by Dr. Michael Court, Naturopath & Health Educator
The human body is one of the most amazing creations on earth. Your internal intelligence daily processes food, repairs cells, fights off foreign invaders, and filters environmental toxins. This intricate system of chemical reactions hums along quite nicely until one day the system begins to falter. Fatigue and heart disease sets in while subtle nutritional deficiencies appear. Hormone imbalance starts as destructive toxins build-up and at times foreign invaders acquire the upper-hand. As the body breaks down, it is easier for disease to develop. We begin to realize that something has begun to go terribly wrong. How do we turn back the hands of time?
A Younger You! It is truly possible to reverse your health conditions and WIN against the odds of rebuilding a younger body than 5 or 10 years ago!!
It is really not that hard to reverse the body’s aging effects if you give it the nutrition it needs to do its job properly. Your body rebuilds itself every five years or so. Each cell that is replaced can be weaker, stronger or the same. If we use quality materials, we get a better product. Just like using real butter (instead of margarine) makes things taste rich and yummy, organic whole-food nutrition puts vitamins, minerals, co-factors, co-enzymes, and even unknown factors into your body to produce healthier cells, stronger organs and an empowered immune system.
Fatigue & Heart Disease In our world of sugar-laden desserts and processed foods, our body’s ability to make energy begins to falter and decline. Diabetes, pancreatic cancers, and chronic fatigue have exploded as a result of the modern American diet. Diet trends and weight loss meal plans you see on television will not be able to save you either. Our hearts have borne the brunt of the current medical low-fat diet recommendations. Heart disease and high blood pressure/cholesterol have increased dramatically. Can these destructive cycles be stopped and reversed? Organic, concentrated whole-food nutrition/supplements come to the rescue along with a common-sense approach to a new permanent whole-food eating lifestyle.
Nutritional Deficiencies The body has storehouses of the vitamins and minerals needed to make everything happen. Blood does not pump, nerves do not fire, and energy does not get converted without the proper reactions and ratios in the body. Where do we get these absolutely vital nutrients? Just as a car runs on gasoline, we run on energy from our food. If we bleach, homogenize, pasteurize, heat, or over-process our food, it will be of such poor quality that our bodies will become weak. Our storehouse of building blocks will be empty. If the food we eat is alive and full of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes because it is from a whole-food source, it will be of a superior quality which will result in our bodies being able to strengthen and heal their selves.
Imbalances Just as too much salt can spoil a ham or too little salt can spoil potatoes, our bodies have many internal balances to constantly maintain. As an example, calcium should have a 10-to-4 ratio to phosphorous in the blood. Sugar causes a disturbance in this ratio as phosphorous is depleted to process the sugar. Now what does the body do with the excess calcium? The body puts it in the joints where it will have the least destructive consequences. The resulting condition over time is arthritis. Many people think they have to live with this for the rest of their lives. Using whole-food nutrition and whole-food supplements, along with removing sugar and empty carbohydrates, can be a crucial step toward getting rid of the arthritic pain and moving toward a younger you!
Toxin Build-up Our bodies make decisions every day about what to do with the toxins that are in our air, water, food supply and homes. As our livers perform over 80,000 chemical reactions per day, the increasing toxic load of environmental chemicals and heavy metals produces wear and tear and eventual overload leading to a downward spiral of health leading to migraines and other health conditions. The need for liver detoxification is more important than ever. How do we help our overtaxed liver? That’s right! — whole-food nutritional supplements can help the body clean out the liver’s sludge and purge these harmful toxins. Even our organs need a fresh start!
Foreign Invaders Viruses, fungi, yeast, bacteria and parasites all have the ability to overwhelm the body’s defenses. Not only can they be a systemic problem slowing down our whole body, but sometimes they can be focused on attacking a single organ or body system producing organ malfunction. These microscopic organisms wreak havoc on our internal systems and wear down our defenses. What can boost the immune system’s response? You know the answer — whole-food nutrition and whole-food supplements enable to body to mount an offensive and kick out these foreign invaders for good. When your body is weak or out of balance, whole-food nutrition and whole-food supplements is the answer.
The Difference between Synthetic Vs. Whole Food Matters Most people think Ascorbic Acid is the same thing as Vitamin C. They couldn’t be more wrong. The following diagrams show a synthetic Ascorbic Acid Complex versus a whole-food Vitamin C complex molecule using paper chromatography. Just like an egg shell, ascorbic acid is actually only the antioxidant shell around the vitamin C complex. The two pictures are so different because the ascorbic acid molecule is missing several components such as factors P, J, and K; a copper molecule; bioflavonoids; enzymes and phytonutrients which limit its use and effectiveness in the body. Supplements purchased at retailers are synthetic and not able to fully meet the body’s nutritional needs because they are incomplete. Standard Process, based here in Wisconsin, manufacturers whole-food supplements sold in doctor’s offices across the country. They are virtually ground up plants and animals specially concentrated to help restore the body’s nutritional storehouses. There is more information online at www.standardprocess.com or www.cvwellness.net.
Your body is more important and complex than your car. No one in their right mind would use the same oil in their car for 5 years in a row without changing it!! The oil would get too dirty to do its job (toxic) or be used up (deficient). In our busy lives, however, we tend to neglect the absolutely crucial nutrition our body needs to maintain itself. We can buy a new car quite easily, but we can’t buy a new body! Be responsible for your body by taking charge of what kind of food you eat and what kind of supplements you are using to avoid toxicity and deficiency. There is hope for a younger you in 2013!
Dr. Michael Court is a local naturopath and practices at Chippewa Valley Wellness in Chippewa Falls and Altoona, WI. For information on whole-food nutrition, please see his website at CVWellness.net, attend one of his monthly workshops or call his clinic at (715) 723-2713 for a free, personalized health consultation or a free article on Synthetic versus Whole-food Supplements.