The Principles of Health: Part 2
If you will recall from part 1, in the first 3 Principles of Health we learned that the normal state of the body is health, that the body heals and repairs itself in an attempt to restore health when forces come in from the outside, and for there to be 100% health the body must be functioning properly. Let’s resume!
Principle 4: Requirements of Proper Function
For there to be 100% function certain requirements must be met.
For your car to work properly, it has a ton of requirements. It needs gas. Not just any ‘ol gas. It has to be the exact right type. Ever tried putting diesel fuel in your gasoline engine?? What if there’s water in your fuel? It gets ugly quickly. What if one of the bearings in your drive train is busted? Or if you have a flat tire? Even the timing of the engine has to be perfect or else it won’t run! There are 10,000 things that your car requires to run at all much less run perfectly. Now, your car with its 100,000 parts is nothing compared to your body with its 70,000,000,000 parts! To say that your body is more complicated than your car is a wild understatement BUT the concept is true. Your body has requirements to run properly, function at 100% and be healthy!
“Dr. Marc, what does your body require??” I’m so glad you asked! Humans have been investigating this question since Adam and Eve got themselves booted out of the Garden. And while science and research have over complicated the subject the answer has been the same since the beginning.
You require, oxygen and movement, proper nutrients, zero toxic chemicals, full nerve supply from the brain to the whole body, and a healthy understanding of WHO made you and HOW. More on these later on!
When your body has all of its requirements met it can function at 100%. If any one of these requirements are NOT met malfunction occurs. Next thing you know, your heart is only functioning at 70% because you chose sleep over exercise and you ate donuts instead of a healthy smoothie. Here lies the problem. People think that living the 5 Essentials is extreme. Eating zero sugar or grains is radical! Exercising 5 days a week is too much! Getting adjusted 3 times a week “doesn’t fit my schedule.” I’ll tell you a hard truth: living the 5 Essentials is THE MINIMUM! The 5 Essentials are called essential for a reason. They are plain and simply the starting point to health. You MUST do them to give your body everything it requires just to function properly. They aren’t “good” for you. They are “required” for you.
Principle 5: Signs of Malfunction
When function in the body has dropped below a certain threshold, warning signs are utilized to provoke a change in behavior.
Back to our car. This poor guy has been through a lot! We put the wrong fuel in it, didn’t change the oil or replace any filters, we have 2 half inflated tires, warn out bearings and belts all over, and we are now using starter fluid to get the engine going every morning! He’s had enough! The check engine light comes on.
People have come a long way when it comes cars. It used to be that you had to wait until the thing started smoking or a wheel fell off to know if something was wrong. Now a days there are sensors everywhere! If the washer fluid is low: boom – light comes on. Tire is flat: boom – light. Need an oil change – lights galore. Your car will even let you if it’s in a bad mood! Maybe not just yet but there are sensors and warnings for every important thing in your car. Your car lets you know if any vital thing is off even just a little so that you can fix it right away to ensure your car lasts as long as possible.
The same is true of the human body. Your body is so smart that it warns you when something is wrong! Dehydrated: boom – headache. Pinched nerve: boom – pain. Hormone imbalance: boom – low energy. Your body is constantly warning you of malfunctioning parts! But what do we do? Either we ignore the warnings, or we cover up them up. What happens if you ignore your cars check engine light or even worse, you cover it up?? You are way too busy to deal with such things! Places to go, things to do. And if you do get a free moment you are just too tired. Eventually you find yourself on the side of the road calling for an emergency tow truck! You wait until you’re forced to take action. The same thing happens with our bodies. The body gives us warnings signs and symptoms. Doctors call them “symptoms of disease”. They are NOT symptoms of disease they are symptoms of NEED. Your body needs you to do something different! Either start or stop something, often both. Gut issues? Stop eating donuts and start eating kale. High blood pressure? Cut out sugar and grain and start exercising. Headaches? Fix your spine. Your body is warning you to make a change or else things are going to break and you’ll find yourself on the side of the road calling for an emergency tow truck to the hospital!
It makes sense! Thank goodness for signs and symptoms so that we can make changes BEFORE emergencies strike! But most people still wait for the warning. Isn’t it better to maintain your car BEFORE the warning lights come on? Give it the right fuel, change the oil, keep air in the tires. It’s called preventing instead of reacting! This is so important for your health! Guess when your body warns you? When function has dropped to only 90%? Nope, that would be nice though. 80%? Yeah right. 70%? No dice. Your body gives you symptoms only when you drop to 60% function. You’ve lost 40% of your body’s proper function all because you waited until you FELT the warning!! So, it seems wise to take care of your body and your health BEFORE the warnings come because once you’re being warned, the issue has been building a long time and the longer you wait the harder and more costly it will be to correct.
One more week of the Principles of Health to come!
In Health and Faith,
Dr. Marc
