This month in Time Magazine there is a fascinating article about the high costs of health care in America. Trevens Specific Chiropractic reviews this literature and gives you some pointers to a healthy life style. It is interesting how in depth this article goes and is the most detailed that I have seen about the healthcare system. There is an honesty about it that I was amazed to see and I think will open many people eyes to this over spending that will ultimately be destructive. You can read the full 9 page article here Full Time Article. "How Medical Bills Are Killing Us" is a must read for everyone interested in the state of health care today.
Here are some pointers from Dr. Mercola on living a healthy lifestyle:
There is no question that this is an absolute necessity if you want to avoid disease and slow down your aging process. That means modifying your diet to avoid excessive amounts of fructose, grains, and other pro-inflammatory ingredients like trans fats. In addition to the items mentioned above, these additional strategies can further help you stay healthy:
- Learn how to effectively cope with stress – Stress has a direct impact on inflammation, which in turn underlies many of the chronic diseases that kill people prematurely every day, so developing effective coping mechanisms is a major longevity-promoting factor.
Meditation, prayer, physical activity and exercise are all viable options that can help you maintain emotional and mental equilibrium. I also strongly believe in using energy psychology tools such as the Emotional Freedom Technique to address deeper, oftentimes hidden emotional problems.- Optimize Your Vitamin D Levels to between 50 and 70 ng/ml, ideally by exposing enough of your skin to sunshine or a safe tanning bed.
- High-Quality animal-based omega-3 fats – Correcting the ratio of omega-3 to healthful omega-6 fats is a strong factor in helping people live longer. This typically means increasing your intake of animal based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil, while decreasing your intake of damaged omega-6 fats (think trans fats).
- Get most of your antioxidants from foods – Good sources include blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, beans, and artichokes.
- Use coconut oil – Another excellent anti-aging food is coconut oil, known to reduce your risk of heart disease and Alzheimer's disease, and lower your cholesterol, among other things.
- Avoid as many chemicals, toxins, and pollutants as possible – This includes tossing out your toxic household cleaners, soaps, personal hygiene products, air fresheners, bug sprays, lawn pesticides, and insecticides, just to name a few, and replacing them with non-toxic alternatives.
- Avoid prescription drugs – Pharmaceutical drugs kill thousands of people prematurely every year – as an expected side effect of the action of the drug. And, if you adhere to a healthy lifestyle, you most likely will never need any of them in the first place. However if you are currently taking prescription drugs it is best to work with a trained natural health care professional to help you wean off of them.
Take Control of Your Health
Incorporating these healthy lifestyle guidelines will help set you squarely on the path to optimal health and give you the best shot at living a longer life. Remember, it's never too late to take control of your health, but the sooner you begin, the greater your long-term payoff.When even a minor illness requiring hospitalization may cost you your child’s college tuition fund, and a severe disease like cancer can bankrupt the entire family, taking control of your health and being proactive about staying healthy is not a luxury, it’s essential.Clearly, the American health care system is broken and in need of a serious overhaul – NOT in terms of who should pay these padded bills, but rather how can we get a more reasonably priced system that won’t be the leading cause of bankruptcy? At the present rate the current system is unsustainable. However, I suggest you don’t wait for this miracle, and start focusing on simple, inexpensive lifestyle changes that can help prevent some of the most common health problems plaguing the US today. Of course, incorporate Specific Chiropractic care as part of your health care regimen.
