Introduction
Health
is a big issue these days. Obesity,
diabetes, depression, cardiovascular
disease, hormonal imbalance, and cancer
are all on the rise. People
are becoming more aware of the health
risks that are out there, and looking
for solutions to improve their health.
There are more gyms, weight loss clubs,
medical drugs, vitamins, new medical
procedures, and health food stores
than ever before. There are hundreds
of books, articles, seminars, and television
programs about nutrition and health
available
Despite
all this, most people aren’t
functioning at optimal health.
People are waiting too long before they seek out a health program, and
then are bombarded with so many choices that they don’t know where
to turn. But there is also another factor, one that may be more powerful
than any of the others, and that is the power of belief. Even with all
of these realities and solutions staring us in the face, it is easy to
lie to ourselves…
1 - If
I generally feel ok, I don’t need
to do anything to improve my health.
Many
people believe that health is the absence
of illness or disease. They think that
unless they have noticeable “symptoms” of
a “disease”, they must be healthy.
They ignore or explain away symptoms, such
as being tired and sluggish, getting regular
headaches, having gas and bloating, believing
that these are a “normal”.
They attribute these “symptoms” to
being overworked, overstressed, and not
getting enough rest. The large majority
of people I meet say that they tire easily,
feel sluggish, have trouble getting up
in the morning, and always need more sleep.
While this can be related to being overworked
and getting too little sleep, it can also
indicate hormonal imbalances, blood sugar
issues, or other health factors that, if
left unchecked, could lead to more serious
health complaints, including diabetes,
heart disease, or thyroid imbalance.
The truth
is that many diseases and health conditions
do not have noticeable outward signs and
symptoms. When was the last time you had
so much energy and clarity that you felt
like you could just keep going without
tiring; working, playing, and spending
time with your friends and family?
Do you
bounce out of bed in the morning ready
for a new day, or do you drag yourself
out and spend the day waiting to fall back
into bed at night? Our bodies are amazing
creations. They are highly adaptable to
change and stress, and can make modifications
to divert energy to where it is needed
most. This leaves the non-critical functions
of the body that are also important for
our health lacking the nutrients and energy
that they need. Reading the small signs
and symptoms our body gives off can help
determine which direction our health is
headed before it would show up on a laboratory
test.
As
an example of one possible scenario,
take the following test.
Do any of the following “symptoms” apply
to you?
Rate them according to the following scale:
0 = never 1 = rarely 2 = time to time 3 = often
__ Afternoon
headaches
__ Get “shaky” if hungry
__ Faintness if meals delayed
__ Heart palpitates if meals missed or delayed
__ Eat when nervous
__ Awaken after a few hours of sleep
__ Hard to get back to sleep
__ Crave candy or coffee in the afternoon
__ Abnormal craving for sweets or snacks
__ Thirsty much of the time
__ History of diabetes
__ Excessive, frequent urination
__ Blurred vision/failing eyesight
__ Breath smells sweet
__ Tingling, numbness, prickling sensation in extremities
How
did you rate? I am sure many of you
will be surprised. All
of these symptoms” are indicative
of blood sugar handling issues. While
some are more severe than others, many
of these are signs and symptoms that
people often ignore. It is no real
surprise that diabetes is on the rise
in North America. Not only do people
consume a poor diet and exercise infrequently,
they also ignore the little signs that
could be leading down this road. The
good news is that the road to diabetes
is a two way street! With a good health
protocol including diet and lifestyle
modifications, many symptoms of sugar
handling issues can be improved.
If
your score was more than 10 points,
you may want to start paying attention
to your body. Even if
you think that your symptoms are just
from overwork or lack of sleep, know
that these two factors themselves can
lead to blood sugar imbalances.
This
example is just ONE possible scenario.
As I mentioned previously, there are
many “sub clinical” signs
that our bodies give us to indicate
that an imbalance is present. These
alone may not seem significant, but
taken together and reviewed by a trained
professional, can give a lot of insight
into the nutritional and physiological
functioning of the body. This type
of assessment is called Nutritional
Symptomatology. It is not meant to
be a diagnostic tool for disease or
illness, but can give valuable information – a
snapshot of how your current dietary
and lifestyle habits are working for
you. Each section on the questionnaire
relates to a separate organ, system,
or nutrient. With this information,
you can learn an awful lot about what
might be going on inside!
If
you are tired of settling for “just
ok”, contact a Holistic Nutritionist
who can give you a more in-depth questionnaire. Together,
you can identify areas to strengthen
so you can stop feeling “just
ok” and start feeling great!
2 - All
I have to do is eat a better diet and exercise
more to get healthy
Once
people determine that they need to
take steps to improve their health,
they often believe that just eating
more vegetables, cutting out junk food,
and adding a little exercise will be
enough. Yes, these things
are all important to your health, but
they are not enough. And while this
strategy sounds like a great idea,
it rarely works out as planned. All
the best intentions are laid, but things
get in the way. You don’t have
the right groceries in the house, so
you eat whatever is there. You stay
up too late, and decide that you want
to sleep in a little rather than exercise.
Then you find that there are always
much better things to do after work
than exercise.
Even
if you were to eat a “perfect” diet,
however, you would still be lacking
vital nutrients. Due
to constant farming without time to
replenish nutrients used by the crops,
the soil that our food is grown in
is almost completely depleted of essential
trace minerals, especially iodine,
selenium, iron, zinc, and chromium.
These aren’t just any old minerals;
these are important building blocks
for our body! Iodine is an essential
mineral for proper thyroid function,
selenium and zinc are important for
the health of the immune system, iron
is an important component of hemoglobin
in the blood, and chromium is important
for the production of insulin. These
are certainly not minerals that we
want to be without. Plants can survive
and grow on fewer mineral levels than
humans can. This means that we can
see a beautiful, healthy looking fruit
or vegetable in front of us, but it
may actually contain only a fraction
of the amount of nutrients that the
same type of food would have contained
fifty years ago, and not nearly enough
to keep us running optimally.
In
addition to being grown on poor soil,
the majority of fruits and vegetables
are sprayed with herbicides and pesticides. The
wax coating applied to fruits and vegetables
seals in the pesticides, so that they
cannot be washed off the surface of
the fruit. Once we eat the fruit or
vegetables, these chemicals can get
stored in our fat tissues, and stay
there for long periods of time, slowly
eating away our health. Produce is
picked well before it has a chance
to ripen. These days, instead of growing
ripe and full of flavour and nutrients
on a tree, produce ripens in a truck,
plane, or boat, often traveling long
distances from the place it was grown
to your supermarket. Add to that the
additional time it spends in the shipping
and receiving area, before it is placed
to sit on the grocery store display.
That’s a lot of time from the
tree to the table!
Not
only does the early picking prevent
the foods from attaining their optimal
nutrient levels, but
as soon as the produce is picked from
its tree or vine, the nutrients inside
start to deplete. Without sun and nourishment
from the rest of the plant, the produce
won’t contain nearly the amount
of vitamin C or chlorophyll that it
would if ripened on the tree. Studies
have shown that levels of vitamin C
in many oranges at our supermarkets
are almost nonexistent! While organic
foods are often a better option, as
they have the promise of no added chemical
sprays, if they have been grown on
nutrient poor soils and traveled long
distances, they too are lacking vital
nutrients. If you are able to grow
your own totally organic fruits and
vegetables on mineral rich soils, and
pick them right before you eat, then
and only then can this lie become a
truth.
We
have not even gotten to one very important
issue – the idea of biochemical
individuality. Biochemical
individuality is another way of saying
that we are all unique. We digest,
absorb, and assimilate food and nutrients
differently from one another. This
is related to genetics, our environment,
how our digestive systems function,
how much stress we are under, and many
other factors. Taking all of these
factors into account, what I am about
to say next will make perfect sense
to you: There is no such thing as a
perfect or balanced diet. This concept
is a myth. If we are all different,
how can there be a one-size-fits-all
solution for everyone? Yes, there are
some common themes such as lots of
green vegetables, complex carbohydrates
instead of simple carbohydrates, animal
versus vegetable proteins, etc. Not
everyone will do well on a strictly
vegetarian diet. Not everyone will
be able to strive on a meat-containing
diet.
Raw
food versus cooked, blood types, metabolic
types, food allergies and sensitivities… the
factors go on and on. So
you see, the lie of just eating well
and exercising more is much more complex
than you think! There is no ideal diet
for everyone – your own personal
and completely unique diet that works
for you in your teens may be different
in your twenties, and change again
as you approach middle age. The checklist
below gives some general dietary guidelines
to help you get started, but you will
need to use some trial and error. A
consultation with a Holistic Nutritionist
who understands the idea of biochemical
individuality can help you
identify your unique nutrient needs.
- At least 4 cups of vegetables daily,
with an emphasis on dark green leafy
vegetables.
- Ensure that you are getting foods from
all groups – good proteins, complex
carbohydrates, and essential fats.
Do not omit any one group thinking that it will help you lose weight – it
will cause some weight loss, but in an imbalanced way that will also
cause a risk to your health. Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates all
play a very specific role in our bodies, and we cannot be without one
of them.
- Eat at least 2 whole proteins a day,
whether they are from animal or vegetable
proteins.
- Stay away from artificial flavours,
colours, and sugars. These are not easily
recognized by the body, and no matter
what the advertisements say they are
not safe for human consumption. Choose
natural sweeteners like stevia, agave
nectar, maple syrup, and honey instead.
- Minimize caffeine and alcohol – these
will interfere with your blood sugar
and stress out your adrenal glands, which
are likely already overworked.
- Drink 8-10 glasses of pure water daily
to keep well hydrated. Water is the fluid
in which all chemical reactions take
place in the body. Without it, we cannot
thrive. Simply increasing your water
intake can have a huge impact on your
health.
- 30 – 40 minutes of aerobic exercise
(walking, biking, swimming, dancing,
etc.) at least 3 times per week, with
at least 10 minutes of exercise daily.
- Resistance exercise (weights) at least
2 times per week to help maintain muscle
mass and bone density.
3 - I
can buy any old store brand vitamin and
save lots of money
While
the price per bottle on a store brand
vitamin is much lower than the exclusive
brands that health care practitioners
carry, sometimes you get what you pay
for. Next time you are
out shopping for your bargains, take
a look at all of the ingredients in
your supplements. Most people just
look at the levels of vitamins, and
they ignore the “other” ingredients
listed on the package. In order to
offer these pills all low prices, there
can be a sacrifice in the quality and
quantity of the essential ingredients.
Many store brand supplements have fillers,
binders, chemical preservatives, artificial
colours, and even sugar added.
You
need to take into consideration the
quality of the actual “active
ingredient”. Where
did they get their raw materials? What
sort of testing do they do on the supplements
beforehand? As for price, if you take
into consideration the profit the retailer
makes, the profit the manufacturer
makes, cost of manufacturing, packaging,
advertising, transportation, and other
factors, how much of that $12.99 that
you paid for a bottle of nutrients
was spent on the actual quality ingredients?
As
a practitioner, I do extensive research
on a company and their products before
I decide whether to recommend them
to my clients. From my
science background and various jobs
working in the laboratories for manufacturing
companies, I know that sometimes the
ingredients are the same, and sold
at different prices, based on the brand
name. But sometimes there are huge
differences in quality and care of
materials put into a product. Companies
with nothing to hide will either have
information listed on their websites,
or will be happy to answer questions
about the sources of their raw materials
and what sort of testing is done on
each batch of product to ensure that
it is free of chemicals, bacteria,
heavy metals, and other contaminants.
This
is another area where biochemical individuality
comes into play. Just
like there is no one ideal diet that
works for everyone, there is also no
one ideal supplement or “dosage” that
works for everyone. We all digest,
absorb, and assimilate vitamins at
different rates, and what works for
some people may not work for others.
When I am working with a client, I
generally use Electrodermal Screening
or other methods to ensure that the
nutritional supplements and remedies
they are taking are actually helping
them, and not harming them. You would
be surprised to learn how many times
I have taken what seems to be a great
supplement only to find that it would
cause more harm than good at a particular
time for a client. The body is very
intelligent, and it knows what it needs.
There is an order and a procedure to
follow when healing, and your body
is the greatest teacher. I have tested
many products for people. It is not
always the expensive brands that test
well, and it is not always the supplement
that deals with the symptoms that they
have that will be the best one for
them at a particular time either.
The
worst thing someone can do is go to
a store, read all the labels and say, “this
product is for Candida, I have Candida”. Even
if it sounds like the product deals
with your exact problem, it may not
be what your body wants to deal with
right now. The best way to determine
what your body needs is to get tested,
and to see a practitioner who can help
you prioritize your particular health
issues and start building a foundation
on which you can build yourself up
to optimal health.
I
have seen many clients who come into
my office with bags full of supplements
that they have tried. When
I look at all they have brought in,
it is no wonder they haven’t
gotten any better. They have just gone
to the store, found something that “sounded
like what I needed” and started
taking it. Often these people are taking
twenty things for twenty different
problems, instead of focusing their
efforts where the body needs it most.
The body can easily become overwhelmed
with all of the input it is being given.
For
more information about nutritional
supplements, please see the links below:
www.nutritional-supplement-truths.com
Site providing information on what to look for when choosing a nutritional
supplement.
www.newstarget.com/012427.html
Article titled “Vitamin warning! Some nutritional supplements use
hydrogenated oils as filler”.
www.cncvitamost.com
Supplement company available to Practitioners and Customers. Note that
they put their Quality Assurance Testing on their homepage.
4 - I
don’t have time to take on something
new, and I never stick to anything anyway…
Believing
in this lie ensures that you will not
improve your health. In
fact, thoughts like these can actually
have a detrimental effect on your health.
By not looking for time and opportunities
to make improvements in your life,
you are ensuring failure. One reason
people often believe in this lie is
a self-worth issue. “I don’t
have time to take on anything for ME”.
They feel guilty for taking time out
of their schedule to be doing something
for themselves. They feel that they
should be spending this time working,
doing chores, or something else. What
about you? If a friend, relative, or
even an acquaintance asked for time
or help with an issue surrounding their
health, would you find the time to
help? Why won’t you direct this
caring attitude towards yourself?
Another
part of this lie is about prioritizing.
If your health were really important
to you, you would make time.
Do you have time for hobbies, or sports,
watching TV, chatting on the phone?
Perhaps these are areas that you could
work with to prioritize. If you find
that these activities are not able
to be rescheduled, then at least be
honest with yourself – it’s
not that you don’t have time,
it’s that you don’t think
that your health is important enough
to make time.
If
you were never able to stick to anything,
then you wouldn’t be able to
hold down a job, a relationship, your
lawn would be overgrown, and your house
a disaster. What about
those sports, hobbies, and other traditions
you might have? If you never stuck
to anything, you certainly wouldn’t
have any regular activities. You would
be a wanderer, never settling down,
never watching the same TV show, never
reading a book by the same author twice,
never putting gas in your car, and
so on. This is definitely a lie that
many people fall into, and one that
just simply isn’t true. It’s
an excuse, a way out. New habits do
take a little getting used to, but
if you are dedicated and you put your
mind to it, it will become easy. Investors
say pay yourself first; put a little
money away each month, and make it
automatic. You won’t even miss
that money, but it will be certainly
doing good things for you in a savings
account gaining interest. Your health
is also an investment. If you start
taking a little time every day, and
make it automatic, the investment will
pay off. If you can get through the
first 2-3 weeks of this new habit,
it can easily become a habit for life.
Not only will you have a greater sense
of health and well-being, but you will
also have a huge sense of accomplishment,
which can be a boost to your self-esteem.
You can do it!
Not
making your health and well-being a
priority can cost you a lot more time
in the long run. Waiting
until the problem is unmanageable can
cost you time away from work, time
away from your family and friends,
and time away from the things that
you enjoy doing as you struggle with
aches, pains, low energy, and other
symptoms that could have easily been
helped with a good health program.
It
takes a little time and effort to create
new habits, but the rewards are definitely
worth it. In fact, following
a healing strategy plan that ensures
you feel the top of your game can actually
save you time! It can improve your
overall health, give you more energy,
clarity, efficiency, and the ability
to make faster decisions. And a healing
strategy plan doesn’t just take
the physical into account. Making a
few changes to improve your health
affects your body, mind, and soul.
A little effort can go a long way to
making you feel less overwhelmed, more
satisfied with your life, and more
accomplished due to your newfound energy
and vitality.
Take
a moment to reflect on areas of your health
that you would like to improve on. This
can include something as simple as having
more energy, clarity, and focus, or getting
rid of chronic aches and pains.
What
are these challenges costing you? Time
away from work and family?
__________________________________________________________
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What
would it feel like to not have these health
issues anymore?
__________________________________________________________
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What
are you willing to do to make it happen?
__________________________________________________________
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Write
down 3 small things that you can do to
make more time in your life to address
the areas mentioned above.
__________________________________________________________
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5 - I
can do this alone
This
is a lie that people buy into for many
reasons. We want to believe
that we can do it alone so that we
don’t have to humble ourselves
to ask for help, because we think that
asking for help will show weakness,
or maybe even because we are embarrassed
by the issues we are facing. Other
reasons can include thinking that working
with someone else will take more time
than working alone, or will cost too
much. Whatever the reason, believing
in this lie can lead to frustration,
wasted time, and discouragement. After
all, if this was true, and you could
do it on your own, then why haven’t
you done it already?
The truth
is that even health practitioners turn
to other health practitioners for guidance.
It is impossible to be totally objective
about yourself. It is human nature to look
for the easy way out and take shortcuts.
Seeing a practitioner can help you stay
on track and stay focused on your particular
health challenges.
Asking
for guidance and support is also a
sign of commitment. It
is a sign that you value yourself enough
to let someone else into your life,
and that you think that you are worth
not only your own time and effort,
but also the time and effort of another
individual. This is a truly great gift
that you can give yourself.
Working
with a professional gives you accountability,
guidance, and encouragement. It
also saves time. If you had to rewire
your house, would you spend all of
the time researching and learning how
to do it, or would you hire an experienced
electrician who could get the job done
in half the time? Imagine the frustration
when you get to the hardware store,
and you don’t know which wire
to buy. There are many wires and switches
to choose from, but which one is the
one you need? What if you did the work
yourself, bought all the equipment
and the parts, and realized that they
didn’t work together? Or you
spent all that time working on it,
and when you flipped the switch, the
lights didn’t go on? Health practitioners
are people who have taken the time
to research, learn, and study in the
field of health, and have experience
working with clients on these areas.
A good practitioner can easily help
identify issues and solutions, and
direct you on the right path. This
can range from simply helping you develop
a good nutritional and supplement plan
to address your general health, to
someone who can meet with you regularly
and work with you closely to guide,
encourage, and support you on your
way to achieving optimal health.Have
you tried to make improvements to your
health and been less successful than
you hoped? What are some areas that
an experienced and knowledgeable health
practitioner could help you with?
After
reading these 5 Lies, take some time to
reflect on what you have read. Which lie
do you relate to the most? Why?
__________________________________________________________
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What
have you learned about your attitudes towards
improving your health?
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After
thinking critically about your attitudes
towards improving your health, what are
some ways in which you can start turning
around these lies?
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What
are the “truths” for you regarding
your ability to strive for and achieve
optimal health?
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To find out if
you are eligible for a free 20-minute
Health Reality Check, please email
your answers to the questions in Lie
4 and 5 to info@healthinyourhands.ca.
Rebecca will review your comments and,
if you are eligible, will email a time
for your free session. For more information
about Rebecca Loach, please visit www.healthinyourhands.ca.
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