Hello friends and welcome to my thirty-sixth blog!
In my pursuit of finding out everything I possibly can about optimal health, I have come across the most amazing people with brilliant thoughts on creating health. One such chap is Dr. Ray Hinish, and I have found some of his insights into this minefield really interesting, logical, and quite thought-provoking.
His rationale of not being a holistic zealot on one end of the spectrum and then equally not being a conventional medicine lover on the other end of the spectrum really does make sense to me.
- Research the alternative to chronic medication. If you are diagnosed with a chronic condition, for example, high blood pressure, start taking the medication prescribed by your general practitioner, but, at the same time, do the research on trying to decrease your blood pressure with some lifestyle changes. Lose a few kilos if you are overweight, look at your eating plan, make sure you are exercising appropriately, and reduce your stress. If you find that these alternative measures are working, wean yourself off the conventional medicine under your practitioner and in controlled circumstances.
- There are definite benefits to conventional medical drugs. They are not the enemy, just tools with side effects. Antibiotics are often very necessary. They are needed to treat serious life-threatening bacterial infections, such as pneumonia and sepsis. Also, for people who are at high risk for developing infections, such as folk undergoing surgery, patients with end-stage kidney diseases, or for patients on chemotherapy. Do remember to take those very important probiotics for your gut bacteria. Antibiotics are not usually needed for viruses such as those that cause the common cold, flu, bronchitis, Covid (!!!!), or runny noses. They are often necessary tools for our survival and health and do definitely have value.
- Medication that you take must impact you and improve your health personally. Do not look at worldwide stats, it’s about the effect of the drug on you. How significant is the benefit of the drug on your disease? Be informed. Read as much as you can about the medication that you have been prescribed. Often the benefits are mild, and the risks are high, particularly for chronic conditions such as cholesterol medication and diabetic medication. Statins are effective at lowering cholesterol and protecting against a heart attack, but they have a number of side effects such as muscular pain and sometimes muscle damage, liver damage occasional, increased blood glucose levels, and the odd person may suffer from memory loss or confusion. Please let me say here, there is a big and definite place for these meds, but one just needs to be aware of the side effects and assess this against the improvement to your health. It is vital that a healthy tool should prolong your life. It should also make you feel better.
- Not all FDA ( Food and Drug Administration) approved drugs are safe and effective. What FDA approved actually mean’s is that the benefits of the drug are outweighed by the risk for the medication and under the conditions that are on the label. This just means that if the drug is used in the right patients, in the right way, at the right dose and there are no drugs that are contra-indicated taken with it, that the benefits outweigh the risks. Sadly, there is a lot that can go wrong under that definition. So, read and study and research before starting any new medication.
- Not all nutritional supplements (vitamins, minerals antioxidants, proteins, amino acids) are safe and effective. According to Dr. Hinish, the majority are not. Self-treating a condition that is severe and serious requiring a physician is unsafe and may have serious consequences. However, there is definitely a place for herbal remedies but again study and read before taking them. Their side effects may be much less, too. Just a heads up, one needs to be careful when taking conventional meds and then adding herbal meds to the mix, as there may be a negative interaction. One of my patients started taking zinc after she was tested positive for Covid and has had a terrible reaction to it due to other conventional meds she is taking for high blood pressure, so we just need to be very careful and preferably chat to someone who has pharmaceutical knowledge before mixing supplements with medicine.
- The answers change. We need to be okay with the imperfections of health science. In fact, often we do not have the answers, and, over time, they definitely change, and then revert, and then change again! We also have the right to change our minds. I am finding this to be so true, the more that I study nutrition, health, and wellness and I am comfortable with this. If we look through recent history, at diets and eating plans and health and wellness, there are ongoing and continual changes in thoughts, ideas, and research and this reinforces, even more, the importance for me to keep exploring this field. Repetition again, but it is vital that we also need to make our eating plan totally personal and tailor-made specifically for each and every one of us.
- You cannot outrun a bad diet. People eat really badly and then believe that supplements and exercise will get them to good health. Unless you are a professional athlete and spend hours every day relentlessly burning off those calories you will pack on those extra kilos. I remember well back in my Hey Day of shocking and excessive eating, swimming 2 kilometres at the varsity pool in the hopes that my 3-course res style meal followed by 14 slices of bread may be burned off. Needless to say, all that happened was a very sore tummy! It is also the quality of the food that is vital. You can eat 1000 calories a day of anything and lose weight. You could eat 1000 calories of only chocolate a day and you would probably still lose weight. However, you would be very hungry and eventually badly malnourished. That is another reason for me to dislike this whole calorie counting business. Also, vitamins and supplements cannot replace a healthy diet but may help if your diet is inadequate or where there is already a well-supported rationale for you to take one. Health improvements need holistic sustainable lifestyle changes
- Disease is created by small seemingly insignificant unhealthy actions taken consistently day in and day out. The keyword here is insignificant. We always get told that moderation is the key to optimal health by both conventional and holistic medicine. However, if we actually think about this, according to Dr. Hinish, this very moderation may be the key to poor health and even possibly death. He feels we use moderation as an excuse to live unhealthy lives and that moderation actually kills. Let us use an example of a spoonful of sugar in your coffee twice a day every day, which will have an impact on your health and may lead to bad outcomes on your wellness. Every piece of food, drink, or medication that we put into our mouths matters. Every single decision that we make regarding anything that we put into our bodies matters. the very meaning of the word seems to have changed over time. Moderation seems to be greater quantity nowadays too. It is also not as defined as it was. All the so-called moderate times that you do a little bit of bad, adds up to a big overall effect in your lives. So he thinks we should eat all the food the so-called good and the so-called bad but that we should shift our mentality to thinking that an ongoing little bit of bad does matter over time. Oh dear, guess I really should stop the post-dinner choc thing that I have going on at the moment. Shoo, Dr Hinish, this is all a bit scary!
- Healthy bodies are created by small seemingly insignificant, and healthy actions taken. On a more positive and happier note. Apparently, we need to change our thinking to that of controlled imbalance. That is quite a mouthful. I do prefer it to that word moderation, as you all well know. So, a little bit of “bad” does not matter. So, let us try to make those consistently healthy significant lifestyle decisions and actions day in and day out. Let’s try to eat four out of five days for our best health and then on the fifth day have a decadent delight or two. Back to the 80/20 rule. Once we have created this as a habit, it will then require no effort and will become so easy.
10. To achieve optimal health, Dr. Hinish believes that we must tackle the 6 masteries of health. These are in no particular order, diet, exercise, quality of sleep, stress management, and supplementation. I am personally on board for all of these and would certainly add a few more, but that is for another day.
In particular, subsequent to my short bout of ill health, I have realized the absolute importance of taking supplements. After some research, I have now bought into an international nutrition supplement business called NeoLife and have started taking their products. I love their mission which is to make the world a healthier and happier place. NeoLife products are researched by world-leading scientists, researchers, and nutritional experts. These products are based in nature and backed by science. I am so excited to be on board and part of this exciting and authentic company. Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about them.
In the meantime. I really hope this has provided you all with some Food For Thought.
Please always bear in mind that what I write about is information that I have found reading from others and that most of what I write is about opinion. I am not a doctor, dietician, philosopher, or psychologist, just a girl, an old physio, and a relatively new nutritional consultant, hoping to make a difference in one or two people’s lives.
Tip number thirty-five.
Forget about perfection. Perfection is toxic to the mind, body, and soul. Be flexible and aim for balance and let us eat, live, and love fully and truly with abundance, laughter and joy.