Getting (and Staying) Healthy
Joel Peterson – Level 5 Personal Trainer Apple Athletic Club
Avoiding Disease
Staying healthy is more than exercise alone. Although the benefits of an ongoing exercise program are impressive and numerable, to have good health we must remain disease free.
My career as a Personal Trainer involves not just running people through a bunch of exercises. It encompasses the lifetime overall health of my clients. In other words I teach lifestyle changes that will result in the best health possible for that client.
In America today we have a crisis of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Today I am going to tackle the topic of cancer prevention. Who hasn’t heard the adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”? Take it to heart, literally folks. We need to address why we are in this mess of disease and take immediate steps, individually and corporately, to keep the wolf from our doors. Why are we in this mess? It’s not hard to figure out the reasons.
Over the last century, the U.S. gradually moved from a diet of fresh, natural food to the current unnatural system of factory farming, packaged products, fast food and sugar consumption unheard of in man’s history. We no longer eat real food that sustains health. We devour “food-like” products full of chemicals and devoid of any real nutritional value.
Another factor that has only recently begun to be appreciated, however, is the importance of vitamin D. More on that later.
Globally, about 12.4 million people will be diagnosed with some form of cancer this year, and 7.6 million people will die. The global cancer burden doubled in the last 30 years of the 20th century, and it will likely double again between 2000 and 2020 and nearly triple by 2030. Of 7.6 million people who will die of cancer this year, it has been estimated that up to 4 million could have been saved just through healthy eating, and especially avoiding sugar and starch. Your diet should include fresh vegetables and a healthy dose of omega-3 fats.
The remaining deaths could be prevented through just a few more easy steps of prevention like moderating alcohol consumption — excessive drinking can increase your risk of getting cancer of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, liver, colon, breast, pancreas, and lungs. It is quite possible that a significant percentage of cancer is caused by alcohol intake.
Another good way to prevent cancer is to make sure you get a good night’s sleep and to exercise! Over 200 studies have linked physical activities to cancer risk. There’s another big chunk of the 7.6 million deaths suddenly erased by prevention.
Right now, unfortunately, things are heading exactly in the wrong direction. Instead of trending down from 7.6 million to zero, the number of deaths could increase to 17 million in just two decades. Don’t let yourself be one of those millions of people. Take responsibility for your own health.
Simple Things You Can Do NOW to Prevent Cancer
Here are all of the simple steps you can take to virtually eliminate your cancer risk:
- Normalize your vitamin D levels with safe amounts of sun exposure. This works primarily by optimizing your vitamin D level. It is best to monitor your vitamin D levels.
- Control your insulin levels: Make certain that you limit your intake of processed foods and sugars as much as possible.
- Get appropriate amounts of animal-based omega-3 fats.
- Get appropriate exercise. One of the primary reasons exercise works is that it drives your insulin levels down. Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks.
- Have a tool to permanently erase the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. It is likely that this factor may be more important than all the other physical ones listed here, so make sure this is addressed.
- Only 25 percent of people eat enough vegetables, so by all means eat as many vegetables as you are comfortable with. Ideally, they should be fresh and organic. However, please understand that, frequently, fresh conventionally grown vegetables are healthier than organic ones that are older and wilted in the grocery store. They are certainly better than no vegetables at all, so don’t use that as an excuse.
- Make sure you are not in the two-thirds of the population who are overweight.
- Reduce your exposure to pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners and air pollution.
- Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than frying or charbroiling.
DON’T OVERLOOK THE EFFECT OF EXERCISE ON CANCER PREVENTION
According to a 2000 study published in the British Medical Journal, which explored the relationship between exercise and cancer, exercise affects several biological functions that may influence your cancer risk. These effects include changes in:
- Cardiovascular capacity
- Energy balance
- Pulmonary capacity
- Immune function
- Bowel motility
- Antioxidant defense
- Hormone levels
- DNA repair
By following these simple guidelines you will drastically reduce your risk of cancer. There are also added benefits of heart health and, well ……. good health should really be motivation enough to get us started down this road. Until next week Good Health to you all.