                      
                    All Heal
              Prunella vulgaris

            Found in NC Mountains

I learned more about compounding medication and hormone replacement thru the Professional Compounding Centers of America.  I also learned more about natural medicine through a now defunct educational company known as Lifespan Wellness Centers.  It provided seminars and education for pharmacist that wanted to learn about natural medicine and sell more products.  Of course, some of the motivation was sales but most of the pharmacists were sincerely interested in this information. 

Just so you know, a pharmacist is in a unique position in that they can recommend product that they sell.  This could be a position of power for an individual’s financial gain.  In school we are taught not to abuse this relationship even to the point of refusing a sale if it is not in the best interest or need of the customer.  Professional conduct is important and I believe most pharmacist follow this philosophy which is why they have been at the top of the “most trusted professionals” list.

I attended every seminar that I could possibly make.  At the time I never imagined I would go so far with this new venue.  I mostly justified the time and expense with the notion that if nothing else, I could help individuals in my family.  But I also really enjoyed learning.  One of the speakers that I found the most interesting was Dr. Jack Hinze.  He was a captivating lecturer that seemed to have the understanding and ability to integrate many disciplines into one topic.  In school we learn in compartments.  An example is anatomy.  We learn about the cardiovascular system, the respiratory system, etc.  Other larger compartments may include biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, and psychology.  Then you have the pharmacology of drug therapy, herbal medicine and nutrition.  There is also energy oriented medicine such as homeopathy.  Dr. Hinze masterfully brought it all together in a manner that was understandable.  He is also the founder and product originator of the Natural Creations product line. 

One of the downfalls of modern medicine is this notion of compartments.  Can you really separate them from the whole person?  Can you extract one component of a plant and say this is what really works?  Everyone uses the “holistic” word which is a great concept.  Without trying to sound mysterious, over the years, I have learned there are many layers to the concept and many layer to an individual.  This is also compartmentalizing but the point is that as Dr. Hinze integrated the educational piece, so is the individual integrated in the complexity of the human body and their existence.