In 1948, the World Health Organization defined good health as; “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
This definition of health holds as true today as it did back in 1948. Though the WHO may have modified their definition since then, the state of health today for many is dismal. Diseases such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis and heart disease are increasing rapidly throughout the world and no one appears to have a clue as to how to cure disease other than treat it through drugs and surgery.
Ask anyone on the street and you are likely to get the answer that health for them means the absence of pain and illness. Many say they are healthy even though they take a pharmacy of drugs and medications to feel that way.
As the years have slipped by more people have adopted the Western diet, a diet of highly refined foods loaded with sodium, sugar, fat and chemical additives. Highly stressed lifestyles combined with bad habits and the pollutants in the food, air and water insure that the quality of life is severely compromised.
Today’s diseases are the result of poor lifestyle choices. The food that is eaten today is severely depleted of the essential vitamins and minerals that made up the healthy diets of those who lived a hundred years ago. Those foods come from farms whose soils have been sterilized and robbed of minerals that are so vital to goo health.
The common lifestyle of the masses is a sedentary one. Few people get enough exercise. From the moment they rise to the moment they retire, they sit, stand or lie down with little movement of the limbs that must be moved to maintain health.
While the medical establishment believes that sickness is a part of life and the older you get, the sicker you will be, the truth is that a healthy body doesn’t easily get sick. A body with a strong immune system has many checks and balances that insure that good health is maintained. Throughout history there have been many who lived well past a hundred years and we admire them. We believe that such a state of good health is impossible for us, that it has something to do with hereditary factors.
In fact, these centenarians have no special health genes to help them live so long. What they do have is what’s lacking in the majority of people today. They are active, they eat fresh fruits and vegetables, food high in fiber and low in simple carbohydrates. They get fresh air and don’t smoke or drink to excess. You won’t find them lounging in nursery homes waiting for death. You’ll find them living in their own homes and getting about without walkers and canes.
Maintaining good health is contingent on the believe that it is possible and on the incentive to make a change in lifestyle choices and few people have the incentive to make those changes. With all that we know about the functioning of the body and its ability to heal, cure itself and expel toxins, it’s a wonder why so many people continue to fall victims to the ravages of diseases brought on by living an unhealthy lifestyle.
If everyone took their health seriously and began to eat a good diet, exercised, put away their cigarettes and learned to live stress free, all of today’s most serious diseases would vanish overnight.