The fundamentals of a healthy life

Health is simple, and complex!
The fundamentals of a healthy life are very simple, but we do like to complicate things. If the secret of great health and longevity were that simple how could “Health Care” become a multi billion pound industry? Only when “Health Care” is made complex and too difficult to understand for the average person, can it be transformed into big business.

Yes, health is a simple concept based on good body structure and functioning, good food and nutrition, good breathing and oxygenation and a good mind-set able to respond well to the environment and community. It is also incredibly complex since each of those four factors affect each other, and all are affected by the environment and community.

The debate begins when we try to agree on what constitutes good body, good food, good breathing and good mind.

This is my attempt to offer a definition for each of these pillars of health:

Good Body:
As I was trained as an osteopath my definition stems from that discipline; the body structure is not unlike any machine made by man in that its normal functioning requires the entire structure to be aligned and connected as it was designed to be, and that it functions in the way it was designed to function. How that design evolved or was conceived I leave to greater brains than mine, but I do accept our body is beautifully and perfectly designed for living. Thus, it does matter if one vertebra is slightly out of alignment, or a muscle group is too tense, or a nerve is irritated and it is the task of any physical therapist to try to restore it to normal.
The old adage of osteopathy is “ Structure governs function” and “Function governs structure”.
To understand some of these body/health connections visit: www.thebodyconnection.co.uk.

Good Food:
Now this is far more difficult a subject for agreeing a definition. It is perhaps one of the best examples of how we have confused and bewildered the public with the un-ending opinions of good diet. When opinion rules against observation of facts then we are in trouble. For this reason I decided I would not offer advice to patients on diet for over thirty years in practice. It was only when I discovered an approach to diet that was based on the largest epidemiological research study ever done in the study of diet and health, with over fifty years of additional research with laboratory work and international comparisons, that I introduced dietary advice into my practice. The work I refer to is “The China Study” that is now used by 12,000 doctors in the USA as the basis for patient nutritional advice, where possible using dietary changes rather than drugs to treat any health problem. Its simplicity was also one of the reasons I embraced its concept. It is a diet based on Whole Plant Nutrition. It is not a Vegan or Vegetarian Diet, those diets are significantly different but have many common elements. Generally no supplements are needed if the diet is well balanced but in certain individuals a B12 or Vitamin D supplement may be advised. The range of foods includes all whole, unprocessed vegetables, fruits, grains, pulses, nuts and seeds with no dairy, meat or fish or refined or processed foods such as oils. To gain a fuller understanding of the Whole Plant Nutrition visit: www.thefoodconnection.org.uk

Good Breathing:
This is relatively easy to define, as there are generally accepted physiological measures that define normal breathing. Although our breathing changes considerably depending on our activity, at rest we should be breathing approximately five to six litres of air per minute and taking ten to twelve breaths per minute. Our End-tidal CO2 should be about 35 to 45 mmHg or 5 to 6% in our exhaled air. With such a breathing rate at rest our cellular oxygenation is optimal. From past published medical measures, our breathing has changed over the last decades as chronic hidden hyperventilation has become the norm with many people breathing up 20 breaths per minute and 10 to 15 litres of air per minute. For further information on the breath/health connections visit: www.thebreathconnection.com

Good Mind:
This is another difficult concept to define. We may all recognise a good mind in action; calm, speedy responses to any situation arising, free of stress, flexible and fully alert, able to easily cope with everyday demands and showing a confident easy relationship to others. A mind that is contented, yet always seeking new challenges to improve itself. There is a vast amount of information on the mind/health connection, a valuable book to read deals with the “Plastic Brain” and entitled “The Brain’s Way of Healing” by Norman Doidge or visit: www.themindconnection.co.uk for more information.

Summary:
The complex aspect of the above is that each one of these factors influences all the others. Also they in turn they are all influenced by the community and environment.

Our body structure is derived from the nutrition we take in, how we feel affects our posture, our breathing is affected by our respiratory system. Our breathing appears to change the way we eat and vice versa, our mind state has a profound impact on our breathing and vice versa. Change any one of these four factors and all the others change. There are a series of complex feedback loops.

Despite these complex interactions, by simply improving all four components of health there will be a overall improvement in health. This is the simple approach.

The situation is different when treating a specific disease, here other medical interventions may be necessary to complement the health promoting approach above. I have often thought of Modern Medicine as Complementary Medicine, a total reversal of current thinking. This view is based on the belief that we should all be more responsible for our own health and that there should be more health promotion education that includes the four pillars of health above. This education should be for young children, parents, the general public and in particular for doctors and health workers in the NHS, as it is only to be expected that the public will go to their doctor for any advice on health matters. Presently most doctors are ill prepared to offer such advice because it is not part of their training and they are usually already overburdened dealing with sick patients who demand “quick fixes” from them. This is the end result of a health service that has been dominated by pathology, in reality we have in the UK an excellent National Sickness Service but a underfunded Health Service.

Michael Lingard BSc. DO. BBEC. WPNut.Cert.

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