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Health & Healing – August 2007
HOW WE EAT, MOVE AND THINK IN THE CITY
by Dr. Brian Austin
“America’s Finest City” is booming. As I drive around San Diego, I see a healthy, vibrant city. What we don’t see, however, may be affecting the quality of our health and quantity of our years. Environmental toxins are all around us. On the other hand, knowledge is power. By educating ourselves about environmental toxins, we can make better choices while still enjoying our urban lifestyles.
As a chiropractic wellness doctor, I have been passionately studying how to lead my patients to the highest level of health and vitality as possible. After many hours of research and training with mentors, I have come to several conclusions. These are:
- All living cells have a life force or innate intelligence whose
purpose is to heal, grow and repair. - The body’s natural state is health.
- Most illnesses (99 percent) are caused by cellular deficiency and/or cellular toxicity.
- We are the perfect genetic expression of our environment.
First of all, let’s address toxicities and deficiencies in an urban environment. The United States ranks 37 out of the top 39 industrialized countries for total health. Considering our ever-increasing rate of diabetes, cancer, obesity, heart disease, arthritis and other conditions in this country, it is evident that something is terribly wrong. When the human body remains toxic and deficient for a period of time, it will develop illness and “dis-ease.” The three areas of toxicities and deficiencies in any environment relate to how we eat, what we think and how we move. These factors reflect how health is expressed in an individual and are all lifestyle choices to a certain degree.
What does it look like to “eat well?” I have always thought that quality of life corresponds to the quality of the questions asked. How are toxins evident in commercially grown produce? Herbicides and pesticides are factors that lower our overall health. How healthy are genetically modified foods? Many by now have heard of the “nutrient depletion theory.” Based on the information I have learned (and common sense), it pays to eat organic. Make sure the SKU number on your vegetables and fruit begins with a numeral “9.” This indicates that it is certified organic. If it begins with an “8,” don’t eat it. It has been genetically modified. If the SKU number begins with a number other than “8” or “9,” then it is “regular.” This means that it carries herbicides and pesticides.
Also, consider the amount of hormones and antibiotics that are present in mass-produced meats versus their organic, vegetarian-fed counterparts. Once again, it pays to spend the extra money for pure foods.
Lastly, we must consider the packaging that holds our food and beverages. Some plastics have more harmful toxins than others. Dioxin, among other chemicals, has been linked to cancer (especially breast and prostate). Avoid, at all costs, plastics that show a recycling code number “7.” Unfortunately, most plastic water cooler units use this type of plastic.
What does it look like to “move well?” Remember this phrase?––“Back in the day, we used to walk eight miles to school, uphill both ways!” City dwelling can mean limited physical activity. Simply remember that exercise is a required nutrient for our cells to express normal healthy physiology. Taking a bus or cab does not count as exercise. I tell my patience to get at least 30 minutes a day of moderately intense exercise is adequate, and five days a week is certainly the minimum. What pill can you take for an exercise deficiency problem? There is none!
Finally, what does it look like to “think well?” We all know that our thoughts and emotions play a major role in health. Chronic emotional stress tells our body to express “adaptive physiology.” In this state, our innate “fight or flight response” adjusts to the increased energy demands of a stressful environment. Many illnesses, including the ones mentioned earliers, can be linked to this response. All too often, we blame our cells for the pathology and not the environment. How we eat, thing and move is also considered our environment. So now that you are heating healthy and exercising, how are you working on healthy thinking and healthy feeling? This topic can get very deep for some. At a fundamental level,, we can ask ourselves what positive or negative things we are letting in to our conscious minds. What do you read or watch on television? What types of people do you listen to on a regular basis? What types of self-awareness classes have you experienced? How often to do “work” on yourself?
The bottom line is that we must continue to work on our health consciousness and stay ahead of what the mainstream media tells us is sane and healthy. After all, it is mainstream thinking and mainstream action that produce mainstream results. To eat, think, and move well we must ask some deep questions about where we can reduce deficiency and toxicity and increase sufficiency and purity in our lives. Urban living creates more air, noise and water pollution around us. Our bodies are weak from sitting in front of a computer all day, and the hustle-bustle of the city heightens our nervous systems. Toxic chemicals are all around us. At the same time, our environment has changed drastically over the centuries. The larger the gap between what our bodies innately require and what our environment supplies us with, the more illnesses we develop. In turn, the more it is important to stay passionate about learning more.
We all deserve to be healthy and well. Our quest is to give our bodies what they innately need––and allow innate intelligence to do the rest.
Dr. Brian Austin in a Healing Touch Chiropractor who lives and practices in San Diego, California. He invites the public to attend any of his free “Half Hour to Health” workshops. Go to www.HealingTouchHillcrest.com and look under Special Events or contact him at 619.299.4847.