Get Healthy 101

by A.J.Fedor

Since we all seem to wait till we're fifty (late fifties my case) to get health conscious, this section should prove beneficial to most of us. Some may argue: "When you're time is up, you're outta here" While this is true, how would you rather spend those last few years? Making a Joyful noise on your Chromatic, or as a friend of mine puts it: "In some rest home with oatmeal dribbling down your chin?" I personally like the idea of making that joyful noise as long as I can! Realizing my mortality at sixty-two, I'm probably just "cramming" hoping to negate a lifetime of bad habits in the next few years or so. While, I may not negate all of them, but I am starting to feel better already, so that shows me the principals I’ve known about but never applied actually work.

Since September 11th, we have another reason to stay healthy: Throughout history, regardless of what plague or sickness befell mankind, while both young an old dropped like flies, why were there that forty odd percent of the people who both survived and thrived? Some folks are just tough, simply because they have a good working immune system. Since NOTHING beats a God Given immune system that is working at it's peak, we've taken the liberty to include some tips in this section that can help get our immune systems operating at their optimal levels.

Since discovering these neat little instruments we play, we now have another reason to want to stay healthy into our nineties. Though I'm not afraid of dying, I will admit that I find the thought of leaving only after a long protracted illness causes me concern. I for one, would much rather go out like a cheap light bulb!

"The World Belongs To Everyone,
The Best Things is Life Are Free!"
Ooooh, Somebody sing with me!

The Good Stuff is all Free: Air - Water - Sunshine - Self-Restraint - Personal Hygiene Habits - Rest & Exercise, and of course, Smile, laugh and Be Happy (never underestimate the power of a “Merry Heart”)

Health

Guys, your prostate gland is meant to "operate" at least once a day. (We're not talking urination here, guys :o) Use it or lose it.

Death begins in the colon! If we eat three times a day, we should be eliminating at the very least, twice a day. Drink water and increase fiber intake. You should not eat meat more than two or three times a week. Indigestion is not something to turn off with a pill; that's like putting a rubber bell on a fire alarm. Defeating the digestive function (taking stuff like Zantac or whatever) sends undigested food to the lower intestines where it ferments and rots rather than being digested. In that undigested state, it can remain in your intestinal tract for YEARS! Quite simply, if we eat three and four times a day and eliminate once a day, it don't all come out. Did you ever wonder what's in those big bellies we get as we get older? Quit wondering! Next time you get indigestion, remember what caused it and avoid it afterwards. Indigestion is but one of the many tools you body uses to tell you that you're are going to die before your time, if you continue eating what you just did.

Your body, according to the Bible, is "fearfully and wonderfully made." Although incredibly complex, it's also is incredibly efficient at taking care of itself. The only real problems we run into are those caused by our deliberate misuse and abuse of our bodies. While physical abuse to our bodies is indeed a problem, the biggest abuse by far, is a result of what we eat.

News Flash!

We DO NOT need three full meals a day. Just about all of us can do better with half the food we normally eat! Think about the starving people in Africa and other third-world countries. While thousands die every day, NONE ever die from the deceases that we, in affluent countries, die from (and certainly none from drug interaction) For the record: Malnutrition is not a disease. Most diseases result from something we eat. Malnutrition is what happens when the body, in a desperate effort to remain alive, cannibalizes itself and thereby "eats" up other vital systems that would otherwise keep it alive. If merely adding a few more ounces of food to their daily intake always makes it go away, we can't really call malnutrition a disease.

Wanna loose weight? Forget all that nonsense you hear about a shake for breakfast and a shake for lunch and a sensible dinner. Your evening meal is the least likely to get burnt up. Since most folks don't like great big breakfasts, lunch is when you should "hang on the feedbag" then have a light supper, or "evening meal." Remember whatever we don't burn up as fuel, we wake up wearing in the morning. Most adult digestive systems slow down during sleep, that's why we wake up in the middle of the night with indigestion; we eat a load of food and go to sleep. When we diet, we usually just skip lunch and think we're accomplishing something. By supper time we're famished, so we eat like bears, then hibernate for a few hours, then wonder why we can't loose weight. Some of us get up in the middle of the night and eat. I don't care if you have been doing it all your life just like your mom or dad did. Break that habit real quick. You've heard the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting result, right? Well, this is a good example of it.

There's a book out there that is terrific. (Actually there are two but the one is out of print; it's called "Sugar Blues") The one that's still available is called "Fit For Life II." It tells of the evils of the standard "Meat & Potatoes" diet. The book's a real eye opener. Meat and potatoes are fine as long as you don't eat them in the same meal. Turns out protein and starch cannot be digested properly when mixed together. Meat and green veggies, green veggies and starch are fine, but no meat and starch. Of course this goes against the grain of everything we like, but that doesn't change the facts. Spaghetti and meatballs, beef stew, etc. sound tasty but not what our bodies really want.

Breakfast- means "breaking your (overnight) fast" Anyone who's ever fasted knows you don't come off a fast with hotcakes, bacon/sausage and home fries with biscuits and a big glob of butter or margarine. Your digestive system is just waking up. Go easy on it. Although our heads are saying: "Denny's Grand Slam," our bodies are saying, "Man, I sure could go for a nice bowl of fresh fruit!" One week after applying what you read in that book and you'll feel like a new person. No, it's not a "walk in the park," but it works.

Rule of thumb: Never eat unless you're actually hungry, and always stop before you feel "full." The term "hungry" in this case, does not mean a case a of the "munchies" or just wanting to "nibble' something. If you guys just want to nibble something, try it on your wife; it may help you out with that prostate item mentioned above. Have you ever noticed how your stomach takes about forty minutes to let you know you ate too much? That's why we should learn how much we actually need, and put that amount on our plates. After a while, you'll notice a lot of things happening: You'll loose that spare tire you've been carrying around for twenty years. You'll find yourself having a lot more energy. You'll begin to sleep like a baby and wake up totally rested.

Downside - Eating out will seem like less of a bargain unless you bring home a dogie bag. Parties won't be as much fun and "cruises" will seem like a real rip, since most of them involve eating six times a day, and build their prices around that fact. Statistics show that people who "eat to live," outlive those who "live to eat" by an average of 25-30 years. Wouldn't it be nice for you and “Gramma” to get old together?

Wash You Hand (Duh!)

And keep them away from your face (this ain’t rocket surgery)
A few years back there was book entitled something like "I learned All the Important Stuff in Kindergarten" or something to that effect. Well, I didn't read the book; didn’t have to; the title said it all! Just think about all the stuff Mom told you. Remember all the things Mom slapped you for? Well, just remember all those and you're pretty much covered.

Studies show that folks touch their faces with their hands almost as much as they blink! Just think where your hands have been before they touched you mouth or, worse yet, your eyes. Number one, for your safety is not to touch your face with your hands (especially when away from home) and next is to wash your hands - a lot. Another cool item we can get for you is antiseptic "liquid gloves" lotion that kills germs on your hands for hours with each application.

Restrooms: Never touch a toilet seat with anything but the sole or heel of your shoe. Don't even touch it with your butt (without covering the seat with toilet paper.) Never let your pants or dress lie on (or touch) the floor or edge of the toilet. Never let your shoe laces hang down to the floor. Never use (or even touch) toilet paper that is not on the hanging on the toilet paper hanger. Even though you washed your hands, you have no way of knowing if that person who just left, after causing the air to make your eyes water, washed his hands before he grabbed that door knob. Always use a paper towel or piece of toilet paper to grab the doorknob. If there is no wastebasket near the door to dispose of the paper, simply drop it on the floor. (sooner or later, management will get the message :o)

Bitterness will kill! (Boy where’d A.J. get that from?)
Way back in the seventies, a study of severe arthritis cases revealed that, the majority of the patients had unresolved, painful issues with friends and family members. Bitterness, according to the report, causes our systems to constantly secrete adrenalin. While adrenalin is great for emergencies, like most drugs, it tends to become dangerous after a while. Adrenalin destroys all of our water-soluble vitamins, like B's and C complex, on contact. Since "bitterness" is not just "a case of the bitters," the damage it causes is a result of long-term exposure to a low level of a foreign substance; just like asthma, breathing disorders, heart trouble and many other diseases have recently been traced to extended exposure to modern day household air pollution.

Always start with the basics: Clean air, Lots of good water, sunshine, keep active (exercise) be happy, laughter and of course, DON'T SMOKE!

Vitamins and supplements

These are, for the most part, only beneficial when taken WITH enough water and the right kind of food or in the absence of the wrong kind of food. We all tend to eat all the wrong stuff, then try and correct it by adding vitamins and supplements. Like the guy who sows "wild oats" all week and thinks that going to church on Sunday will ensure a crop failure, we want to “eat” everything bad, then fix all the problems by “eating” something good. You can't have it both ways. In fact, we’d be amazed how many of our health problems would simply go away if we to move to a famine-ravished third-world country for a few months.

Remember the old song: "The best Things in Life Are Fee?" Well, for the most part, that's true. Here are some of the simple things THEY don't want us to know:

Air

You can live a month without food, nine days without water, (a lifetime without a clue :o) but only about four minutes without air. Contrary to popular belief, we get 80 percent of our energy from air, not food. According to recent studies, the air in our homes is up to 700% more polluted than air outside and we spend (on the average) 90% of our time indoors. Another recent study showed that America now spends fifty million dollars per year in doctor visits that are directly related to indoor air pollution. So, unless you live outdoors, be sure to make a serious effort to purify the air that's in your home. Fact: There are more chemical compounds in the average home today that there were in scientific laboratories in 1900. Yep! According to Scientific American Magazine - February 1999, the stuff that comes out of our vacuum cleaner bags actually qualifies as "toxic waste" and if there were fifty pounds of the stuff in your back yard, your property would qualify for "Super Fund Clean-Up" Now, that's a scary fact!

While we’re talking about air, Hey, it’s out there Breathe it! Learn to breathe at least twice as deeply as you do now. Haven’t you ever wondered why we (harmonica players) seem to be inherently healthier than non-harmonica players? It ain’t luck. Go ahead, think about it. I’ll wait! Isn’t reality great? Now that I’ve got your attention, think about what happens when we add even more air. The results are both impressive and almost immediate. Most lazy humans only use about twenty percent of their lungs as it is. If air contains oxygen, which is both good and free, why not suck up all we can? It’s a win-win situation for us. Don’t talk about playing your harmonica; play it! And when you’re not, Breathe as though you were!

Water

Fact: 85% of humanity is de-hydrated! Most folks make too much of the term “biological” Biological is a word that describes living beings (like us) and evokes thoughts of mystery; like something only doctors are supposed to understand. But, here’s something we call all understand: When your car battery gets low on water, what happens? You and I are, quite simply, electro-mechanical-biological machines. Taking care of the “electro” part has a way of making all the other stuff work, and the electro part begins with having enough water in our systems to insure that messages get through all the “wires” in these incredible machines we all move around in. (“live and move and have our being” as my favorites book puts it) Here’s how to start: Drink one ounce of good water for every two pounds of body weight. If you weigh, 128 lbs. you should be drinking no less than a half gallon of water per day. If you're not drinking enough water, you might as well be tossing most of those expensive food supplements in the toilet. (Cause that's where they're going anyway) The instructions on how to absorb, distribute and use those vitamins/nutrients must be sent through your body’s nervous/communication system. Without enough water, the whole messages (all the instructions) doesn’t always get transmitted. Here's more: Sugar and caffeine in soft drinks are trouble. Even worse than the sugar (if such a thing is possible) the carbonation in soft drinks devastating to the digestive system. If for example, if you drink a can of soda (diet or otherwise) it will require at least that much MORE water to metabolize it. This is in addition to the minimum amount mentioned above.Insufficient water is one of the chief causes of mental illness, emotional problems, memory problems, joint disorders, and the list goes on. Since our bodies are almost all water, it's easy to see how problems can occur when we forget to replenish the supply. If you feel thirsty, you're already in a dehydrated state. Vitamins and food supplements are the world's biggest waste of money if you don't drink plenty of water. Again, water is either free or at least very inexpensive. It’ll take your body almost a week to get accustomed to having the right amount of water in it, especially after years of not having enough, so plan on feeling bloated and urinating a lot. (but even that’s another good thing :o) Want to loose weight? Drink enough water and you’re already moving in that direction. Did you know your body mistakes thirst for hunger most of the time? Now you do!

What kind of water do I drink? Not distilled! The same thing that makes distilled water good for steam irons, makes if bad for you; it has no minerals and will effectively pull the minerals right out of your system! Sorry, but “R.O. water” (Reverse Osmosis) is almost as bad as distilled. Chlorinated city water will also kill you in time. Cancer was relatively unheard of till chlorination started back in the thirties. Chlorination aside, a recent study of the Great Lakes region, showed 95% of the municipal tap water contained bathroom tissue fibers! (You can draw your own conclusions from there), another study just revealed that today, ALL water (city or well water) contains :

1. Growth Hormones
2. Nicotine
3. Antibiotics

If you live in the city, just buy yourself a water purifier, preferably one that uses both carbon filtration and ozone. Don’t be a sap and buy bottled water, unless you really like the bottle. (Then buy just a couple, and fill them at home with your own purified tap water) Adult Stem-Cells (Not Embryonic Stem-Sells) is the new paradigm in health and well-being. This is so exciting! But rather than make an idiot of myself explaining it, just come back to this part and “clink” (click this link :o) and watch the video. www.ajfedor.stemtechbiz.com

Rest

I know many folks brag about how little sleep they actually get, but if you're not getting your seven or eight hours, you're hurting yourself, period! Regardless of how long you've been getting by on five hours, thirty days with at least seven full hours per night will convince you of it's benefits. If you live tired, you're aging way too fast; do something about! Chromatic players rare enough as it is ;o)

Exercise

Sure, you've heard it for years and deep down you know it's true, but did you know this:
They've just proved that lab rats, that get exercise, have about a forty percent better learning capabilities, (brain activity) and better memory, and even sex life than those that just sit around?

Elimination!

Here's another one that may surprise you: Don't Hold it! Like the commercial that says, "Gotta Go - Gotta Go - Gotta Go" Don't just sing the song, man! Go! When our bodies are done with it, it's poison! When we feel the urge, we say "I can wait." That's a big mistake. The next thing we know, we DON'T have to go. A few hours later, we're reminded again. That's simply "storing" toxins that our bodies wanted us to eliminate. If it were good for us, our bodies wouldn't be rejecting it (that's what that old urge is; our bodies saying "Hey! It's time to empty this thing!) Toxins left in our bodies, ALWAYS poison us to some degree. Did you ever notice how nasty garbage gets when we miss the garbage man and have to keep it till the next time he comes around? Sure ya do. Do you like the idea of using your body as a storage tank for rotting garbage? One of the chief causes for colon and prostate cancer is “NOT eliminating” when we should. Our goal should be to quickly eliminate anything that can hurt us. How long do we like to hold a hot horseshoe? The only difference is, a piece of hot metal isn’t all that subtle, but poop is! So, never wait to GO! There's a joke that girls like tell: "Never pass up a chance to pee" Turns out, it's no joke, and it goes for poop too! :o)

Yes indeed, the best things in life ARE free.

Can SlideMeister help? Yes, in lots of ways. Start by re-reading what you just read above, then you might even avail yourself of the deals below that you get just be being a SlideMeister member/partner. All members can get:

Alpine products:
Air, water and more at "dealer prices."

Living Air - Radio-Wave Air purifiers (not filters) use about thirty watts and literally “drop” contaminants out of the air in EVERY room in your house, in a sixty-foot radius of the machine, regardless of walls, floors. (except steel walls or floors) It does it without noise or filters, and from one location. These machines kill germs, odors, smoke dust mold mildew, V.O.Cs (volatile organic compounds) and chemical contaminants. (these machines are incredible) If you worry about “those evil ozone producing air purifiers” listen to this: My Mother-in-Law was a sweetheart. About twenty-five years ago she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and we moved her in with us. In 1996, she became bed-ridden. We bought her a “Living Air” for her room and kept in on a shelf just a few feet from her bed, where she spent the last ten years of her life. For the record; Annie’s room had none of the odors or germs commonly associated with “bed-ridden seniors.” While she never actually got sick for the next ten years, one day last fall, she just stopped breathing and went home to be with the Lord. Annie was only 101 years old. (Must have been that evil ozone! :o)

Living Water Purifiers

The world's best purifier. - Penny's a gallon. To date, no micro-organism or germ on earth has ever gotten through one of these units.

Good Habits

As I may have mentioned, it takes twenty-one days to form a habit, but since it's our nature to be bad, we really only like the bad habits, so if the good ones aren't monitored closely, they just "go away" (kinda like what happens when we run "up" a "down" escalator, and stop to tie our shoe)

It's no secret that I am involved in a few network marketing programs. While I make no apologies, I am the first to admit that I am without a doubt, the world's worst networker and as such, I'm all but worthless at helping anyone "grow an MLM business.” I got initially got involved simply because I found these products to be fantastic, and I wanted them all, but was too cheap to want to pay retail. As a SlideMeister member, you can get ANYTHING EcoQuest / Alpine makes for dealer cost, period! You can check their great products on the links below. If you have questions, or see something that interests you, contact me and I'll get it for you at "flat out" dealer cost. (It's simple as that!) That new “LaundryPure” is fantastic, by the way. We've had ours for over a year now, and using our same washing machine, we wash our clothes using just cold well water, and get better results than we used to with hot water and detergent. You need one of these too!

Note: The links page to these should be up soon, but here are a couple sites that handle a few of the products I use:

Air, Water and more
http://www.ecoquestintl.com/index_home.asp

StemEnhance: www.ajfedor.stemtechbiz.com

Saw Palmetto Harvesting Company - No special deal here, just a little FYI. These are just the best prices I've found on high quality saw palmetto. Every man over 50 who'd like his plumbing (as well as the fun stuff) to continue working, should be taking Saw palmetto every day, period!) Believe it not, Wall Mart carries some pretty good stuff at a decent price, but here's the best source I've found: http://www.sawpalmetto.com/

HOSPITAL TIPS

Each year, a conservatively estimated 100,000 hospital patients die from medical errors or neglect. Over 90,000 more die from infections within months of being hospitalized. Now that's just insane! Worse yet, those shocking numbers are expected to go even higher as rising medical costs continue to force hospitals to trim their budgets. Scary Huh?

CHOOSE THE RIGHT HOSPITAL

Your doctor probably has privileges at several local hospitals. Find out which one is best for your condition.

Important points...

* Choose a hospital that treats many patients with your condition. The doctors will have more experience with the operations, medications and possible complications.

Example: If you need coronary bypass surgery, choose a facility that does 100 of these procedures per surgeon per year.

* If you have a rare condition, university-affiliated hospitals are best. There will probably be experts who are familiar with your problem or can refer you to someone who is.

HAVE SOMEONE STAY WITH YOU

Hospital patients are often too ill to look after themselves -- and some are too passive to question the treatment they get.

Self-defense: Have a friend or family member stay with you 24 hours a day -- to call the nurse if there's trouble and to ask about medication or treatments. Visiting hours don't matter. You are entitled to have someone with you all the time as long as that person does not interfere with your care. Courts have upheld challenges to this.

GUARD AGAINST INFECTION

Hospitals can be breeding grounds for dangerous infections. About 2 million patients acquire infections in the hospital, and over 90,000 Americans die from hospital-caused infections each year.

The leading cause of infections is doctors and other staff members who don't wash their hands or change gloves between treating patients.

Self-defense: Don't let any worker touch you unless he/she washes his hands in your presence. If they are wearing gloves, insist that they change them.

Helpful: Put a sign above your bed that reads, Don't touch me unless you wash your hands.

CHECK CATHETERS

Many hospital patients are hooked up to catheters -- tubes that deliver drugs into the bloodstream or remove urine from the body. Catheters can get contaminated or simply fail to work properly. After hand washing, catheter problems are the second most common entry source of infections.

Self-defense: Every few hours, ask a nurse to look at your catheter to make sure it is operating properly, not backing up, etc. But to minimize the risk of infection, it should not be touched unless absolutely necessary.

CHECK YOUR MEDICATIONS

Too many drugs given in hospitals are dispensed in error -- the wrong drug... the wrong dose... or at the wrong time.

Self-defense: The first time you're given a drug, ask what it is for and who ordered it. Request that the nurse or doctor write down the information for you. Afterward, make sure you are given the same drugs. If they look different, ask if there has been a change.

QUESTION THE NEED FOR TESTS

Don't assume that every X ray, blood test or other diagnostic procedure is necessary. Doctors in different specialties don't always communicate with each other or review your chart. So they could repeat the same or similar tests.

Self-defense: Before you agree to a medical test, ask the doctor why it is necessary... what he hopes to learn... and how the results will affect your care. Refuse any test you don't understand.

SPEAK WITH THE HOSPITAL NUTRITIONIST

Most hospital food is notoriously bad. If the food is unappetizing or contains ingredients that can compromise your condition, you'll recover more slowly.

Self-defense: Call the hospital nutritionist to express preferences and special dietary needs -- for example, restricted salt if you have heart disease or high blood pressure. If you still get the wrong meals or the food is awful, ask the nutritionist for a different meal. As a last resort, send out for meals... or make arrangements with friends to bring in food. Let your doctor know what you are eating to make sure he approves.

PROTECT YOUR SLEEP

You're in the hospital to heal -- not to be woken up at 4 am to have a blood test or be given medication.

Self-defense: Ask the nurse or doctor if the tests or medications can be given at more reasonable hours. Unless you speak up, the procedures will be done at the hospital's convenience, not yours.

INSIST ON PAIN RELIEF

Pain is often under treated in hospitals. Patients given inadequate pain relief get more depressed... don't move around enough... and recover more slowly.

Self-defense: Everyone has a different pain threshold. If you're in pain, don't listen to explanations that this is normal. Insist on additional relief.

BE ASSERTIVE

Even people who are normally self-confident may feel intimidated in the hospital. Without asking questions -- and demanding answers -- they may receive substandard care.

Self-defense: Don't accept any treatment unless you're confident that it is in your best interest. If you disagree with the need for a specific treatment or you aren't sure why it's being done, speak up.

You might be branded as a trouble-maker -- but that's fine. You'll find yourself surrounded by people trying to get you to say yes -- and that's when you'll get the explanations you've been looking for.