Taking Responsibility for Our Health

RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR HEALTH
GOOD HEALTH = GOOD ATTITUDE + GOOD NUTRITION + GOOD EXERCISE + GOOD COMMUNICATION
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"Good Health" doesn't mean trying to living forever, by piling one remedy on top of another. It is a day-to-day sense of energy, vigor, and well-being. With few exceptions, a human being, body and mind, is designed and constructed to maintain itself and function well, as long as it is supplied from birth (and prior, really), with the following necessities.

Good Communication:
My body talks to me. I know what's going on with it. I have read a few books, and that helps me know when and where to listen, and how to interpret. But mostly, I have paid attention long enough so that when some part of my body, however hidden or obscure, is sending signals, I am aware. I can tell the difference between "good" and "bad" pain, for example, or acceptable levels of fatigue and the kind of fatigue that can signal oncoming illness; so I know when to continue doing something, and when to quit. This much is not that radical or new. All athletes routinely do this with their muscles and joints. I also talk to my body, most often to my immune system. Mostly it is just to say "if you will do this for me (take care of these sore-throat germs, work another hour, etc.), I promise we can rest at such-and-such a time, and eat well, and you can have some extra vitamins." Crazy? It seems to work.

I am responsible for my health and well being, even if, sometimes, I need a little coaching from someone with more knowledge or experience (for children, that's Parents. For all of us, in extreme circumstances, a health care practitioner of some kind). As long as I pay attention to the other items in the equation, I can stay healthy as long as I want to. When I am not functioning or feeling my best, I will strive to understand why. I will not look for quick fixes and magic answers, nor will I hand over responsibility for my well-being to anyone else. I will understand and accept real physical limitations, and understand and take responsibility for the effects of my thoughts and emotions on my physical health.

(The mind-body connection develops gradually from infancy to adulthood, to the extent it develops at all. Children need much more external help than adults; but not nearly as much as we try to impose on them, in our anxiety and ignorance. Too, the success of our efforts at good health may be limited by our genes: those that give us weak hearts, intestines, joints, or sickle cell; as well as those that make us violent or irrational, and make us sick or get us injured. We can't evade these fates, but we can start early to minimize their effects.)

Good Nutrition :
We can expand the concept of nutrition beyond food and drink to include anything that enters the body, including air and water, and things we know are not so good, such as tobacco, alcohol, artificial food additives and pesticide residues, and drugs; sort of "negative nutrition". Can we even extend the concept to include the "nutrition of the mind"? Human beings evolved along with their food supply. We consume living , or previously living things. The more recently our food was alive, the better it is for us. That's pretty simple. The fewer steps interposed between the food as found in nature and the food on our plates; the fewer components in the food that were not once part of some living thing; the better the nutrition.

Just because some funny-sounding chemical doesn't cause tumors in rats doesn't mean I want to eat it. The effects of over-processed, over-aged food, full of additives and traces of pesticides, are likely to be subtle and cumulative. The vague sense of unwellness and fatigue that seems to be a "natural" part of getting older is surely due, at least in part, to the cumulative effects of all the crap we've been putting in our mouths all our lives. Communication and Attitude are part of Nutrition. I know what I "want" to eat. My body tells me, although sometimes I have to listen carefully, because the message isn't very clear. And in taking responsibility for my health, I must make a successful effort over the years to break the bad food habits that I grew up with, and that are normal in our society. Tobacco? Alcohol? Drugs (Cocaine, Opiates, Psychedelics, Speed; Tranquilizers, Painkillers, Antacids, Mouthwash, Laxatives, Antibiotics, Steroids)? All have some legitimate application. None should be a familiar part of anyone's life. Best to leave them entirely alone. While we're at it, how about: Lottery Tickets, Girlie Mags, TeeVee, and Shopping with a capital S. Can you answer this: Does this really add to my life? Will I be glad later that I did this now? Next week? Or is this just a band-aid, hiding a problem that should be addressed directly?

I hear the familiar cry: "This costs time, money, effort! You want me to spend 40 minutes every day preparing dinner? And I can't afford organic produce! And it's HARD WORK to learn all about this stuff. And when am I supposed to find time to `listen to my body'?" How much time, money, and effort is involved in being sick? How much does your medical insurance cost? How much the medical expenses and drugs that are not covered? Time lost at work? How much time might you spend dealing with insurance companies that are slow to pay the bills? How much time do you have to spend when you are too sick to function and must lie in bed doing nothing? How much effort to deal with pain and discomfort, and the work of rehabilitation? And how much money to pay the inflated prices of products and services provided by corporations with unmanageable employee health insurance costs?

EXERCISE!
Makes the heart pump, the blood flow, the lungs fill, the muscles stretch, the joints move freely, the mind relax. Physical work that you really enjoy can do this somewhat. But time away from the everyday demands of life is central to the benefits of Good Exercise. Good Exercise is always play, however great the challenges. ("Serious" sports for young children can be work, if pursued too hard, and is not always so good for them). When the blood is well oxygenated and moves well through the body, visiting all the cells in good quantity, then the benefits of Good Nutrition reach their full potential. All that oxygen and nutrients reaching the brain make the mind sharp, and that assists in keeping a Good Attitude.

Good exercise programs have three components: tretching, resistance, and aerobics. It is important to incorporate a thorough stretching routine into the start of any workout or sports activity. This helps to get circulation going in the muscles ("warms up" the muscles), prevents injury, and feels good. With an efficient stretching routine, you can pay some attention to all the major muscle groups in as little as twenty minutes. Anyone who has engaged in sports actively, and who has made an effort to know and to "listen to" his or her body, will instinctively know what muscles need stretching, and how to stretch them. Other folks might do well to find a Yoga class; one that concentrates on the physical aspects, rather than spending a lot of time meditating in the Lotus position. It makes good sense to do some stretching every day, whether or not the other two components are practised. No exercise program is complete without some form of resistance training. Such training can include free weights (old fashioned dumbells and barbells); resistance machines such as Nautilus, Universal, Cybex, etc; and push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and all the variety of exercises not requiring equipment. These last are great if you have neither any equipment nor money for a club membership, but creating a routine to develop efficiently all the muscle subgroups using plain "floor" exercises can take a lot of creativity. Pushups and the like also have a "strength barrier" for those in very poor shape: You can't even get started if you can't do at least one. For this reason, and also because attention to proper form is so important for good results, it's best to get started in a health club with competent instruction.
Finally, and far from least, aerobic exercise is an indispensible part of any exercise program. Whatever form it takes, an extended (twenty to forty minute) period in which heart rate is elevated and breathing is deeper and more frequent than normal should be a daily part of any routine. Running, walking, swimming, bicycling, treadmills, step routines, and many more varieties: the list is a long one.

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