Feeling Good vs. Being Healthy

Many of us today judge how healthy we are by how good we feel. Unfortunately, this is a very poor indicator of just how well our bodies are working. Many diseases quietly progress without symptoms until it is too late. Therefore, if we can’t judge health by how we feel, how do we know how healthy we are.

Let’s define just what health is.
Tabor’s medical dictionary defines health as “a condition in which all functions of the body and mind are normally active”. The World Health Organization goes further, they define health as “a state of complete physical, mental or social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. As we can see, a lack of symptoms does not constitute health. In order to be considered “healthy” you must be in good physical and mental condition.

The keys to health.
There are essentially five essential aspects to maintaining or achieving a healthy lifestyle. Simply stated they are good nutrition, sensible exercise, sufficient rest, positive attitude, and interference free nervous system. What follows are some simple guidelines for a healthy lifestyle.

Nutrition the first factor in health.
It is very important to cut back on fats and simple carbohydrates like refined sugar and white flour. However, nutrition is more than just what you eat. It also includes the fluids you drink and the air you breathe. So it is also important to drink the purest water and breathe the cleanest air you can. Water filters are a great way to clean your water. If you decide to buy a filter, I recommend a reverse osmosis system or a distilling unit. If you prefer to buy bottled water, look for supermarkets that have a commercial filter or distilling machines that you can fill your own bottles. You might be surprised how many bottled water brands are just premium tap water. As for the air you breathe, you can limit your exposure to second hand smoke, and if you are a smoker, you can quit.

Sensible exercise is next.
To be healthy, you don’t need to be able to run a marathon, or swim the English Channel (there is much evidence to show that excessive endurance training is actually harmful to your body!). A thirty-minute walk three or four times a week is all that is needed. You will be amazed at the results that can be achieved on a walking regimen. Moreover, studies are showing now that in many cases more fat calories are burned in a thirty minute leisurely walk, than in a thirty minute jog.

Sufficient rest.
This is an important one. Our bodies can only heal during periods of rest, so it is important that we get sufficient amounts of sleep. Sleep is not the only form of rest though. Meditation is a great form of “active relaxation” that gives the mind a chance to decompress and gives the spirit a lift, and massage is a great way to help muscles relax. Remember that health is the wholeness of body, mind, and spirit.

Positive mental attitude.
There is a branch of science known as psychoneuroimmunology that is concerned with how your mental outlook effects your health. They are finding that people who can be positive in their outlook are living longer, healthy lives. Further, they have found that among individuals who were diagnosed as terminally ill, those that chose never to give into their disease live longer with a higher quality of life, some going into what is called spontaneous remission.

The fifth aspect of health.
The final aspect of health can only be addressed by your chiropractor, that is an interference free nervous system. Your nervous system is the information superhighway of your body. It is the pathway for all signals to and from your brain, any interference here, referred to as Vertebral Subluxations, will cause some form of abhorrent signal. This may or may not immediately become symptomatic. In fact, many people will have asymptomatic subluxations, which slowly contribute to the breakdown of their health and may be the cause of many seemingly unrelated conditions. The Vertebral Subluxation Complex, or VSC, has been proposed as an underlying cause in conditions such as ear infections, colic and bed wetting in children, and headaches (migraine and stress), Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and Pre Menstrual Syndrome in adults.

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Easy changes to enjoy lasting health!