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Throughout time there have always been two opposing points
of view as to how to maintain good health, or how to regain it after having lost
it. This
conflict has continued since ancient times ... and no doubt will continue well
into the future.
One 'side' believes good health is as a result of outside intervention... drugs,
surgery etc. The other 'side' believes that good health results from
living in harmony with natural law... correct nutrition... cleanliness etc.
The ancient Greeks had terms for these two groups of people. As was often the
case in those days each group came under the umbrella of a 'god'. One was
'Asklepios'... the god of medicine, whose proponents advocated the
'intervention' approach. These people were known as 'Asklepians'. Those who
believed that the secret of good health resulted from living in
harmony with nature looked up
to 'Hygeia'... Goddess of health. These people were known as 'Hygeian'.
Asklepians versus Hygeian
Both sides tended to be critical of the other... nothing much has changed over
the ages. Modern mainstream western
medicine takes the 'Asklepian' approach. However, in recent years the Hygeian
approach which has always
been the underlying principle behind Chinese traditional medicine has gained
much ground. The increase in the
popularity of the 'Hygeian' approach is no doubt due to a combination of several
factors:
* Dissatisfaction of traditional
mainstream medicine.
* Increasing cases of
medical 'misadventure'.
(Hospitals are places to stay
away from)
* Awareness that good health is
primarily a personal
responsibility... not of
overworked physicians.
* An increasing awareness that the
medical industry is highly
influenced by drug companies and
that there are often better, safer
and more economic natural
alternatives to drugs.
In spite of this justified 'swing' away from mainstream medicine, mainstream
medicine does have a place in everyone's health program ... apart from the
obvious ones in treating
accident cases or chronic urgent illness. So, if you are already a 'Hygeian'
don't over look the benefits that mainstream medicine can offer to you in your
overall quest
for good health and longevity.
These benefits are primarily in the early detection of a pending disease that
you may not as yet be aware of!
An example
Let's assume that you are over 40 years of age... you are healthy, fit and not
overweight. You eat well, you don't
smoke, don't drink excessively and rarely get sick. You probably think that you
will live forever... well at least into ripe old age! Right? Maybe... or maybe
not.
Reflect on this for a moment. Have you ever known anyone around this age that
has died suddenly to your amazement
because you thought they were so healthy? That person may even have been a
competitive athlete!
Let me tell you a true story.
About 15 years ago a friend of mine who was around 40, a former competitive body
builder who was still in great
shape and extremely fit was at a lake water-skiing. He was watching some young
water-skiers doing some 'tricks'.
Being the competitive person that he was he waited until they came in and went
down to the waters edge and said
"Now, I'll show you how to really do it". Those were the last words he ever
uttered... a couple of minutes later
he was lying on the ground dead of a massive heart attack.
My friend died instantly. He could just as easily had a stroke which he may or
may not have recovered from...
which would also have been a major tragedy.
Tragedies can often be avoided
Tragedies like this happen every day and the results are devastating not only to
the victims but also their families, friends and loved ones. Sadly, many of
these tragedies
could have been averted ... if more people were aware of their risk factors and
could correct any abnormalities
before it was too late!
Now back to the point of this story. My friend died of a blockage in his artery.
Only takes one! If 15 years ago
the technology for measuring ALL the 'predictors' which indicate your risk of
such an event were available AND my friend had understood what they meant he
would probably still be showing those young fellows how to
do water-skiing tricks!
How many thousands of people are still dying needlessly because they do not know
how to take advantage of current
technology ... or, in some cases are so opposed to mainstream medicine that they
do not take advantage of the 'good'parts!
OK... what should you do?
First of all, if you are over 35 and have not had a blood test within the last
few years ... arrange one... NOW!
Get a general one, which tests for:
* Cholesterol. Both LDL and HDL
* Triglycerides
* Homocysteine
* Lipoproteins
* Liver Function
* Renal Function
* Plasma Glucose
If you are a man over 40 make sure you also have a PSA. (Prostate Specific
Antigen) test) Hint: There is recent
evidence that suggests that if you have had sex within the previous 72 hours
your PSA levels could be affected.
Play it safe and abstain for 2 - 3 days before your test.
Irrespective of your gender ask your physician if any other tests are also
recommended for you. If each test
is within the normal range, that's great, you can rest easy knowing that you are
unlikely to be subject to any
immediate health risk. You can then direct your efforts towards improving the
way you feel and slowing down your
aging process.
If any of your tests are abnormal you will need to do something about bringing
them back to within 'normal'
ranges ... and possibly be subject to more tests. It is the treatment of any
abnormalities from these blood tests
that create a potential conflict between 'Askelepians' and 'Hygeians'.
Here is an example of potential conflict
Let's say your tests show that your cholesterol is 'out of whack', your
'mainstream' physician may first
propose lowering your intake of diet cholesterol. That's unlikely to be
successful as ingested cholesterol only
makes up a relatively small percentage of blood cholesterol.
They will next likely propose one of the cholesterol lowering drugs commonly
known as 'statins'. These are
drugs that work by blocking an enzyme that your liver needs to manufacture
cholesterol. (Up to 80% of your
blood cholesterol is manufactured by your liver, NOT from the ingestion of
cholesterol within your diet).
These statin drugs are very powerful and have been known to cause serious side
effects including deaths.
In fact Bayers were recently forced to withdraw their statin drug from the
market place because of 'unacceptable' levels of fatalities. In spite of these
risks, sales of statin drugs amount to billions of dollars per year and are
commonly prescribed.
It's ironic that there are natural alternatives to these statin drugs which can
assist in lowering cholesterol, and do it safely, and without side effects. But
the general
public hears very little about them as they are not patentable and there is not
the financial incentive for
the big corporate's to promote them.
The same principle applies for many different ailments. There can be many
legitimate methods of treatments. What
is important is that you seek out the natural alternatives and apply them before
agreeing to subject yourself to the negative side effects of pharmaceutical
drugs.
Pharmaceutical drugs are 'blockers' whereas natural remedies are 'enablers'
Pharmaceutical drugs are 'blockers' and do not normally heal the underlying
ailment. They generally work by suppressing natural functions such as certain
enzymes which I mentioned
earlier when giving the 'statin' example. Because of this process, results are
often 'instant' and as such there is sometimes a place for these powerful
prescription drugs in
the case of life threatening emergencies.
In contrast, natural products such as herbs, vitamins etc are 'enablers'. They
work at correcting the cause of the ailment which is often a nutrient deficiency
of some sort. The results are not immediate and have to be measured in weeks, or
even months.
If you have a serious ailment, work with your physician to try and correct it...
by first using natural remedies. If she or he is not familiar with the treatment
you would like to try, do some further research and get hold of supporting
information so you are in a better position to discuss the options
intelligently. If your physician has a closed mind to natural remedies it may be
wise to ask around and find another qualified physician with an open mind.
About the Author
Warren Matthews is the Editor of XTEND-YOUR-LIFE, a FREE bi-monthly Newsletter
who's goal is to show you how to take
better care of yourself. Do yourself and your loved ones a favor by subscribing
today.
A Free Subscription is available at ...
http://www.InstantEnergyBoost.com
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