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THE TRIANGLE OF HEALTH Health is more than the absence of disease. Health is when every function of a body is fully realized and operating at optimal levels, creating a life full of healing, wellness and joy. We can view health in positive terms such as: human potential, quality of life, optimal function, resistance to disease, vitality, strength, endurance, balance, and coordination. Optimal health consists of a triangle of factors: physical, mental, and chemical. These factors need to be in equilibrium. When health is lost at least one, and sometimes all three of these factors is always involved. When the triangle is balanced your life is in a state of perpetual healing. Examples of this state of healing include your body fighting off germs and not getting infections, the elimination of allergies, and coming in contact with carcinogens and not developing cancer. Our health is in a constant state of flux and our bodies try to balance the three areas of the triangle to help offset any weakness in any other area. The Six Deadly Diseases: Heart disease, Cancer, Stroke, Diabetes, Osteoporosis & Alzheimer's These six deadly chronic degenerative diseases will account for more than 2 million deaths in North America this year; deaths that do not have to occur! They kill more than 80% of us before we get to reach a ripe old age. The body has an inborn intelligence to heal on its own. Even on the simplest level of the cell, which is the DNA molecule that encodes genetic information and directs cellular processes, the cell is able to recognize injury, malfunctions, or damaged material and repair it. From simple cuts to emotional stress, our bodies heal without our conscious knowledge, even among the illnesses and chaos that permeate our lives. You can feel secure that your body will be able to resist succumbing to the most prevalent causes of premature death listed above. Prevention supercedes treatment in importance in maintaining good health, whether the focus of prevention is chemical, as in a good diet and antioxidant supplementation; physical, with a good exercise program and properly working body mechanics, or mental, having a positive mental attitude and stress relieving techniques. These all help boost immunity, prevent disease, and slow the aging process. Preventing disease is always easier and cheaper than healing an illness, so it is important that you learn how to do so - now! Let's look in more detail at the separate areas of the Triangle of Health.
PHYSICAL "In disease always look to the spine." Hippocrates The key to the physical portion of the Triangle of Health is two-fold. First, you need a good exercise and flexibility program that works all the muscles of the body in their complete range of motion. You also need to maintain a properly working neuromusculoskeletal system. As a doctor of chiropractic I enhance the integrity of the body's architecture and nervous system. This in turn helps to optimize the dialogue between brain and body. I see the brain as the on-board computer and the spinal nerves as the bioelectrical information network that helps the brain and body work together. If that communication system is allowed to work without interference, the body usually knows how to be self-repairing and self-correcting. Chiropractors assist this process through spinal and extremity adjustments, muscle work, and body balancing/proprioceptive techniques. Scientific researchers call this "manipulation" which is the art of taking joints to their full range of motion. This stimulates neuromechanical receptors in ligaments and joint capsules that communicate back to the brain and nervous system restoring proper function. Some chiropractors call this adjusting a subluxation complex. There is a growing body of global research, both medical and chiropractic, which clearly shows that manipulation has a profound nutritive impact on joint health. Since articular cartilage has no blood supply, all nourishment and lubrication to the joint comes from movement of the liquid in the joint as pressure is applied to it. Without proper motion of the joint, the cartilage will become malnourished. It becomes drier, thinner, more fragile, and will form fibriotic scar tissue. If you don't use it...you loose it. Exercise is also essential and is the closest thing to an anti-aging "pill". Exercise can make you 10-20 years younger biologically than your chronological age. Lack of regular physical exercise may account for as many as 250,000 deaths each year. Unfortunately, when I tell a patient the health enhancing benefits of exercise they sometimes say, "Yeah doc, I know I'm supposed to exercise but I have trouble finding the time." Many people don't believe that as simple a thing as exercise can really help them in so profound a way as it actually has been proven to do, so they choose to ignore or discount its benefits. The following is a partial list of the benefits of exercise that have been scientifically documented:
If you have difficulty disciplining yourself to a regular exercise program, find a physical activity you enjoy and can do on a regular basis. Go for daily walks with a friend, join a league that plays your favorite sport, or sign up for a dance class. Physical activity can be fun!
MENTAL There are entire fields of health care specializing in stress medicine and the chemistry of the mind. For more than a decade, evidence has been accumulating in the field of Neuroendocrinimmunology, which combines research on the brain, nervous, endocrine and immune systems. Another area of study is in Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), which studies the effects of stress and attitude on our mind-body. Notice I didn't separate the two into mind and body since the evidence is showing that they are inseparable. The majority of the public hasn't heard of these studies because of the impenetrable medical jargon used in these journals. Even college texts still treat the immune system as separate from the brain and hormones. We know through recent scientific research that the nervous, endocrine and immune systems do communicate. Chiropractors have always been taught and have treated patients from this perspective. New research has shown that mental stress can trigger physical sickness. Dr. Matthew Kluger and colleagues at the Lovelace Research Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, demonstrated that animals placed in an unfamiliar environment responded to new visual and auditory stimuli with an immune reaction very much like the physical reaction they had to infections. In other words, the thoughts that were stimulated by a strange environment caused physical sickness! A primary cause of a decline in cognitive abilities is long term stress. Chronic stress causes the over-production of stress hormones, which creates the "fight or flight" syndrome, and another hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone release by your adrenal glands and is highly catabolic, which means it destroys tissue. Cortisol chews up muscle and brain tissue rapidly. Dr. Hans Seyle wrote about it decades ago. A Stanford neurobiologist, Robert Sapolsky PhD, recently discovered that stress has a profoundly negative effect on the brain. It contributes to death of brain cells, interferes with neurotransmitters, and starves the brain of its only fuel, glucose. Over a decade of studies have shown that an excess of cortisol triggered by negative mental states can damage the hippocampus, the part of the brain most responsible for memory. The latest study just published in the journal of Biological Psychiatry found that the extent of hippocampus damage in a group of former soldiers was directly proportional to the severity of their combat exposure in war. Stress-related cortisol overproduction is not the only cause of brain cell death. Other factors are inadequate nutrition, environmental toxins, drug and alcohol use, impaired circulation to the brain, and lack of mental exercise. If the brain is not regularly engaged in mental exercise, it begins to atrophy physically, just like a muscle. The hippocampus can shrink up to 25% without regular use. If you don't use it... you lose it! So how do we decrease our cortisol production? Relaxation techniques, prayer, meditation, and a lot more laughter! Laughter is helpful in reducing stress and is hearty medicine that boosts the immune system and triggers a flood of pleasure-inducing neurochemicals in the brain. Pioneering studies from Dr. Lee Berk and Dr.Stanley Tan have shown that some of the benefits of laughter are lowered blood pressure, increased muscle flexion, and increased beta endorphins. It also helps stimulate the nervous system, regulate the endocrine system, and provides a safety valve that shuts off the flow of stress hormones. Loma Linda University researchers said, "Humor has health enhancing properties, some of which have yet to be explored." Dr. Berk, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine said "If we took what we know about laughing and bottled it, we would need FDA approval." Laughter's most profound effects are on the immune system! Natural killer cells that destroy viruses and tumors increase with a good belly laugh. Studies show that immunogolbin-A (IGA), a key immune component, increases when a patient laughs. Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a psychologist, has developed a theory during his 30 years of research into the nature of success and happiness. He published his findings in The Psychology of Optimal Experience. He doesn't think rest and eliminating stress are the keys to happiness. His research has shown passive leisure doesn't create contentment nor does it build positive energy. What he discovered is that people who have a clear goal, which gives an immediate feedback telling them what they are doing is positive and making a difference, are among the most successful and confident. He also noted that people who love what they're doing tend to lose themselves in the activity and become empowered in the job of the task itself. Now that's true health! "Laughter is the best medicine for a long and happy life. He who laughs... lasts." Wilfred Peterson
CHEMICAL A good diet is vitally important to optimal health. Proper vitamin supplementation is just as important to keep the chemical side of our Triangle balanced. Most people don't realize how important it is to have nutrients in the proper ratios and combinations. The nutrients also need to be derived from high quality sources for the human body to utilize them. Patients ask me, "What do you think of this supplement I just read about in such-and-such magazine?". The science of nutrition, as opposed to the theories of nutrition, is relatively new and, as in all fields of science, there is some conflicting information. In an effort to clear up some of the confusion, I'd like to propose a simple way of viewing and organizing your supplement needs: "THE SUPPLEMENT PYRAMID". I've borrowed this concept from one of my favorite sports nutrition writers, Will Brink.
SUPPLEMENT PYRAMID The basic nutritional requirements for every person alive are pretty much the same. We all need multiple vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, trace elements and essential fatty acids on a daily basis. This group of essential nutrients forms the base, or foundation, of our pyramid. There are other supplements, such as CoQ10, Ginko Biloba, and Glucosamine Sulfate that are not necessarily essential to our health (as far as we know, based on current research) but can improve performance and a sense of well-being. These form the middle level of our Pyramid. You can experiment with and change these mid-level products to see if they enhance your health. Finally, at the top of the pyramid are supplements that are for specific purposes, such as weight loss or muscle growth. Be aware that some of these non-essential products can actually be unhealthy and dangerous if not taken carefully and with knowledge of potential side effects. The safe products in the top section of the pyramid could be worth trying if you are maintaining your foundational bottom now. Until that time, you need to ask yourself why you would even want to bother with a fancy new fad supplement if all your essential nutrient needs, the base of your Supplement Pyramid, are not being met? Every single cell in your body relies on various micronutrients (i.e. vitamins and minerals) to function at peak levels for optimum health. A deficiency in a single nutrient that goes uncorrected will shut down your immunity and homeostasis. Essential nutrients are just that - essential to life itself. The basic definition of an essential nutrient is "anything the body cannot manufacture itself and therefore must be obtained from the diet." Without essential nutrients people get sick, feel tired and fatigued, gain weight, and sometimes perish. We know that every body needs a precise mix of 59 micronutrients daily or we can't sustain good health, let alone operate at optimum capacity. That mix includes 13 vitamins, 22 minerals, 2 fatty acids and 8 amino acids. Micronutrients are needed for a wide range of body functions, including the production of coenzymes, pro-hormones, and antioxidants. Today's lifestyles and eating habits often result in "unbalanced" diets that do not even meet RDA levels. Many other factors can further increase individual nutrient requirements, such as smoking, alcohol use, chronic dieting, use of prescription or other drugs, and chronic illnesses. Nutrient deficiencies can be found in most segments of the population, often manifesting vague, non-classic symptoms which make it difficult to recognize the problem for what it is. We all need "good" fats to survive and it's virtually impossible to get optimal amounts of unprocessed essential fatty acids (EFAs) from our heavily processed food supply. You should be concerned because, as the U.S. National Academy of Science states, the amount of essential fats required for health is larger by far than for any vitamin or mineral, running in the range of 6-10 grams per day. The two EFAs we need are alpha-linolenic acid (Omega-3) and linoleic acid (Omega-6). Americans tend to get their fats from saturated, rancid, and highly processed fats, which contain trans-fatty acids that are unhealthy in abundant amounts. EFA's, however, are anti-lipogenic (which block fat storage), anti-catabolic (which helps tissue healing), and anti-inflammatory. They also increase beta oxidation (fat burning) and improve insulin sensitivity. The best known source of alpha-linolenic acid is flaxseed oil. One to three tablespoons of flaxseed oil a day will keep the doctor away. For more information on the many benefits of EFA's, read Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill by Dr. Udo Erasmus or Essential Fats by Michael Colgan, Ph.d. Free radical cells are a natural, on-going function of the body that are created, by pollution, chemicals and stress and damage healthy cells. Antioxidants are a special class of vitamins and other non-vitamin compounds which neutralize free radicals. Free radicals have been implicated as a primary cause in a broad range of diseases including the Six Deadly Diseases. According to geneticist Bruce Ames of the University of California Berkeley, each of your cells endures approximately 100,000 free radical wounds each day. Most wounds are repaired by the body but close to 1,000 cells go unrepaired every day and accumulate over your lifetime, leading your body into a state of chronic degenerative disease, poor health and a premature death. According to Dr. Robert D. Willis in his book Healthy at 100, "the most important medical discovery of the last half-century concerns free radicals and antioxidants." The National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, and the U.S. Department of Health all discovered the following about people who take supplemental antioxidants:
Why gamble with your health? Take high-quality antioxidants every day and protect your cells! Many people are concerned by the ongoing arguments of mainstream nutritionists and doctors who say, "You get all the vitamins you need from your food" and "Supplements just give you expensive urine". If you are self-educated and aware enough to be taking high-quality supplements, you know that these statements are false. Those healthcare professionals who argue against supplementation have not received an education in the field of nutritional science in the past decade. Pick up any current magazine or newspaper, including medical journals, and you can read the studies that document the benefits of vitamin and mineral supplementation. The odds of the average American getting optimal, as opposed to adequate, amounts of the essential nutrients from our deficient processed food supply are very slim. The USDA surveyed 22,000 people and discovered that only 3 percent actually ate healthy balanced diets every day. And of the 22,000 people surveyed not a single person received the RDA recommendation of the 10 most important vitamins and minerals on a daily basis! If you're still concerned about the expense, have you checked on the price of chemotherapy, cholesterol medications, heart-bypass operations, and countless other medical treatments lately? I think they are considerably more expensive than vitamin, mineral, antioxidant and EFA supplements. For more detailed information about nutrition, I recommend Dr. Michael Colgan's The New Nutrition. It is an excellent, yet easy to read, book that will really open your eyes to the reality of our food supply and the need for supplementation to maintain any semblance of good health.
CONCLUSION Most of the health problems Americans are now suffering from, including the Six Deadly Diseases, can be avoided. They are diseases of lifestyle; years of eating poorly, not taking nutritional supplements, not exercising appropriately, not paying attention to spinal health, and living a stressful life with too little laughter, prayer and meditation. If we could feel the immediate consequences of our lifestyle choices, most of us would change those habits today. Pay more attention to the three areas of your Triangle of Health and live a longer, more fulfilling life full of vitality, hope and joy, beginning today! |
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