Walking is man’s best medicine….If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.

 Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease….It is more important to know what sort of person has a disease than to know what sort of disease a person has. 

Hippocrates:   Greek physician  460 BC -377 BC.  Hippocrates held the belief that the body must be treated as a whole and not just a series of parts. He accurately described disease symptoms and was the first physician to accurately describe the symptoms of pneumonia, as well as epilepsy in children.  He believed in the natural healing process of rest, a good diet, fresh air and cleanliness. He noted that there were individual differences in the severity of disease symptoms and that some individuals were better able to cope with their disease and illness than others.   Hippocrates traveled throughout Greece practicing his medicine. He founded a medical school on the island of Cos, Greece and began teaching his ideas. He soon developed an Oath of Medical Ethics for physicians to follow. This Oath is taken by physicians today as they begin their medical practice.    Today Hippocrates is known as the “Father of Medicine.”

Everywhere I turn people are talking about Healthcare…what they are really talking about is “sickness” care.  In an attempt to make the issue as simple as possible…I went back to the beginning to start with the “Father of Medicine.  Above you will read what he had to say about health. 

Having studied and practiced nutrition for a number of years, there is no doubt in my mind of the direct relationship between lifestyle and wellness. 

The body requires oxygen, water, proteins, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals.  If given these natural nutrients in adequate amounts in a real clean form the body knows exactly how to use them and maintain health and wellness.  We are exposed to toxic substances in almost every part of our lives from the air we breath to the food we eat to the water we drink.  A toxin is basically a poison which is any compound that has a detrimental effect on cellular function or structure.  Our bodies have become human junk-yards for thousands of man-made chemicals.

In all the Lab blood nutritional analysis that I have done, I have never seen indications of a deficiency of a man-made drug but often find nutrient deficiencies.  With all the artificial  “food” available today, people are nutritionally starving.  When conducting Bioelectrical impedance analysis  (BIA) a commonly used method for estimating body composition, over 90% of those tested were dehydrated.

One of the first body systems to show the effects of toxins in the body is the Immune System.  The immune system is composed of many interdependent cell types that collectively protect the body from bacterial, parasitic, fungal, viral infections and from the growth of tumor cells. Many of these cell types have specialized functions. The cells of the immune system can engulf  bacteria, kill parasites or tumor cells, or kill viral-infected cells.

The Organs of the Immune System

Bone Marrow – All the cells of the immune system are initially derived from the bone marrow.  The bone marrow produces B cells, natural killer cells, granulocytes and immature thymocytes, in addition to red blood cells and platelets.

Thymus – The function of the thymus is to produce mature T cells from immature thymocytes. The mature T cells are then released into the bloodstream.

Spleen – The spleen is an immunologic filter of the blood.  This organ can be thought of as an immunological conference center where immune response is initiated when foreign materials (antigens) from the blood are captured and B cells become activated and produce large amounts of antibody.

Lymph Nodes – The lymph nodes function as an immunologic filter for the bodily fluid known as lymph. Lymph nodes are found throughout the body.  Antigens (foreign cells and debris ) are filtered out of the lymph in the lymph node before returning thelymph to the circulation.  There are about 100 nodes scattered throughout the body.  When you get certain infections, the lymph nodes swell with billions of white blood cells working to clear the  foreign cells causing the infection.

 Lymphatic Fluid flows through every organ of the body.  It clears toxins, wastes, excess fluids, and infection from all tissues of the body (through proper flow and drainage), provided this essential system is functioning at its peak.  All of the cells in your body are bathed in lymph, and they receive their nutrients and oxygen from the lymph. 

In an otherwise healthy person, common signs of a weakened immune system include frequent colds, as well as chronic allergies. Allergic reactions occur when the body perceives allergens (such as pollen, dust, molds) as poisons so it secretes histamine, creating familiar allergy symptoms. They’re not really poisons, but if your immune system is already compromised, your body reacts as if they were. Allergy suffering has greatly increased in the past 30 years, yet the allergens haven’t really changed — trees, grasses, pets, dust and molds have always been around. But our environment has changed.   

The most drastic changes has been in our food supply. Livestock have been increasingly treated with antibiotics and growth hormones. They are fed with heavily sprayed feed. Our diets are more heavily dependent on processed convenience foods full of additives and dyes, and new synthetic foods with hydrogenated or artificial fats and artificial sweeteners. These are all substances that the body doesn’t recognize as nourishment, but rather as toxins that have to be eliminated. The immune system is busy dealing with these foreign substances, and may not have the reserves for the common allergens, germs and viruses.

Natural Ways to maintain wellness in the immune system include the following:

Nutrition –Eat a wide range of different fruit and vegetables as the different colors indicate different compounds. A typical immune-boosting diet will include the following per day: five servings of fruit and vegetables, seeds, cold pressed oils, garlic, rich protein foods and whole grains. Eating small meals every few hours minimizes excessive intake and will boost your energy levels. Many herbs and spices such as turmeric, origanum, coriander, basil, mint, rosemary and cayenne pepper have antioxidant properties.  As far as possible choose organically grown foods, and read the labels on the rest!

Core Body Movement and light – core body movement supports the immune system by decreasing stress hormone production.  Avoid excessive exercise which elevates the heart rate and creates stress on tendons and ligaments.  Being outdoors increases your exposure to natural light. Natural light is not just important because it makes vitamin D.

Sleep and drink water to keep the body hydrated.  Divide body weight by 2 and drink that many ounces of clean water daily to cleanse toxins from the inside out.

Mind-body connection – the mind influences the body, so laugh, meditate, play music, and stay happy.

Multivitamins are no substitute for a healthy varied diet. But one must ensure that if the food intake is not right, you take the basic supplements including vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin D, folic acid, magnesium and selenium.   All Vitamins are not created equally…and many of the vitamins and minerals on the market today are just adding another toxin to your system.

Living Well is about lifestyles of naturally allowing our bodies to function as they were created.

You can always contact me at www.joacarter.com    or  email   joa@joacarter.com

Love, Light & Lots of Laughter….Joa