By Dr. Chad Larson, narrated by Charles Griffin
I was on hold the other day with a major national healthcare company when an automated message came on that enthusiastically stated, “The best way to stay healthy is to get vaccinated!” Really!? The best way!?
The Necessity of Real Health
Now, before you all get into your corners ready to debate the issue, the point of this article is not to join in on the latest vaccination controversy, but instead to discuss the necessity of real health. Vaccinations, drugs, chemicals, colonoscopies, mammograms – these are not really what health and disease prevention is all about.
Colonoscopies and mammograms are tools for early detection, that’s different than prevention. And let’s face it; drugs and chemicals that do not exist in nature, are not produced in the human body and have not been present for 99.99% of human existence are really not the best way to stay healthy.
The State of Modern Medicine
At the center of true prevention is good, quality ‘real’ food and consistent, sensible lifestyle habits. Unfortunately, until doctors are compensated for counseling patients on these factors, it will not happen on a macro-scale. So for now, and probably always, it is incumbent upon the individual to seek healthy solutions on their own.
In our modern, fast-paced society we have a lot of new demands on our bodies. I say “new” because never in human existence has there been the degree of toxic environmental exposure that abounds in our culture today. With our dependence on fossil fuel energy, the very air we breathe is toxic.
And due to the massive government subsidies on the commodity crops wheat, corn, rice, and soybeans, there is a remarkable lack of variety in what food manufacturers are producing, leading to a disturbing lack of variety in what most of us eat.
Our Crops
Because of the subsidies, these crops are cheap for the food manufacturers to purchase. Farmers actually sell them cheaper than what it costs to produce them, resulting in the end consumer buying foods that contain lots of high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated soybean oil, and processed refined wheat flour products that virtually guarantee a population full of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Even the livestock, such as cattle, are stuck on feedlots consuming these grains instead of roaming in pastures grazing on the grasses their bodies are designed to live on.
Stress
And then there’s the stress. Our bodies have developed over millennia to manage varying degrees of short-term stress but as the stressors become chronic and from so many different angles – work, financial, family, etc. – we have to provide ourselves with what we need to meet the demands.
If the demands exceed the supply, and there are more withdrawals than deposits, then imbalance and disease can ensue. Often times with our calorie-dense and nutrient-poor diets, we are not getting enough of the basic nutrients necessary to maintain optimal health, or even basic health. The body will then transform into a mass of inflammation, blood sugar fluctuations, and stress at every level.
What is “Real Health”?
There should be no mystery as to why we are over-weight, diabetic, atherosclerotic, and stressed out. With the extra demands that are placed on our bodies today, we have to be even more aware and conscious of the decisions we make.
As we have stated in other articles: your health in the future is determined by the decisions you make in the present moment. So what is “real health”? Keep watch for the next installment in this series when we will discuss in detail what I believe are the Four Pillars of real heath. Until then, choose your foods wisely.
Keep It Real Episode 2: Choosing The Right Vitamins & Minerals
