Wellness Wednesday - Our Interconnected Internals

This is a textual version of components from the September 10 Wellness Wednesday broadcast. The full show is archived for your listening pleasure at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/PeterPocklington

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

On this day of alignment - the ninth day of the ninth month of the ninth year of the century - a thank you to chiropractors everywhere.

For me especially a thank you to Dr. Chris Grenshaw, the chiropractor who literally saved my life when I was six months old and not breathing.

Thank you to my current chiropractor, Dr. Andrew Gottlieb of Eagle Chiropractic in Lionville, Pennsylvania - who, together with his wife Dr. Cynthia Glendenning, continuously further my own wellness education.

OUR INTERCONNECTED INTERNALS

Do you remember the song about the interconnectedness of the skeletal structure? From the head bone connected to the neck bone, to the ankle bone connected to the foot bone.... So it is with your internal body systems.

There are no fences in your body. Each organ system is interconnected by way of your blood. Let's consider the colon, the small intestine, the liver, the lymphatic system and the circulatory system. Did you realize that the health of your circulatory system can be affected by the health of your colon and small intestine? Because by way of the blood each system affects the other. The lymphatic system is part of your immune system and that can be affected by toxic, dirty blood. We should learn more about how these systems are inter-connected and how important it is to keep them cleansed.

So let's take a journey together, starting at the mouth and going all the way to the other end - the terminus of the digestive system. If you could straighten out your digestive system and shine a light down your mouth the light would shine out of your "other end". So a lot of things need to happen inside the digestive tract.

Firstly, we need to chew our food! Not take a few bites while driving along to work, school or play and then swallow. Your grandmother was right - CHEW YOUR FOOD! Because your saliva is going straight to work to break down your food to assist absorption.

Once you swallow the food goes down the esophageal tract to your stomach - which is a majorly acidic organ charged with liquefying the food you ate. It has hydrochloric acid available - more when you are younger, by the way, which may account partially for an increase in digestive problems for people over 40.

The stomach acid works on the food and liquefies it is a process that can take up to four hours. It turns the food into a liquid state that is isotonic - called "chyme" with a pH level of 2.5. When that state is reached the pyloric valve opens up to let the chyme into your small intestine.

The small intestine performs a vital function in regard to your health. In its 21' length and 1 1/2" diameter are so-called VILLI and MICROVILLI. As the chyme swims in and out of these villi the nutrients in the chyme - the vitamins etc. - are absorbed into the blood system.

Unfortunately, we have a tendency here to be white flour addicts. Now white flour and water make PASTE (think back to your elementary school days!).

Now look at this from the perspective of the VILLI. When these are free-flowing they have about 200 square metres of surface area working to extract nutrition. But when you are "eating paste" all day they get stuck together, reducing the effective absorption area.

The phrase "you are what you eat" would more accurately be "you are what you absorb"! If you eat poorly all day and then eat nutritiously in the evening you may not be absorbing all the nutrition you think you are.

Now to the last stage of your digestion - the large intestine and the colon. Unused food is passed into the colon - which is 5' long and 2 1/2" in diameter. Its job is to eliminate unused food out of the body. It should eliminate waste about two to three times a day. If not the unused food is lying in the 98 degree temperature of our body.

How long do you think it takes for food to begin to rot in these conditions? 24 hours? 48 hours? If this is not happening it will cause problems - through a process called auto-intoxication - the toxic chemicals produced by the colon bacteria and the continuous diffusion of these into the colon wall and ultimately the blood stream. So it causes more problems than just things as divericulitis - it can also affect the heart.

Our love of white flour and toxic food causes our colon to become infected and fill up with old fecal matter that lines the wall of the colon. [I was surprised to hear that when John Wayne died they took over 25 pounds of fecal matter out in his autopsy]

Now this auto-intoxication has more side effects. The blood takes it to the liver - and after years of detoxification our livers can become impaired. Think about the drug advertisements you see - how many of them note you need to be on the look-out for liver problems? Why? Because the liver's job is to filter out anything that is foreign to the body. So auto-intoxication will definitely affect the liver.

If the liver is impaired the next system affected is the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system runs parallel to the circulatory system, but it operates through movement. Which is another reason why we should add a lot of movement into our lives - for a health lymphatic system.

The lymphatic system has two main functions:

Firstly, to protect us from virus infections, bacteria, fungi etc., and

Secondly, to clean up inter-cellular waste products.

When functioning properly the waste is placed into the colon trapped in mucus and expelled from the body. So when your colon and your liver is not functioning properly this waste is dumped elsewhere - in your sinus or in your lungs. So colon cleansing and liver detoxification can help clear up chronic sinus problems. WHO'DA THUNK IT!

Now consider the circulatory system. This is the transport system for your blood. It consists of your heart, arteries and veins. Most people who have problems with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and circulatory disorders have most likely had a problem with digestion, elimination and auto-intoxication.

It is when all your body systems are working properly that you achieve optimal health. When you are better detectives, when you understand the relationships, when you don't wait too long, you won't have to resort to medications and surgery! When we compromise any of our body systems we don't function properly, we don't feel well and we don't achieve the optimal health we deserve.

Hopefully this will help YOU


For me,

I am Peter Pocklington
I am a Good News Merchant
I am a purveyor of prosperity, and
I am my own personal guarantee.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for listening

Invest in yourself, YOU ARE SO WORTH IT.

GOD BLESS!

Wellness Wednesday - Your Potential For Health

This is a textual version of components from the August 26 Wellness Wednesday show. The full show is archived for your listening pleasure at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/PeterPocklington

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Coming as it does on the day of the sad news of his passing, Thank You to Ted Kennedy, for his years of service, his ideals, his intellect. Since Health Care, affordable Health Care, was one of his many causes, I find it a shame that he passes while this national debate is going on about that issue. Ted Kennedy would have been valuable through his ability to forge alliances, his person, his passion. Let me hope he is watching as this debate continues and that the financial side of this so-called Health Care crisis will receive some sort of resolution. That this great nation can move forward and that there is universal coverage for each one of us.

Thank You to Dr. Sheryl Duchess, whose teachings and seminars have been so valuable to me and so many of my Wellness Warriors. I got to see Dr. Sheryl recently at the Market America convention in North Carolina and if there was ever a testimony to walking the talk - there it was.

Thank You to Christopher Vasey, whose book 'The Acid Alkaline Diet For Optimum Health' is on today’s program page. It can provide you with material you can use to reinforce the principles covered in today's program.

PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL HEALTH

I would like to cover today the basic principles of Natural Health. About the root cause of many diseases: arthritis, gout, osteoporosis, allergies, sinus congestion, migraine headaches, high blood pressure, ADD & ADHD, High Cholesterol, Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Hormonal Imbalance, Prostate Disease, Weight Management, Heart Disease, Flu and Colds. The list goes on ....

What is the difference between naturopathic medicine and traditional medicine? In traditional medicine we diagnose a disease and usually recommend a pharmaceutical or surgery. Naturopathic Medicine looks to the root cause of the disease - where did it come from? Why did the body start to go out of balance? This is so important.

Understand - both forms of medicine have their place. When the body is way out of balance it takes traditional medicine - many times we do need surgery.

But we should watch out for over medication. In fact, there are many people who have dies from over prescribed medication. So it is really time to educate ourselves. To educate ourselves on wellness, on disease prevention.

There are two basic principles in Natural Health, in Naturopathic Medicine.

One: that we need to feed and nourish the body.

This becomes most evident when we look at the Structural System. For example, look at your bones. If they don't get sufficient calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium they become weak and you get osteoporosis. If you don't get enough vitamin C you'll develop scurvy.

In nature, when we want to grow anything we dig up the soil, we put good nutrients and fertilizer into the soil so that the plants pick these up to produce good vegetables and fruits. If they are not nourished they are more prone to disease. So it is with our bodies.

The second basic principle in natural health is to cleanse and remove toxins from the body systems.

We live in a toxic world and our bodies are affected by these toxins.

Just think of your life for a minute. When you take a shower you are exposing your largest organ - your skin - to many of the toxins in the water supply. For example, chlorine, which was used in World War One as a killing agent - a weapon of mass destruction, as it were. Remember, if you are not using a filter, you are the filter!

After showering, perhaps we use a deodorant. Does your deodorant contain aluminum - which has been shown to contribute to Alzheimers?

Next we get something to eat. Usually from a packaged food, which is full of preservatives. I was surprised to learn that there are over three thousand different preservative chemicals used in our food source - and we absorb about ten pounds of these chemicals each year into our body systems.

So next you go out to do something healthy - exercise. And as you drive to the gym (which is almost an oxymoron) you are behind the school bus, spewing out exhaust gases entering through your air conditioning system.

If these environmental toxins were not enough, our own bodies, under stress, produce metabolic toxins.

So the more we can learn how to detoxify, remove toxins, from our environment and our internal systems, our liver and our lymphatic systems, the better.

THE pH SCALE - YOUR POTENTIAL FOR HEALTH.

One of the simplest principles of naturopathic medicine is that it's all about pH. You might, indeed, benefit from this as a mnemonic for 'POTENTIAL for HEALTH'. My pH controls my potential for health.

The ideal pH for saliva, for our tissues, lies between 6.8 and 7.2 . Now, in most people the problem is when we are too acidic. However, we should remember that too alkaline is also a problem. So, again, 6.8 to 7.2 is ideal.

Isn't it funny how we hear of the importance of pH balance in our shampoos, our cosmetics, even our hot tubs. Not about its importance in our internal organs. Once you understand its contribution to disease the more you can look to control your health challenges, to increase your wellness.

Now, what is pH? It is a symbol for the degree of acidity or alkalinity is a solution. It stands for particles of hydrogen.

The maintenance of a stable hydrogen ion concentration in the body fluids is essential for life. Note - not recommended - ESSENTIAL.

Now you can actually test your pH. Buy some litmus paper and test it on an empty stomach. It should be between 6.8 and 7.2. Then if you re-test after a meal it should go alkaline, if your body has good alkaline reserves and is in good health. But most people are unfortunately not in that state - and something needs to be done to improve that situation.

So what causes a pH imbalance?

• One cause is a high protein diet. 80% protein and 20% carbs can cause acidity.


• Another cause - high levels of stress. Stress can throw your body pH totally out of balance. Many serious illnesses can be traced back to a time of stress in people's lives - the loss of a job, a divorce etc. We have to learn how to control stress.


• Diseases such as diabetes, emphezema, prolonged vomiting etc. can cause pH imbalance.


• Highly processed foods are another cause. Chemicals in our food will throw off pH.


• High amounts of sugar - which is highly acidifying


• High amounts of alcohol.

So these are some of the causes our pH may go out of balance.

Let's look at some foods that can affect our pH level.

Alkaline forming foods - which should make up 80% of our diet - are:

* Fruits

* Vegetables - especially green vegetables

* Brazil nuts, coconut and almonds

* Soy beans

* Lima beans

* Sprouted grains and seeds.


The other 20% of our diet, acid forming foods, could be:

* Grains

* Poultry, fish, meats and eggs

* Sugar and Syrup (not honey)

* Nuts

* Legumes



That 16oz. steak and 3 little string beans just doesn't cut it guys!

So what have we covered?

We talked about the difference between the approaches behind traditional (western) medicine - treating symptoms and effects. Versus Naturopathic medicine - looking for root causes.

We talked about the two basic principles of Naturopathic medicine. That we need to feed and nourish the body, and that we need to cleanse and remove toxins.

And we talked about the importance of pH - Potential for Health. What causes an imbalance and what you can do about it, by considering what you are eating.

For me,

I am Peter Pocklington
I am a Good News Merchant
I am a purveyor of prosperity, and
I am my own personal guarantee.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for listening

Invest in yourself, YOU ARE SO WORTH IT.

GOD BLESS!