Health - A Matter of Choice or Chance

Have you ever proclaimed you caught a cold from someone else? (As if being in someone else's presence had the power to override your immune system and make you sniffle, sneeze and cough.) It is time to put this notion to rest. 

Imagine you are at a party and someone walks in with the flu. Not everyone at the party will get the flu; some will and some won't. What's the difference? Why do some folks succumb to viral and bacterial infections while others seem to be "lucky"? It is not a matter of luck. Think of your immune system as a bank account. Actions you choose can either add to the bank account, or take away from it. The more positive, health promoting actions you take, the more you have in your account - the better your resistance. Health promoting behaviors that add to your resistance include: drinking water (no - water filtered through a coffee bean does not count), eating real food (real food can spoil - if it came in a bag or a box, be suspicious), getting enough sleep (8 hours for most folks), managing your stress (exercise, managing your perspective, doing nice things for yourself, breathing from the belly), and most importantly - getting adjusted. Your brain can't manage the body's functions with a poorly functioning spine. 

Now that you know what adds to your immune system and resistance to disease - let's go back to the party. The people who are most likely to be "unlucky" are the ones who have not been making good choices for a while. They are the ones who have been over stressed, not drinking enough water, not sleeping enough, and eating the comfort foods (starchy grains). They have been debiting from their bank account of immunity. Now when they are exposed to a virus or bacteria, they get sick. 

Next time you get a cold or the flu, ask yourself what is out of balance in your life? Have you been neglecting your diet, your sleep, your food, your spine? Health is not a matter of chance - it's the little choices you make on a regular basis. 

~Julia

Your Thoughts Create Your Reality

Have you ever noticed if you start your day focused on what is wrong, you tend to notice more things that are wrong? Our thoughts create the filter by which we view our circumstances. When we focus on what is bad or wrong, we see more problems, and often times create problems that weren't there to begin with by worrying about what could happen. 

What if you chose to start each day with the idea that something wonderful was about to happen? Even if something "bad" happened, what if that "bad" thing was leading you to a better understanding of yourself? If you keep the constant expectation that something wonderful is about to happen, you remain open to the miracles and gifts of the world. The gifts and miracles are always there, but they are not always seen. 

Try living each day this week with the expectation - something wonderful is about to happen and see what happens to your days, to your relationships, and to your life.

Have a wonderful week.

~ Julia

You Get What You Pay For...Except When You Don't!

Over the years I have found that many times the familiar saying, "you get what you pay for," holds true. Just the other day I had a conversation with some of the guys I play baseball with concerning the differences between baseball gloves. One of my friends asked about the difference between a glove that costs $60.00 and one that costs $160.00. They answer...night and day! In my experience with baseball gloves quality does equate with cost. 

How about health care? Do we get what we are paying for? I would say the answer is a resounding no! In the U.S. we spend more (way more) on health care than any other nation. In 2012 we spent an average of $8,233.00 per every single person. The only nation that even comes close to this figure is Norway, which spends roughly $5,388 annually per person on medical expenditures, or roughly 65 percent of what the U.S. spends. Put another way, 17 cents of every single dollar spent in the U.S. is spent on health care while 16 cents of every U.S. dollar is spent on food, clothing and fuel...combined! 

Sure we spend more but we have the best health care system in the world, right? 

U.S. Health in International Perspective:

Shorter Lives, Poorer Health

"The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries.

In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings.

U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage."

What is the answer? I believe we need to think differently and ask better questions! 

“Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” Albert Einstein

Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Here are a few video clips to get you thinking and maybe asking better questions:

How Would Now Be a Good Time?

No time like the present

Tony Robbins has said on many occasions, "How would now be a good time?" I decided to apply this quote today. I have been putting off starting a blog for a long time for fear of failure. Then I remembered, the only failure is not doing, not taking a chance, not putting myself out there.  This is my very first blog post with my husband at my side; helping me to navigate all the buttons and tabs associated with web pages, blogs, and the internet. I must admit it is daunting. I have been talking for some time about the disconnect in the "health care" system and health.  There needs to be a massive paradigm shift.

Health is so much more than the absence of disease and health never came from a pill. Over time we have been hypnotized into believing we don't have to be accountable for our decisions. Turn on the t.v. or listen to the radio, pull open any magazine and there are ads to tell us how to circumvent the symptoms we have created by our life style choices. If you have a pain, symptom or feeling you don't like - there's a pill for that. We are a society that wants to do what we want to do when we want to do it - without consequence. I ask you - how's that working for you?

  True health comes from balancing three major areas in our lives: structural, chemical and mental/emotional/spiritual. When these are in balance, we experience a sense of well-being and when they are out of balance, we express "dis-ease". This dis-ease can take many different forms. Manifestation of this lack of balance can range from a kink in the neck to an upset stomach, to a sense of overwhelm, etc.

Over the next several weeks, I plan to write briefly on topics that can improve your overall health. I look forward to your comments and questions.