Better Health Naturally

Who takes care of the care giver?  Some of the most awesome, awe inspiring people I have had the privilege of meeting and sometimes helping are the care givers of this world. I am sure all of you know someone who fits this description. The person who daily tends their elderly parent who is beyond realizing what is being done for them.  A parent who is sometimes even verbally abusive, but is still taken care of with the utmost love and compassion. Or the parent or grandparent caring for a child who will forever be challenged either physically or mentally.  A child who will never live up to the hopes and dreams conceived for them while carried in the womb.We, on the outside, look at these people, these caretakers, and marvel at their strength and fortitude and wonder if we will ever be called on to do the same for a loved one.    

         A medical university did a study using the young medical doctors as their participants.  They hooked the med students up to sensors as they watched hours of video.  Some videos were of the doctors taking care of their patients in a medical setting.  Many of the videos were of the doctors caring for their own loved ones.  What they discovered was very interesting. When doing their job, caring for the sick, they were energized and enthused. When, however, they saw themselves caring for their own family, they became tired, drained and emotional.  Because of their emotional and spiritual connection to their loved ones, the task of care taking took a great toll on their own health, rest and energy. I challenge you to find that one hero you know who takes care of a loved one a daily basis and offer your services on a regular basis to give them a break from the routine that is so hard on them.  Many of these care takers never complain, but perhaps all they need is someone who “sees” what they are doing and gives them encouragement.  By giving this way you are not only improving your own health naturally, but also that of the caretaker. 

When I was in high school, stress was a physics term.  In today’s world, everyone from grandmother to grandchild knows what being stressed out means.  Excessive stress can mimic all diseases.  Just as physical stress applied to a building can cause that building to crack or collapse at the points of structural weakness, emotional stress trapped in the body can cause physical damage at the points of inherent weakness.     

            We all have many weaknesses that have been passed down to us from our predecessors.  These are not curses, merely warnings to compensate for those inherent weaknesses.  For example, let’s say that you have inherited weak lungs.  That might mean that when you are under unusual stress your breathing becomes labored.  You could take a drug to open those airways, or you could take preventive measures and learn to prevent that kind of stress.

            Some symptoms of being over stressed are headaches, tightness in neck, loss of appetite, excessive eating, pounding heartbeat, forgetfulness, depression, trouble sleeping, anger, hostility, feeling preoccupied.  I am sure there are more.

            How do you bring that stress level down?  I believe the first step is gratitude.  We are made for praising the Lord.  If you start to thank Him for the challenges in your life, instead of struggling against them, that is the beginning of real stress relief.  Second is to meditate on scriptures.  Psalms one is a good beginning.  Picture yourself as the tree.  Third is to eliminate all caffeine and sugar from your diet.  These two drugs will magnify the stress level you are feeling.  The fourth natural remedy for stress is exercise.  We are designed to do work.  This natural process stimulates the production of hormones that make us feel better and release excess stress.  The fifth thing is to get enough sleep.  If you do the first four steps, the fifth will come naturally. 

            The Bible calls it peace that passes all understanding.  I call it your natural remedy for stress and all of the disease it brings with it. 

Stress, is it a good thing or a bad thing?  Stress used to be just a physics term.  Now, even the children know what we mean when we say we are stressed.  Stress is not always a bad thing.  It can keep us motivated and moving ahead with our lives and projects.  However, as with anything in life, we can take anything to an unhealthy extreme.  If you allow stress to control you and affect your health in a negative way, you can start to exhibit symptoms of almost any disease.

            The holidays seem to be the worst times for over stressing.  There are several things you can do to avoid getting physically ill from stress.  The first is exercise.  Hopefully, this is already a daily event for you, but even if it isn’t, start exercising now!  Don’t wait until January and add it to your resolutions list.  Walk, run, swim, dance, stretch, lift, jump!  Find what is fun for you and do it daily until you break a sweat.  This melts the stress away.

            Second, try to get some fresh air and sunshine daily.  This is especially important in the winter, because the sun is further away and we wear so many more clothes.  New research has shown that Vitamin D deficiency is the cause of many of our winter colds and flu.  No supplement takes the place of the outdoors to build up your immune system.

            Third, make sure you get plenty of sleep.  It is important to  go to bed before midnight and preferably before 10:00 pm.  One hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours after midnight.  Our body heals and repairs during our sleep in a very orderly manner.

            Fourth, and probably the hardest, be careful of your diet.  Eat as many “real” foods as possible and avoid the “Frankenfood” that is over processed and full of poisonous chemicals.  Try to eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and drink plenty of good water.

            Hope this helps to give you Better Health, Naturally during the holidays.