Last week we discussed the big “C” word. A word that scares us all. A word that is hidden in the closet until it creeps up out of nowhere, not unlike the boogey man that scared us as a child, and attacks us, grabbing us in it’s clutches refusing to let go. We think of cancer as a death sentence. We all too frequently isolate and refuse to acknowledge the humanity of those who have been diagnosed. We may ignorantly act as if it were contagious and avoid accepting those diagnosed at a time when our fellow human beings and loved ones need us most. (Note: Cancer will affect more than 75% of the US population in their lifetime.)

PREVENTION, PREVENTION, PREVENTION. As stated last week, every day 300+ abnormal cells develop in the body that have the potential for developing cancer. What are you doing to keep your daily quota in check? Cancer is not contagious and it does not sneak up on you like the boogey man in the middle of the night. Even if you have pre-existing conditions your potential for remaining healthy is huge. Cancer acquisition takes a lot of work. You have to eat, drink, think and feel it into existence. Most health problems, at their deepest level are due in large to how we care for ourselves physically, mentally emotionally and spiritually.

“I tremble for my species when I reflect that God is just” (Thomas Jefferson)

Patient: “But Doctor I’m doing everything I think is well and yet my health is deteriorating? I just don’t feel quite well. I know I should feel better? Why? What’s wrong with me?
Doctor: I’m so glad you’re concerned. First, what is health?

Webster’s says:
Health is 1. The condition of being sound in, body, mind, and soul: esp.: freedom from physical disease and pain. 2. Flourishing condition.
Are you healthy?

What is disease?
Disease is an impairment in the normal state of the living animal or plant body that affects the performance of the vital function; sickness.

Dysgenesis is the middle ground that exists between health and overt pathology in regard to non-traumatic disease. It is a progressive staged path of the loss of health when congenital inadequacies, stress, spiritual and emotional issues along with nutritional deficiencies escalate creating a loss of health and a series of subacute and disruptive changes.

We must stop pretending that cancer or any disease is “caught” or just happens. You are not a victim in any aspect of your life. You are a cause set in motion. Most diseases are an accumulation of negative things that we do to ourselves and positive things we neglect to do for ourselves. These accumulate and escalate to levels that the body can no longer compensate for the offenses we assault it with.

Last week I gave a top 10 list of things that need to be addressed if longevity and health want to be achieved. These are not optional anymore than putting gasoline in your car if you are taking a trip. In fact many patients take far better care of their car or truck than they do their body. They keep it clean, maintain it, change the vital fluids, don’t burn the junk or cheap fuels, and actually put in those super cleaning fluids to protect the vital organs of the machinery. We call this periodic maintenance. We even purchase auto manuals and car care guides. How many of you engage in periodic maintenance for the body or wait until the engine seizes or something breaks. It is much more costly, inconvenient, and arduous to fix something after it is broken or damaged than to engage in prevention. Why do Americans involve themselves in “disease care” instead of “wellness care” or “preventative maintenance” like the respect we give our auto?

#1 Wellness care idea #1 is always to drink 8+ glasses of pure water daily. You all know how much I have talked about this and how imperative this is to every bodily function. This is the body’s “gasoline”. Nothing else can compare to this basic ingredient. You need too have enough of this liquid gold to get you from point A to B. Too little, or to low of quality, or even the wrong type of fluid, and you are in big trouble. Nothing else matters.

#2 Diet is the “oil”. This is what keeps the engine running smooth. We all know how our car engine runs when the oil is low or loses its viscosity. Our car doesn’t have its get up and go and the pep it used to have. We wait too long and the engine seizes and then you’re dead meat. How many of you are running a little sluggish. The get up and go has gotten up and gone. Skimping on the nutrients that are imperative to make your engine work is not a good idea. It will keep things from running smoothly and will greatly decrease the efficiency and the life of our engines. More on diet in future articles.

#3 A sedentary lifestyle is disastrous to a car’s mechanics as well as the bodies machinery. You need to keep the vital fluids flowing and the gears cranking and the wheels turning. If you don’t the machinery ceases to work, the fluids go bad and break down and you have a big inoperable mess on your hand. The body may still exist, sometimes looking only slightly run down, but the internal parts have ceased to keep the vehicle usable.

How sluggish is your engine running. If you were out car hunting would you buy the vehicle your driving? It’ s your only one and whether you like it or not you need to get a lifetime’s worth of use out of it. Preventative maintenance is the key. Without doing the basics all else is in vain.