Balanced Choices Are Keys to Good Health and Longevity
Balanced Choices Are Keys to Good Health and Longevity
by Guest Contributor Jamie G. Phillips, DC
Does it seem to you that no matter where we turn these days, there are news stories and advertisements, alike, touting the stupendous studies on innumerable exotic supplements, not to mention the cutting-edge health proclamations of coffee and red wine that, in one way or another, promise to reduce or eliminate all causes of mortality? It would almost seem, in fact, that a quest for immortality has replaced our search for longevity!
First of all, let me begin by saying that I’m not against taking supplements. Actually, I take them myself on a regular basis. Secondly, the idea that drinking red wine could possibly be healthy for my heart is a very attractive thought. And, I’d genuinely like to accept that drinking coffee truly could be an “easy fix” for preventing Alzheimer’s disease.
However, before taking ill-considered action, and haphazardly adding more coffee to your morning habit, another glass of red wine to your evening meal, or an extra expenditure of your hard-earned cash on exotic herbs that promise to make you live forever, let’s rationally consider a couple of things.
For instance, let us think about the fact that we, humans, are dynamic, biological beings, free to enthusiastically interact with life. We have not been detained in a cage, and none of us has been “propagated” to artificially develop the age-related debilitation and disease that lab animals are bred to do, conditions that are then “reversed” by resveratrol, caffeine, or some exotic herb.
Basically, our being dynamic and biological is another way of saying that we, humans, are not ” mechanistic automatons.” In other words, we aren’t all precisely alike. Due to the fact that our central integrative states are not exactly the same, internal provocation factors and external irritation influences affect us in different ways. For example, though smoking cigarettes is commonly harmful to most people, there are a few individuals who can smoke cigarettes and still achieve longevity without any related ill effects.
Scientific studies isolate certain variables in order to achieve particular outcomes. That’s scientific inquiry! But, because the results occur through such isolation, and due to the fact that they are generally done on animals, when it comes to translating such results to humans, it can be said that what may work for some of the people all of the time, won’t work for all of the people all of the time, and sometimes won’t work at all (to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln!).
You make choices each day, some that are intentional and others that may be indifferent, that will affect your physical health, now and in the future. You decide what (and how much) you’ll eat and drink, and the amount of physical activity and rest you’ll get. Even though you can “sense” what is healthy for you, by the way your body responds, sometimes, perhaps too often, you may override the feedback. Clearly, when you don’t consciously make healthy choices, you jeopardize your health and longevity.
Then you, like many others, may enthusiastically jump on the bandwagon of the latest report that announces that researchers have uncovered THE VERY THING that has the potency to reverse all of the excessive and unhealthy things you have been doing to your body on a routine basis! Talk about wishful thinking!
The elegantly balanced system of your body (homeostasis) is highly responsive and intricate. This delicate system becomes “off balance” when you live an unhealthy lifestyle. Eventually, the imbalances nurtured through poor health choices, result in diseases.
If supplements help you to feel more energetic and healthy, then as a chiropractor who takes them as well, I say great, take them! If it feels like the thing to do, drink that additional cup of coffee as well. And, have a little more red wine if it honestly feels beneficial. But, keep in mind that the only legitimate way for anyone to avert or reverse age-related health problems is by choosing a consistently healthy lifestyle. You won’t get healthier by chance. There is no “lucky charm” when it comes to health and longevity.
Dr. Jamie Phillips, a Ventura Chiropractor, has been in private chiropractic practice for over two decades. She is also a consultant for Bloczone Marketing, a chiropractic internet marketing company specializing in chiropractic websites that attract new patients. She can be reached at (805) 985-9502
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