How many people do you know have heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, osteporosis, Alzheimer's, or multiple sclerosis? How many of them are in your own family? Have you been told these diseases are mostly genetic?...or tied to old age? If so, think again. Degenerative diseases, like those mentioned above, are tied primarily to diet and lifestyle. Do you think these diseases were prevalent a century ago?
In 1912, the "Journal of the American Medical Association" (JAMA) published the first clinical report on cardiovascular disease in America. At that time, the disease was so rare it took years to find. Yet, in less than 100 years, due to changes in our lifestyle, environment, and diet, we have made cardiovascular disease the number one killer in North America.
Furthermore, on July 13th, 2000, a groundbreaking report, published in the "New England Journal of Medicine", tied the development of most cancers to lifestyle and exposure to environmental and occupational risk factors. While not disregarding genetic influence, which appears to account for approximately 30% of total cancer risk, the findings cite poor dietary habits, smoking, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, and exposure to environmental toxins as the dominating factors. Many other studies on cancer have revealed similar findings.
Today we have overwhelming proof that degenerative diseases, like heart disease and cancer, are caused primarily by poor diet and lifestyle choices. You might want to read that again, S-L-O-W-L-Y! Many people tend to gloss over such statements and then continue eating and living poorly. Don't let that be you! So if most disease is tied to diet and lifestyle choices, that means we can PREVENT disease from occurring in the first place. But DO NOT wait until you see visible signs of illness, or symptoms, before attempting to deal with a health problem. Unfortunately, many will wait for the symptoms, get a diagnosis, and then look for a cure. In most cases, that is too late. We can do better. We must be proactive with our health if we truly care about ourselves and our families.
I want to take a moment to talk a little more about the word SYMPTOM so we have a clear understanding of what it means. When you get a stuffed up nose from having a cold, the stuffed up nose is not the cause of your cold. It's a symptom. A heart attack isn't the cause of heart disease. It's a symptom. If you were to get cancer, cancer isn't the cause of the disease. It's a symptom. Symptoms are cues that alert you that something isn't right in your body, but they are not the cause of illness or disease. Additionally, your body can be getting sick before you ever see symptoms, which is why it is critical you become proactive about your health. You can't wait for symptoms to develop before taking action.
So if symptoms aren't the cause of illness or disease, what is the cause? Inadequate nutrition for our cells. Our health is dependent on the health of the cells that make up our body, of which there are roughly 100 trillion cells in each of us. In order to limit sickness and prevent disease, we must protect and properly feed our cells. Not doing so results in disease. This means we must change our diet and lifestyle habits, AND we cannot afford to wait until we SEE a symptom before doing so.
With that said, the word health should take on a new meaning to you. Health is not the absence of symptoms. Health is the absence of DISEASE! Degenerative diseases typically takes years to develop. Just because you don't feel cancer developing inside your body doesn't mean it isn't there. Just because you don't feel plaque building up inside your arteries doesn't mean you don't have heart disease. The first sign of heart disease is not typically chest pain, numbness in the left arm, or shortness of breath. It is SUDDEN DEATH! That being the case, we must protect our health by following good DAILY habits so that these slow-developing diseases do not catch us while we are "asleep at the wheel".
Let me ask you something. What would it be worth to you if you could TRULY reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, or osteoporosis? Would it be worth the "hassle" of eating right?...AND taking vitamins daily? Would it be worth the cost of learning how to balance your diet?...Picking quality foods...and picking quality supplements? I hope so because you won't find the long-term solution elsewhere, as in taking a drug to fix a symptom. And remember, just one case of heart disease or cancer can financially devastate a family. Your choice of action is critical to you and your family's future. Unfortunately, lack of education, or denial, prevents many people from taking appropriate action or making smart decisions.
But let's talk more about making smart decisions and use an analogy to do so. Think of your vehicle. In order to operate it, you have to put gas in it. Gas is the fuel that gives your car the ability to move. Similarly, food is the fuel that allows your body to move. While gas is needed to move the vehicle, it isn't enough. If you want your vehicle to run smoothly and efficiently, you need to add oil. The main purpose of motor oil is to lubricate moving parts so you can keep metal from touching metal. This helps your engine to run smoothly so you can operate your car efficiently. Your car will run without motor oil, but it's engine life will be severely limited. Without oil, your engine will eventually find it too hard to perform or burn up. So if you are a responsible car owner, you will add oil and change it every three months to allow for optimal performance. Motor oil is similar to the vitamins and minerals you get from a supplement. They aren't the primary source of fuel to make your body move, but they do add to the performance of your body and the life of your body by "lubricating the cells", so to speak, with key nutrients. If you decide not to change your oil, you might save about $30 every three months, or $120 a year. Over three years, you might be able to save about $360. But replacing a blown engine would cost you about $3000! So you saved $360 but had to spend $3000. It doesn't make sense does it? Along the same lines, if you neglect to take a quality vitamin/mineral supplement, it is like not adding oil to your vehicle. Sure you might save on the cost of a supplement, but how much is heart disease or cancer going to cost you in the long run? You don't want to go down that road. The financial implications would startle you. And remember if you blow an engine, you can replace it if you have the money. If you neglect your body, you are done. You are only given one body. You must nurture and protect it. You don't have a spare body and you can't buy a new body.
The point I am trying to make is this: We must all recognize the value and importance of the daily habits necessary to keep us healthy. PREVENTION costs a lot less than Diagnosis and Cure! And prevention gives us much better quality of life. So remember the importance of eating a well-balanced diet, high in fruits and vegetables, and take every opportunity to eat as close to the earth as possible. In addition, in today's fast-food world, because it is difficult to escape high-calorie, low-nutrition, over-processed food, it is critical that we take extra steps to optimize our nutritional needs. This means fortifying our diets with high-quality nutritional supplements that replenish the body with the same vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and important-plant based nutrients that ought to be provided in the food we eat.
As Dr. Robert Fletcher, co-author of the 2002 groundbreaking JAMA study on the importance of vitamin supplements states:
"All of us grew up believing that if we ate a reasonable diet, that would take care of our vitamin needs. But, the new evidence, much of it in the last couple of years, is that vitamins also prevent the usual diseases we deal with every day--heart disease, cancer, osteporosis, and birth defects."
If you value your health, diet and supplementation is your PERSONAL health insurance plan that will help you to age gracefully and reduce your risk of disease down the road. Eating a healthy diet and supplementing with a high quality vitamin/mineral supplement isn't there to assist you when you fall ill. It is there to keep you healthy in the first place.
This is what PREVENTION is all about. Remember that daily habits got us to where we are today. And daily habits will get us to where we want to be tomorrow. Don't become a statistic. Work on your daily habits for yourself and your family. And remember: It's not just about adding years to your life. It's about adding LIFE to your years. It's about having a great quality of life, with boundless energy, while we are on this planet.
So how are you going to change your daily habits today? And what is your reason for doing so?
As always, feel free to send me your questions and/or comments. I would be happy to respond to help you live a healthier life!
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