Where to start?

The path to health is a journey that requires many steps. Most of us just don't even know where to start. To help you on your way, I have a list of steps and the order that you should begin them in. Many of your physical problems will solve themselves when you give the body what it needs. In most cases, the body heals itself without help from the outside world.

The foundations of health include in this order:

1. Proper diet. Remember, if God made it, you are usually OK to eat it in as close a form as you can to the way it is found in nature. It really is that simple. If you could walk around and just eat from things that grow wild you would be eating a very healthy diet. In nature things only grow where they have all their needs met. When things are grown on a farm, we force them to grow by adding additional chemicals and spraying for all types of pests. Most of our fruits are picked too early and gassed with harmful halogens to get them to turn the color you expect from perfect fruit. That is why they taste so yucky anymore. Try eating organic when possible. You will be amazed at the difference in taste.

2. Adequate sleep. The perfect way is to go to sleep when the sun goes down and get up when the sun rises. Since this is very difficult to do in today's world, try shutting off the TV and computer at 8 and heading toward the bedroom for a little reading or talking to your family. Try to be asleep before 10 and up by 6. This is a habit worth starting. You will be amazed at how much your life will change by just changing your daily clock.

3. Proper stress management. Remember, one of the commandments is to give God one day each week. Take a day off, really off! Personally I don't think God cares if it is Saturday, Sunday or Wednesday. Just pick one and stick to it. Taking a day off does not mean doing all the work you don't have time to do during the rest of the week; it means do things that are enjoyable. Go on a picnic or drive in the country or go fishing. Something that is fun and relaxing. Also, don't forget to have quiet time. Give yourself the gift of a half hour to pray or meditate. Think about all the things you have to be grateful for, not all the things that you are not grateful for. What you focus on tends to expand in your life, so focus on the good.

4. Stop adding toxins. The path to health is more difficult when you continue to do the things you know you should not. Stop smoking. Stop eating junk foods. Stop drinking alcohol. Stop drinking soda. Stop consuming so much sugar. Stop using antiperspirants with aluminum. Stop using toothpaste with fluoride. Stop having thoughts that you don't like. Stop saying things that you don't mean. You are in control but you must use it.

5. Proper alignment. This has two meanings. First the spine must be in alignment for your body to function properly. Your brain controls all and it connects to your body via your spine. When your spine has lost its proper balance, your nervous system does not communicate properly. Remember, the body heals itself, but only if it knows that a problem exists. When the communication lines are down, the body can't self repair, so you must get regular adjustments of the spine to maintain health. Second, you must have proper alignment of your desires and your thoughts. If you want peace and harmony in your life, you have to have thoughts and actions that support peace and harmony. What you focus on in your life is what expands, so don't focus on what you don't want. Worry about lack of money and lack of money is what will expand. Be grateful for your blessings and blessings will expand. You are the master of your thoughts and actions; get them in alignment with what is really important to you.

6. Optimal digestion, absorption and utilization of nutrients. It does not matter if you eat organic, raw and perfect if you can't digest it properly. You can get a good idea of how well you digest by watching your poop. Your poop should be dark brown and soft with no undigested pieces of food. If you eat corn (a poor food choice) on Monday, you should see a few kernels on Tuesday (not Wednesday or Thursday). If your poop is light colored, your gall bladder is not working. Fix it or loose it. Remember number one on this list is a proper diet. This is important!

7. Adequate elimination. You should go after every meal. The least you should go is everyday; usually in the morning. Remember poop out is always better than poop in! If you have not gone by bedtime, you need to do an enema. Pooping every few days is not normal or healthy even if you have always done it that way. If you are not pooping you're probably are not digesting properly. Fix the problem before it bites you in the butt!

8. Optimal tissue minerals. Great food grown on mineral depleted soil just does not give you what you need. Minerals are essential. In times gone by, people used to farm in the flood zones. That is where the soil had the most minerals and organic material. Things would flood once a year and renew the soil. Today, engineers have fixed those inconvenient flood areas so we can all starve by eating empty foods grown on depleted soils. Take mineral supplements or eat organic.

9. Balanced essential fatty acids. The American low fat diet is killing people. You must have several high quality fats in your diet. Fish oils, flaxseed oils, borage oils etc. Trans fats and hydrogenated oils are in most processed foods and they will cause havoc in the body. Your body just does not know how to deal with something so foreign in nature. Besides, fat is what tells your body you are full. If you have less fat, you eat too much. So go back to natural things like butter and olive oil. Cook with coconut, peanut and grape seed oil. Throw away the margarine, canola and vegetable oils and don't even think about using shortening.

10. Proper blood sugar regulation. Our high sugar diets are the cause of hypoglycemia and diabetes. What you put in your mouth matters! Also, they have found that by breast feeding your child you protect them against future blood sugar problems. If you eat a high sugar diet (most Americans do) you develop a taste for high sugar foods. If you avoid sugars, you will learn to enjoy the flavor of foods. Don't just take my word for it, try it yourself. Eat something that is not sweet and really taste it. Now drink something sweet followed by eating the first thing. You will notice that after drinking the sweet drink, your food does not taste as good. Sweets make you crave sweets.

11. Optimal hydration. Drink water! Do not flavor it, just drink it. The Lord covered this planet with mostly water for a reason. See my article on water.

12. Adequate vitamin levels. It is almost impossible to get all you need from your food. Cheap vitamins do not give you what you need, buy the best! If you don't know much about vitamins then go to someone that does and take what you need, not what your friend needs. Usually you are better off taking a high quality multivitamin, a multi essential fatty acid, a multi mineral and a probiotic supplement. If you have health issues then go to a nutrition specialist.

13. Balanced adrenals, thyroid and sex hormones. Get iodine into your system. Remember that the chlorine in water is causing iodine deficiencies in many people. This is low on the list, so by taking care of the other stuff, this will usually heal by itself.

14. Good cardiovascular health. Don't forget your aerobic exercise. You must get your heart rate up. A slow walk is not enough. You need 30 minutes of aerobic activity everyday.

15. Balanced kidney, bladder, and immune systems. Remember, if you work on the other areas, this usually will fix itself. Keep in mind that your immune system is what is keeping you from getting cancer. You kidneys and bladder are removing toxins from the body all day long, but to keep them working, you really need to do the other 14 steps also.

As you can see the road to health is a long journey. Try to remember that what I am suggesting used to be what everyone did. All our food was organic and exercise was called living. When we were thirsty we drank water and when we were hungry we ate the foods that were in season. We went to bed when it was dark and got up when it was light. If you can think of it in those terms, it makes it easier to just get back to the basics. God bless, good luck and let me know if I can help coach you along the way.

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