The Cheat Code To Achieving VIBRANT Health

The point of this article is simple: Achieving vibrant health doesn’t have to be painful, time consuming, or expensive. This is a strategy that focuses on doing the EASY things. Things that produces almost immediate and substantial results. Once you’ve lost a few pounds, your energy level is up, and you’re no longer in pain, THEN you can look at building on what you’ve ALREADY accomplished.

Where to start?

Let’s see… we know sugar is bad. So we could just quit the white stuff… cold turkey. We could give up all red meat and fried foods, and live on raw vegetables. And we could sign up for that $100-a-month gym membership… and spend 2 hours every morning, pumping iron. And…

Are you excited yet?

You’re NOT? That’s OK… because I have a “Plan B”. It’s a different spin on the old “80/20 Rule”… let’s call it “The 80/20 Rule For Vibrant Health”. (Gotta come up with a snappier name!)

The old 80/20 Rule states that “80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.”

Examples:

20% of a stores’ inventory generates 80% of it’s gross sales.
20% of a sales-force produces 80% of a companies’ sales.
20% of a teams’ players score 80% of all points scored.

The 80/20 Rule For Achieving Vibrant Health…

My strategy for getting healthy lies in identifying the easy activities that produce decent results… and starting there. Once we’re gotten some results, and are feeling better, we can look at what’s next.

So… we’re back to “Where to start?”

As we’ve already said, some activities that we could pursue produce fantastic results. But they also require a LOT of energy and time. Others produce decent results with a moderate amount of effort and time. For us “regular” people, the “easy” option makes the most sense.

Here’s why…

A reasonable plan that you can and WILL stick to, is better than the “Perfect” plan that you can’t… or WON’T… stick with… that is. (You know what I mean!)

This approach works! Because momentum is the key to staying with a plan long enough for it to become habit. So this “By The Inch” plan is really just a short list of the EASY activities that produce reasonably good results. There are 7 of them. And when you combine them, you have a GOOD plan… one that you can stick with. And who knows… in a few weeks you may be feeling so much better that you’ll decide to enter that marathon!

Here’s my list of “stupid-simple” strategies that are mostly free and produce a good return on your investment.

( Please read Strategy #1 before you do any skipping around to the others. Nothing else makes sense without it! )

Strategy #1 – DECIDE To Connect The Dots!

If you pay attention to the commercials on the national news, you immediately realize that the drug companies are spending billions in order to brainwash us into believing that a lack of energy, insomnia, allergies… and hundreds of other conditions are simply unavoidable-but-manageable… IF you buy their pills!

And I hate to admit it, but their commercials are so compelling that I sometimes wonder how we survived all those thousands of years without them and their chemicals! But in spite of what the drug companies would have us believe, the bodies’ “Default” state is that of vibrant, glowing health.

In other words, we’re programmed to be HEALTHY… not sick!

Do a bit of research into the actual mechanisms and processes that make up our immune system, and how it protects us from an UNRELENTING onslaught of viruses and bacteria… and you’ll come away with a new respect for the human body. In spite of its’ constant exposure to toxins and infections of every conceivable type, our defense system wins 99.9% of the time.

The body is a natural-born health-seeking, health-maintaining organism…

Have you ever seen someone with a broken arm, sitting around “willing” the body to mend the break… or watched someone with an infection, having to consciously “focus”… in order to beat that infection? Of course you haven’t. That’s all done automatically by the bodies’ programming.

When you think about it, we’re living, breathing miracles… yet most of us are sick! In spite of our bodies’ amazing defense system, 1 out of 2 Americans alive today will get cancer… heart disease kills millions… and diabetes is now a full blown epidemic. Which provides our first “DECIDE-To-Connect-The-Dots” opportunity!

Concerning our health, the gap between what IS… and what SHOULD be, is the result of simple cause and effect.

Cause #1 – Until roughly 100 years ago, we ate foods grown in mineral-rich, organic soils… and picked ripe. Now… according to the USDA, it takes 53 peaches to provide the same nutritional value that 2 peaches provided in the 40s. That because our fruits and vegetables are grown in depleted soils, they’re sprayed with pesticides, and they’re picked green.

Cause #2 – 100 years ago, most of us worked at jobs that were physically demanding. Today, we sit at a desk all day and then go home to watch TV til bedtime.

The conclusion? Our poor diet, and sedentary lifestyle have simply overwhelmed our bodies’ ability to defend and repair itself.

Here’s another “Connect the Dots” opportunity…

The drug companies and our medical profession seem totally obsessed with sellling us treatments and pills to manage SYMPTOMS… instead of working to eliminate the CAUSES! With regards to chronic illness, the BEST that medicine has to offer is … “We have pills that will help you manage your problems, but you’ll have to take them for the rest of your life.”

Bottom line? There’s NO profit in a pill that you only take for a month and you’re cured.

Confusing SYMPTOMS, with DISEASES…

Cancer is not a disease. It’s a SYMPTOM of a disabled immune system. Type II Diabetes is not a disease. It’s the END RESULT of eating too much processed food,
and getting too little exercise. In either case, reversing the symptoms can only be accomplished by removing the causes.

And if you’re willing to look, there’s plenty of credible evidence that when the CAUSES of these SYMPTOMS are removed, the body almost always repairs itself and becomes healthy again.

The condition called “cancer” IS reversible… and so are heart disease and diabetes. That’s the easy part. The difficult part is getting the patient to “connect the dots” and correct his diet and lifestyle.

Follow the money…

No amount of radiation, chemotherapy, or surgery will permanently cure one cancer victim. In spite of millions of prescriptions taken, Avandia has never cured a single diabetic. But these “band aids” HAVE made billions for the drug companies and the medical profession.

Why can’t/won’t the masses see this? The “Powers That Be” have billions to spend… keeping people hypnotized. Hypnotized to the point that they never manage to connect the dots. And sad to say… it’s working!

Our domain is “DECIDEtobeHealthy.com”. We chose that name because we believe that vibrant health is never just some “happy accident”. It’s the result of a conscious decision to “connect the dots” between our habits and our health.

Strategy #2 – Drink More Water

There’s compelling medical evidence that many of the chronic and degenerative diseases now sweeping across America have their roots in a single, but almost universal bad habit… we simply don’t drink enough water!

If you’re saying…”If this is true, why haven’t I heard about it?” Well, it could be that the drug companies haven’t figured how to make money on good old H20! Until they do, you won’t be seeing any million-dollar “Drink more water!” ads on primetime TV.

Two Common misconceptions about water that get us into trouble:

1 – “Other fluids can supply the water needs of the body.” NOT TRUE!

Caffeine and alcohol are diuretics and the result of drinking them causes a NET LOSS of water. 6 ounces of Coke will cause your body to flush 10 ounces of water. The same is true of tea, beer, and mixed drinks. In that same vein… milk and juices are viewed by the body as FOOD instead of water… so they don’t contribute to the bodies’ water-needs.

2 – “The sensation of thirst is the only indicator of a need for water.” NOT TRUE!

Most people think if they don’t have “dry mouth” then they’re getting enough water. The truth is, eating is such a high priority for the body, that saliva is still produced… even if the rest of the body is already dehydrated.

Before we get into the next section… “Health Problems Caused By Dehydration”… we need to connect a couple of important dots… otherwise you won’t understand WHY these particular health problems are dehydration related.

Our bodes’ defense system evolved in a very different environment from the one in which we now live. For many thousands of years, water wasn’t available 24/7… by simply turning a tap. To survive periods of water scarcity, the body developed a prioritized list of organs that got water first. When water became scarce, the organs that weren’t moment-by-moment critical to life got water only AFTER the organs that WERE critical had plenty.

Explaining HOW the body accomplishes this “Allocation of Resources” is outside the scope of this article. But understanding that this allocation DOES take allows us to make sense of the following list of seemingly unrelated symptoms.

If you didn’t read the 2 paragraphs just above… then this seemingly unrelated list below won’t make any sense.

Health issues caused by dehydration…

#1 – Asthma

Asthma is caused by the drought-management system in our body… trying to cope with dehydration by releasing the neurotransmitter “histamine” into our lungs. Histamine causes the bronchioles to constrict… which conserves the water that naturally evaporates when we exhale, thus protecting the sensitive tissue in our lungs. Instead of using an antihistamine… which only masks the REAL problem, the solution is to drink at least eight 8-oz glasses of pure water every day.

#2 – Allergies

When we’re dehydrated, more histamine is produced… which causes an to irritants such as dust and pollen. Again, the solution is as simple as keeping the body well hydrated.

#3 – High Blood Pressure

When the body is dehydrated, the actual volume of water is reduced. As a result, capillaries close down and blood vessels contract. This tightening leads to a rise in blood pressure. And because the cells themselves have lost much of their water supply, the system pressurizes in an attempt to force more water into the cells. Chronic dehydration = high blood pressure = strokes.

#4 – High cholesterol

High cholesterol is an indicator of early drought-management by our body. Cholesterol is a clay-like material that is poured in the gaps of some cell membranes in order to safeguard them against losing their vital water content to the osmotically more powerful blood circulating in the vicinity. Cholesterol, apart from being used to manufacture nerve cell membranes and hormones, is also used as a “shield” against water taxation of other vital cells that would normally exchange water through the cell membrane.

Do you know how much pure water to drink every day?

For an adult, one/half your body weight in ounces. (Example – I weigh 148 lb., which means I should drink 74 oz. of water every 24 hours. That’s a little over a half gallon.)

Credit – Most of this information was condensed from the book “Water for Health, for Healing, for Life” by DR F. Batmanhelidj

Strategy #3 – Get More Sunshine (Vitamin D)

Humans get Vitamin D from exposure to sunlight, diet and supplements, and UV light sources… such as certain full-spectrum florescent bulbs.

The closer humans live to the equator, the less often Vitamin D deficiencies occur. The reverse is also true. And because Vitamin D is a mood enhancer/stabilizer… winters at the higher latitudes produce a much higher incidence of suicide than in those closer to the equator.

Melatonin, the “hibernation hormone”, increases with decreased light, which explains that tired feeling that comes on when it begins to get dark outside — even if it is only 4 o’clock in the afternoon. And it also explains why decreased melatonin is found in those with insomnia.

Conversely, serotonin, the brain hormone associated with mood elevation, rises with exposure to bright light, and falls with decreased sun exposure. This has been proven by many scientific studies, including one reported in the well-respected medical journal Lancet in 2002. This study measured blood levels of serotonin, finding that production of serotonin by the brain was directly related to the duration of bright sunlight.

Immune Responses Activated By Vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency is common in children and adults. And this deficiency causes osteoporosis, muscle weakness, cancers, autoimmune and infectious diseases.

Without Vitamin D, only about 10-15% of dietary calcium is absorbed by the body. And calcium absorption into the body is directly related to bone mineral density… which connects the deficiency to osteoporosis and fractures, as well as muscle strength and falls in adults. In the womb and during childhood, calcium and Vitamin D deficiency prevents the deposition of calcium in the skeleton. Because of less time being spent outdoors and the extensive use of sun blockers… a sharp rise in the number of Rickets case is now being reported.

Recent research carried out at the University of Copenhagen has revealed that Vitamin D activates the immune system by “arming” T cells to fight off infections.

This new research, led by Professor Carsten Geisler from the Department of International Health, Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Copenhagen, found that without Vitamin D, the immune system’s T cells remain dormant, offering little or no protection against invading microorganisms and viruses. But with Vitamin D in the bloodstream, T cells become “armed” and begin seeking out invaders that are then destroyed and carried out of the body.

Vitamin D, in other words, acts a bit like the ignition key to your car: The car won’t run unless you turn the key and ignite the engine. Likewise, your immune system won’t function unless it is biochemically activated with Vitamin D. If you’re facing the winter flu season in a state of deficiency, your immune system is essentially defenseless against seasonal flu. That’s why all the people who get sick are the ones who live indoors, work indoors and exist in a chronic state of Vitamin D deficiency.

Getting enough Vitamin D into your system is easy to do…

Best – In the summer… being in direct sunlight 15 minutes at a time, 2 times a week, is enough to provide you with adequate Vitamin D.
Good – Cod liver oil is the best dietary source of Vitamin D. (Fish oil is a great source of omega 3, but does NOT contain high levels of Vitamin D.)
Last Resort – If You can’t get enough sunlight, but you can’t stand cod liver oil, the next best option is full spectrum light from fluorescent bulbs…. such the those recommended by DR Mercola (http://products.mercola.com/light-bulbs)

Strategy #4 – Take The Necessary Steps To Get Enough Sleep

This one may seem so obvious that it shouldn’t even be included in the list. But those of us who struggle with insomnia know how much it sabotages everything else in our lives.

Tips For Getting A Good Nights Sleep

Avoid stimulants like caffeine (found in cola, tea and chocolate) and excessive sugar. Certain medications like sinus pills and diet pills speed up the metabolism and can keep you awake long after they’re taken.

Don’t use alcohol as a sleep aid. It doesn’t work. Many people think that a drink-or many drinks-will relax them enough to sleep but alcohol only provides broken or interrupted sleep.

Exercise to improve your sleeping habits but don’t do it too close to bedtime.
Stop eating at least two hours before bedtime. It’s also best not to eat a huge meal at night. Trying to digest food while lying down will make it more difficult to go to sleep. It may also upset your digestive tract, which will cause you more problems. If you must have a snack, warm milk or foods high in trytophan (like turkey, cashews or yogurt) are a good choice. It’s best to stop liquids before bedtime so you don’t wake up to use the bathroom when you should be sleeping.
Avoid napping during the day if you aren’t sleeping at night. Napping will help to train your body to sleep in the daytime or in short spurts rather than in seven- or eight-hour shifts.
Turn off the TV and the computer about 30 minutes before bedtime as their light mimics the intensity of sunlight and can keep you up. Spend the last 30 minutes reading, practicing deep breathing, meditation or relaxation exercises. Taking a warm bath or listening to soothing music can also be relaxing.
Keep regular bedtime and waking hours. This helps to train your body to sleep regularly. It is very hard to improve sleep when your hours are erratic. Choose a regular bedtime that allows you enough time for a full night’s sleep.

Strategy #5 – Get SOME Exercise Every Day

After oxygen, water and food… the next most important ingredient for good health is exercise.

Here’s the short-list as to why:

Exercise expands the circulatory system, and therefore helps lower blood pressure.
It stimulates the activity of the fat-burning enzymes that produce energy. (Increased energy AND fat-loss… Hmmm!)
Exercise burns up some of the amino acids that would otherwise reach toxic levels in the body.
It also lowers blood sugar in diabetics and therefore decreases their need for medication.
Exercise builds bone mass and reduces osteoporosis and increases the production of all vital hormones.

What type of exercise is most beneficial?

For general good health, any exercise that builds endurance, rather than speed or strength, is best. (But a moderate amount of strength training helps prevent bone-mass loss.)
The best, most natural exercise you can do is walking.

A brisk 30-minute walk every day will transform your health. My husband and I either walk or use our mini-trampoline. (The mini-trampolines are GREAT… I walk on mine during every commercial while I’m watching TV. It’s keeps me out of the refrigerator!)
Can’t find an interrupted 30-minute block?

Studies at Stanford University and the University of Virginia both demonstrated 3 strenuous 10-minute periods are just as beneficial as 1 interrupted 30-minute session.

Sedentary middle-aged individuals participated in a three-week study at the University of Virginia. They did 15 10-minute sessions per week (the equivalent of two and a half hours of exercise per week) of walking, stretching, and light weight lifting. They were able to improve aerobic fitness by 15-20%, increase strength and muscular endurance by 40-100 %, lower cholesterol levels by 15 points, and lose an average of three pounds.

Strategy #6 – Start Adjusting Your Diet

It’s Critical That We Eat More Raw Fruits And Vegetables

Raw foods contain enzymes that are killed during the cooking process. If you eat a meal consisting of a salad, a steak and a baked potato, there are likely enough food enzymes contained in the salad to break it down so your body can use its nutrients.

But, there are no extra enzymes available to help digest the steak… or the baked potato. Because the steak and potato are cooked, there are no FOOD ENZYMES available to digest them, so our body must take over and internally create the needed amount of DIGESTIVE ENZYMES to handle the digestive task.

The organ that produces these enzymes is the pancreas… and the more processed foods we eat… the harder the pancreas has to work in order to provide the needed enzymes. At the same time, the older we are, the less enzymes the pancreas is able to produce. That’s why your “cast iron” stomach that used to allowed you to eat anything… has degenerated to “I just can’t eat that anymore!”

Avoid Processed Foods As Much As Humanly Possible.

When foods are processed, they are “stripped” of their nutritional value, and/or preservatives or chemicals are added to make the food last longer and/or taste better. Sugar, aspartame and salt are used a lot as preservatives and added for taste. Bleached white flour comes from wheat that has been stripped of the grains that have the most nutritional value. Maybe it isn’t that they’re bad for you as much as they’re just “empty calories”. You’re eating calories and fat that have absolutely no nutritional value. Some of the chemicals, like aspartame, are even BANNED in other countries due to health risks.

Examples of processed foods:

packaged cereals
ready frozen dinners
canned goods
cake mixes
biscuit mixes
jams
pickles
sauces.

Everything we eat has to be “broken down” in order for our cells to be able to use it. The “junk” that our body CAN’T use is waste, and has to be disposed of. If the waste is full of chemicals or toxins, it’s processed, and sometimes stored in our liver. And our liver is only able to process so much toxins before it begins to be overwhelmed and stop functioning like it’s supposed to.

When that happens, other cells begin to store the waste. And all of a sudden, your cells begin absorbing those poisonous chemicals and they begin to starve and wither away… and disease is the result. The closer a food is to its natural form, the healthier it is. Remember… you are what you eat!

Eat Smaller Meals… More Often.
Create a “visual”… use as a salad plate rather than a dinner plate. It will appear that you have more on your plate than you really do.
Eat slowly… it takes about 30 minutes for your food to “hit bottom”, so that you feel full. So the slower you eat, the food you are eating will have time to tell your brain that you are getting full. (You ought to time yourself eating a normal meal… you may be surprised at how fast you’re gulping down your food. S L O W D O W N – ENJOY!
Concentrate on what you ARE SUPPOSED to eat instead of what you are NOT SUPPOSED to eat… it’s a “mind game”.
Eat a snack between each meal – try to eat a carb with a protein/fat combination – it regulates your insulin levels and keeps the “I’m starving – feed me” Devil away. A good example would be a piece of fruit with a small piece of cheese or 1 T. of nuts.
Eat a balanced meal… which meal should consist of 1 protein + 1 complex carb + 1 NON-starchy vegetable and a very small portion of fats.

Some suggestions:

CARBS: Best choices: fruits (berries and melons are lowest in calories – bananas are highest), sweet potatoes, corn, peas, okra, legumes, whole grains, yogurt
Avoid: refined grains (“white” anything), sugar, starchy veggies (white potatoes, pasta)
PROTEINS: Best choices: Lean Meats, Eggs, Cheese, Nuts, Nut Butters, Seeds, Soy
Avoid: Fatty and Processed Meats (hot dogs, bratwurst, sausage, etc.)
NON-STARCHY VEGETABLES – eat as much as you want!
Best choices: dark leafy greens, peppers, cabbages (broccoli, cauliflower, etc.), raw carrots, celery, cucumbers, green beans, mushrooms, onions, squash/zucchini, tomatoes, asparagus (among others)
FATS: Best choices: butter, un-hydrogenated oils, eggs, sour cream, cheese, dairy cream, nuts, nut butters, avocados, oily fish
Avoid: margarine, fried foods, hydrogenated oils, shortening, imitation anything

Remember: cut down on fat, but healthy fats are essential for vitamin absorption, joint lubrication, producing essential hormones, and keeping you mentally alert, etc.

Strategy #7 – Get That Colon Cleaned Out

Although many of us seem to have accepted poor health as the norm… disease is NOT the bodies’ natural state! But poor eating habits, increasing exposure to toxins, and a sedentary lifestyle have created an alarming increase in diseases such as cancer, heart trouble and diabetes; as well as lack of energy, premature aging, poor eyesight, memory loss, skin problems and constipation.

Many symptoms… ONE cause!

Although my next statement sounds like an oversimplification, it’s a medical fact. Most of our medical problems have their beginnings in a compromised LOWER digestive tract. As Dr. Bernard Jensen says, “It is the bowel that invariably has to be cared for first, before any effective healing can take place.”

Colon problems lead to “autointoxification” (self poisoning)

Autointoxification is caused by the gradual buildup of un-eliminated pockets of wastes in the bowel… which means extended and continuous exposure to toxins that would normally be eliminate quickly. This condition leads to disease, parasites, filth, low energy levels… and MUCH worse.

Can you say “dead weight”…

A healthy adult colon weighs about four pounds. An unhealthy one can weigh 20-40 pounds. And few people realize that when poor elimination becomes chronic, the same disgusting substances found in the colon can also wind up in the stomach, duodenum and small intestine. A polluted intestinal tract means polluted blood, poor digestion and low energy.

Overweight and starving… at the same time!

When the intestines are loaded with un-eleminated waste matter, this creates a serious interference with the digestive processes. As a result, the surfaces of the digestive tract (which are designed to absorb the nutrients from food) become covered with a mucus film which the body creates to protect the blood from toxins. And it’s a self generating problem… The more harmful the toxins are, the more this mucous film builds up.

The heavier the mucus buildup, the fewer nutrients we can assimilate.

As time passes, this mucous film becomes thicker and harder. Portions of this thick mucus get pushed into pockets called diverticuli as we cram through more and more dead food into the digestive tract in an effort to squeeze some nutritional value out of it. This thick coat of mucus is called “mucoid plaque”.

The mucoid plaque protects us from toxins, but at the same time… when it builds past a certain level, it interferes with our ability to absorb nutrients.

A breeding place for parasites…

Because in changes in our diets, from mostly raw fruits and vegetables, to mostly processed foods, the populations of most industrialized countries are now riddled with parasite problems. It’s been estimated that 150 million people in America have intestinal parasite infestation. Over 55 million American children have worms.

The problem is growing rapidly, due to a lack of raw fruits and vegetables in the diet, and an increased consumption of processed foods of all kinds. Once in the intestinal tract, parasites have easy access to other parts of the body, where they create a myriad of symptoms and diseases.

How diseases get a foothold…

Any buildup of old pockets of waste matter (diverticulitis) produces fermentation, putrefaction, and stagnant pockets of poisons and harmful bacteria. Like I stated earlier, the medical term is “autointoxication”. If not eliminated efficiently, these toxins constantly seep into the bloodstream… and eventually settle into the weakest areas of the body.

Unfortunately, the symptoms found elsewhere in the body, (due to the toxic overload in the bowel) are generally what is treated… rather than the cause itself! This is a self-defeating process, as the toxic flow from the bowel will simply find another weak area to break through.
As Dr. Jensen puts it, “Every tissue is fed by the blood, which is supplied by the bowel. When the bowel is dirty, the blood is dirty and so on to the organs and tissues.”

Which colon-cleanse product do we recommend?

The best tasting we tried is Colonix, by Dr Natura. (But it’s a bit expensive.)

Cheryl