Getting a start on Wholistic Health

[Mother]

As I said in a separate post, we live in a toxic world. Unless you live on your own piece of pure untouched landscape which you never leave; eat only fresh, pure, organic home raised food; drink only fresh pure water; use absolutely no electricity or petroleum based fuels; use no chemically coated cooking utensils or plastic ware; and have no stress in your life, you probably have been exposed to illness causing toxins. You may not be able to escape all the pollution in your life but there are things you can do to limit the effect they have on your health. This post is definitely not meant to be the ultimate plan but rather an introduction to a beginning. To do these suggestions all at once might add more stress to your life but to take them one at a time and add them to your life means a gradual permanent change to better health.

 

Wholistic healing is not just one way to health but a whole integrated system that builds your system to withstand those things you can’t avoid. One of the first steps is to reduce the toxins in your life. Start to make a list of all the toxins you are exposed to daily, including those from electromagnetic fields, stresses (both emotional and physical), chemicals, additives, pollution, and etc. Be sure to take into account that our foods are being altered daily: genetically, chemically, and hormonally for just a few. Take time to really think this through. You might be surprised at what you find.

 

If you are already ill, then it could be beneficial to do one of several different cleanses to eliminate the toxins already established in your system. This might be a colon, heavy metal, lymphatic, liver/gallbladder, kidney, parasite or perhaps even a candida cleanse. We can talk about each of these separately in other posts. Perhaps there will be others that have experience with these cleanses who will enlighten us on them.

 

Next look to optimal nutrition. Most of us come nowhere near getting even the FDA nutritional requirements let alone enough nutrients to give our bodies what it needs to be healthy. The nutrition content of our food has declined consistently with the nutritional depletion of our soils due to the use of chemical fertilizers and modern farming practices. You will find this is a huge natural healing subject all in itself but if you can change only one thing in your life, eating fresh, organic, locally grown foods, in their own seasons, would be my choice for you. Eliminate as many processed foods as possible and use fresh fruit and vegetable juice to support the nutritional levels and add enzymes. Second would be to drink pure, unadulterated water in great enough quantities to properly hydrate your body. (Not chemical laden city water for sure)

 

Third on the list for achieving optimal health should be exercise. I know,,,,that dreaded word again. But it’s been found that you don’t need to push your body until you are sweating and exhausted to gain benefits. Just plain walking, in pure fresh sunshine air if possible, breathing deeply and letting go of all the emotional stresses that plague you is an important step towards health. Thirty minutes to an hour a day will do it. Get more if you desire but that’s enough to start on.

 

Last start to reduce or eliminate the other pollutants and stresses on your list. Use electronic and wireless devices less, watch less TV; use magnets, plants, and use Feng Shui or other arrangements in your home (and work place if possible) to reduce stress and encourage healing. Take a bit more time to get to work and try to avoid stresses on the road. Listen to soothing tapes, talk out your problems, do meditation, relaxation or visualization to reduce emotional stress. Get more sleep, laugh more, and try to remember that life is about the journey, not the destination.

 

It’s my hope that we will use this post to list the toxins in our lives and the possible fixes. I’ll start to get us going. This is my list:

 

Dietary:

Gluten and dairy (among others) allergies limits nutrient selections

More canned instead of fresh veggies especially at this time of year

Overeating

 

Physical:

Not enough exercise due to physical infirmity

Insomnia, not enough rest

 

Emotional:

Worry, probably needless worry at that

 

Environment:

(This is a big one for me)

Surrounded by fields and the herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers used on them.

Even though we live in the country we live near a large air polluting factory

We also live near a nuclear power plant and have huge high wires near our property

We found mold under our floors in remodeling that we will be eliminating soon I hope

We try to be diligent in our selection of remodeling materials but know that we are getting some pollutants anyway

(most building materials outgas for a long time after putting them in, sometimes years but there are safer alternatives)

Our TV and computer usage is high

Too many electrical appliances running continuously setting up a negative energy field

Use too many petroleum based products yet such as plastic ware (it’s SO handy though)

 

External Stressors:

Being retired these are kept to a minimum thankfully but we still have the phones ringing, road hazards and etc.

 

 

As you can see, my list is not extensive but at one time it was much longer. For many years I’ve been working to live more wholistically and feel that my health problems would be much worse if I hadn’t. Many of the items on this list are things I can’t control so I work hard to eat properly, use only ‘green’ safe household cleaners and personal care products, use cast iron, stainless steel and glass for cooking, and use filtered water. We no longer raise all our own food though we used to. We do, however try to eat organic as much as possible and fresh in season. We use air purifiers and as we remodel we are hoping to eliminate as much pollution as possible and to arrange our living quarters to encourage stress reduction rather than fashion.

 

Now I’d like to hear about your list and what ideas you have for taking control of your own health. Please share if you will.

 

 

[MommyofSeven]

Mother,

 

Thanks for posting this, what a wonderful idea. I firmly believe that we can all be healthier when TSHTF. It's one of the most important preps we can do.

 

Dietary: Eat more fruits and veggies. We already limit processed foods (I, personally, but not the kids, consume too much sugar, working on that), and I fix a wide variety of fruits and veggies with meals, but I don't eat enough of them myself. Trying to eliminate white flour, this is a cost issue for me. I am planning on buying a wheat grinder soon, though, which should help. Can't do a cleanse with the baby, but plan on doing one when I wean the baby and will have someone around to help. Those can be hard on the body (and the mind) the first few days.

 

Physical:

I definitely need more exercise. I have asthma and can walk with no problems, unless it is very cold. The cold seems to trigger my asthma badly. But I need to commit to myself to walk on warmer days.

 

Emotional:

I have worry, but I consider that more of a stresser, as it's financial. I'm working hard to give that up to God. But emotionally, overall, I'm in a good place. I'm actually happy with where I am in my life, although it took me awhile to get there!

 

Environment:

Well we have the mold issue in the house. Nothing we can do about that except clean often. We have made provisions to have any house we consider buying looked at to make sure it wont' be an issue here, and we've actually had contact with the apartment managers to have the issue looked at.

 

External Stressors:

Finances, of course, as noted above. I think once I'm able to completely let go of that I won't have to worry about it.

Phone isn't really an issue, I dont worry when it rings. Heck, with a teenager, it's not for me anyway. Having such close neighbors.

 

As far as taking control of my own health...the emotional stuff and the stressers, I have to let go of. DH is looking for a better paying job and it will come when God wills it. Can't move right now, so must live and let live. Do what I can to improve the situation, but also must work to realize that God is the one in control. Can't sit on my butt and just let life happen to me, but realize that it's all part of His plan. Exercise and eating better are definitely on me, and I need to commit to doing better there.

 

Phew! Even typing it out makes me feel better!

 

Thakns!

 

Mo7

[dogmom4]

I would really like to know more about the different types of cleanse and how safe they actually are. I do know that it's very important for me to be more proactive about my health. I've been doing much better over the years. Here's my list:

 

dietary: I've been using more whole grains, fresh veggies from our farmers market (not enough tho), drinking much more water every day, take a good multivitamin...but, junk food (in particular chocolate) is my downfall and I need to eat more fresh vegetables.

 

physical: I started exercising at the beginning of September at a gym...I go about 3-4 times a week and am up to 15 minutes on a recumbent bike and 10 minutes on the elliptical machine...sometimes lift weights too. I found that I was very out of shape...first time i got on the eeliptical machine I was exhausted after 3 minutes! I don't think I get enough hours of "good" sleep...I will fall asleep sitting up for 10 minute cat naps instead of getting in the bed at a regular time.

 

emotional: am beginning menopause so my emotions seem completely out of whack sometimes...worry too much about world events, my children's lives

 

environment: we live in an old rental...i wonder about the air we breathe, am on the computer too much, use a microwave and a cell phone,tv is on probably too much, we do filter our water (have a Berkey)

 

external stressors: definitely work! I wish there was a way to quit, but it's not going to happen right now...we are working on getting rid of debt. My mom has needed much more help lately and I am realizing as she gets older it will just increase...not to mention dmil and dfil are too....some things I am doing to alleviate some of these things are to decrease the clutter in my home and create some routines for all of us and to make sure to do some fun things I like. I had given up doing anything crafty and reading for pleasure because I felt like I had too much work to do. Mother, what kind of air purifier do you use?

Stacy

[Mother]

You are welcome MO7. I got to thinking after I posted this that the holidays are not always a good time to start a new health regime but at least we can all start to thinking about it and try to prepare to start in January. Instead of making New Year plans for starting a weight loss diet, why not a healthy diet instead?