Health and Wellness 101

HEALTHY HABITS

I am not a doctor, I will never be a doctor. But I am healthy. And healthy despite many drawbacks physically and mentally. I have had a reverse sleep cycle since 2002. This means I sleep during the day and am mostly up during the hours people are sleeping at night. This without my choice. I've had whole years so plagued by chronic fatigue syndrome that I could barely leave the house to go for a walk. To live a normal life was virtually impossible, and I literally stayed in my room all day because I was too tired to do anything else. It was tragic for my church life. People thought I was a lazy Christian and not a good person. I couldn't simply tell them that I had this sickness because it was so hard to explain. I looked normal, I talked normal, but I didn't feel normal. Fibromoralgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is one of the most misunderstood diseases known to man.

These were my worst times. But I can say that one thing was always regular, and that was the fact that besides these ailments I rarely get sick. I very rarely get head colds of the flu. I attribute this mostly and directly to the fact that I utilize a small but core knowledge of nutrition and exercise regimen to take care of myself. I also try my best to regularly eat Jesus as the spirit, which Biblically gives life to our mortal bodies ( Romans 8:11).

I have utilized extensive exercising techniques my entire life. When I was a child I remember loving to run. Running is extremely natural. If you are too overweight to run, your life needs to change. Running and walking is a part of being holistically healthy. I used to play flag football at the school near my house and I would always play wide receiver so I could run and catch the football because I loved bounding and sprinting so much. After games I would race competitively with other children barefoot in the field to see who was fastest.

I played basketball seriously for nine years that encompassed my entire teenage years. And now I lift weights and am an amateur bodybuilder.

My point in saying this is that I believe in safely challenging the body. I believe in giving the body what it wants and needs for food and exercise. I believe in safely pushing the limits of tiredness and exhaustion, at least somewhat past the point where your body tells you to stop. Often our bodies rule us, instead of us ruling our bodies. Paul says "I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest perhaps having preached to others, I myself may become disapproved." (1 Corinthians 9:27). I believe that if we do not challenge our bodies at least every week, that atrophy sets in and disease and corruption of the blood cells, bones, and muscle tissue will begin to take place.

But as we get older and we have less and less opportunity to freely exercise when we want and we have less fun doing so. Our bodies often don't want to go to the gym, or go outside for that healthy after meal walk. But who is the ruler of your body? Are you ruling, or is your body? 

In this age, it seems that it is harder and harder to eat right, and as we age, due to pollutants in the air, water, and food it is harder to stay healthy and young and vibrant. Our brain chemicals get damaged and we fail at eating right. I have failed many times at staying on a steady diet and eating healthy. I personally love junk food.  But one thing I am always learning is self discipline. We should be hard on ourselves and soft towards others. However as we get older we need to be constantly reminded of how little time we have on earth and how important it is to take care of our body. We fail and then we get back up and try again. Much like the Christian race, there is no end to first starts with our health. As long as there is breath there is hope. But don't forget about the ground you have covered already! Exercising is accumulative. Your body remembers what you did in the gym. Your muscles remember, and each time you start a program again you are further along than when you started it the first time.

EATING & DRINKING RIGHT

In much the same way that we should eat the pure Jesus, to eat anything less than organic, healthy food is not worth it. I realize that money is a key factor in this, yet I think the investment put into eating healthy and exercising regularly pays off tremendously down the road as we age. Smokers know. Alcoholics know. Those who look at these people see it. Oxidative damage, sick internal organs, and slowed mental faculties and cognition are the fruit of bad bodily habits and not exercising. We must strive to do our best to eat right, exercise, and drink the right water to be healthy and lead a full life. It is possible, if we work hard and believe in ourselves we can become a healthier people.

I would say that water is just as important if not more important than food towards our overall health. Our bodies are 90% water, and water is related to every function of the body including regeneration of cells, muscle building, waste removal, recovery, disease prevention, and energy. If you want more energy, drink healthy water. If you want to recover from an illness or a drug addiction, drink more healthy water. If you want to build strong healthy muscles, drink more healthy water. Water is paramount, crucial and key to all elements of having a healthy body.

Eating good, healthy and organic natural foods and drinking clean positively charged ion enhanced water are the most important things you can do for your physical health besides exercising. Exercising is the magic bullet of health, but food and water are the gun that gives that bullet power.

Please throw out your food charts, they are wrong. Period. You need to focus less on starches, grains, dairy, meat, etc. and more on the macro and micro nutrients found within food. And also pay great attention to the food labels on your product as well as the ingredients. You need to know what you are eating and what its going to do to your body. For starters, we as humans need protein, carbohydrates, vitamins within food, water, and rest. Eating too much can be damaging, just like eating too little can be damaging. We need to find out the best amount of food for us individually and the right combination of vitamins for our specific needs. Whatever keeps you functioning at the best level for the type of life you live is what I recommend. But this doesn't mean, that if you live a sedentary life that you don't need to eat right. NO! In all types and stations of life, everyone needs to eat correctly. The marathon runner needs to eat more than the office worker, but that doesn't mean the office worker doesn't need to eat healthy. Maybe his/her portions are less, but they still must strive to eat the highest quality ingredients available. If they don't their work performance will be poor, much like the athletes performance will be poor if he/she doesn't eat right.

THE BASICS

There are several basic things you should do as you wake up in the morning. Firstly you should call on the Lord and praise Him. "Oh Lord Jesus." Repeat. "Praise You Lord." Repeat. "Hallelujah. Thank you for this day." Repeat. "Oh, Lord give me today's supply of grace." Repeat. "Lord, I just love you." Repeat. Then get into your Bible and read it by praying over each verse. This is a great healthy habit. You can't go wrong with this habit. Then what should you do? After you have accomplished the first most important habit, the next most important habit is to drink several glasses of liquid and cook yourself a good meal. A good meal consists of lean protein (eggs are fine), a carbohydrate, and a fruit. (Fruits & Vegetables should be taken separately as much as possible). It's a good practice to eat your fruit in the morning and somewhat throughout the day and have your vegetables later in the evening and at night. At least once a day have a large salad. This will keep your bowels regular and your body looking healthy and flush. Throughout the day drink as much high quality water as you can afford. I recommend Ion & Mineral enhanced alkaline water. An alkaline water machine is a one time investment of a few thousand dollars American and about a hundred dollars a year to change the filter. It is one of the better health investments a person can make. 

Then you will need to supplement your diet with vitamins. Some people don't like to take vitamins but let's look at it this way. Today, not all food is assimilated well in our bodies. Vitamins simply make sure that we get all the much needed nutrients in our diet that we don't get in our foods. They are another very good investment for a person's health. 

The best vitamins are the ABC's. Vitamin A, Vitamin, B, and Vitamin C. A multi mineral supplement is good also. This is for organ functioning, your hair, skin, nails, and energy levels. I recommend learning about vitamins and building your own personal vitamin regimen and routine. It pays off. 

WHAT TO AVOID

There are certain foods and beverages that you will want to avoid like the plague. They are simply, downright horrible for your health. Obviously you will want to steer clear of cigarettes, alcohol, and street drugs. But did you know that Soda is nearly just as bad as these three? Outside of poison, Soda is the absolute worst thing you can put into your body. It is bad on every level. Even diet soda is cancer causing. Soda is filled with sugar and things that kill people. Please do yourself a big favor and go throw away your pop cans. Even the cans that the pop comes in leak into the pop and can cause cancer. 

Next on this list are sugary junk foods. You are not serving the saints by bringing cakes, cookies, and ice cream to a home meeting. I know, they are nice, they are good tasting, everyone loves them, but sugar is highly addictive and can cause a slew of dangerous diseases including heart disease, diabetes, and mental impairments. I know, "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Romans 14:17). However, if we eat enough junk food we will not have peace nor joy in our bodies, of which contain the Holy Spirit and have much to do with our serving functions within the Church. We must try out best to abstain from too much junk food. I'm not saying that saints should not bring sweets to the home meetings. It is important to keep the oneness in the spirit. There is not rule in the Bible against eating junk food, however if you wish for the saints to be healthy bodily you might rethink some of your choices to bring to the home meetings. Fruit is a wonderful alternative to processed sugar. But it is not good to eat fruit late at night as it can keep you awake and your body excited, but it is far and away better than a sugary treat.

Our bodies do crave sugar, especially for those of us who live in the more Northern regions of the world and experience less sunlight. The long winter months can make us sad and depressed so we find ourselves eating more junk to keep our moods high. Do your best. It is a constant battle but one that can be won and maintained through proper habits and exercise. If we fall every now and then we have the blood, just like for our sins. But to some extent we should take the cross, just like we do for our sin nature, at least for the bodies sake and give our bodies to serve the Lord in their best possible way to maintain a healthy state and function. This means building positive, healthy eating habits and straying away from negative, damaging habits. I believe the Lord will show us individually how He wants us to eat to take care of our bodies. We should open to Him in this way, especially when we go shopping for He is very practical and knows the importance of a healthy body in serving in the Church.