Commandment Six
 You Shall not Self-destruct:
How You Think Can Keep You Healthy
     
     At times we can be our own worst enemy.  Just as it is vital to know what to do, it is almost as important to know what not to do.  Seven of the top ten causes of death are accurately described as lifestyle illnesses.  This means they are largely triggered by actions and choices.  In terms of our health, genetics loads the gun, but behavior pulls the trigger.  The top offenders are cigarettes and
alcohol, yet more insidious behaviors such as sexual promiscuity and the spread of life threatening sexually transmitted diseases have to be brought into the forefront of the discussion.  For the first time in history, our daughters, in particular, are faced with behavioral based diseases that can result in cancer and death at an early age.  The epidemic of such STDs as Human Papilloma Virus is no longer simply an embarrassment or inconvenience; it can kill.  Choose to avoid behaviors that can significantly increase your risk of illness.  This should be appreciated not as restrictions but as opportunities to make wise choices that can have lasting benefits.  

Commandment Seven 
You Shall Not Fear Cancer:
Simple Steps to Reduce Your Risk

     The word itself, cancer, creates a blanket of fear that can smother the most stoic and strong.  In particular, breast and ovarian cancer concerns dominate the thoughts of women especially those saddled with a strong family history of either disease.  The good news is that seven of the top ten risk factors for these cancers are controllable.  There are steps that every woman can take to reduce their risks up to 50-60% of ever hearing the words, “You have cancer.”   In the end, we all are at some risk of an aberrant cell forgetting how to stop growing, but it seems only logical that anything we can do to reduce the risk is a good thing.  It is, indeed, a good thing to lower chances, especially if doing so also leads to looking better, feeling better, and acting better.

Commandment Eight 
You Shall be Heart Healthy:
Just Say No to Heart Attacks and Strokes

     Heart disease and stroke combined are the leading killers of women over the age of fifty.  Cutting edge research is shedding new light on factors that influence heart heath specifically in women.  For decades studies on heart disease and stroke looked almost exclusively at males, assessing risks and treatments.  Only in the past decade has medical researchers acknowledge that women are different when it comes to their characteristics and proclivity towards cardiovascular disease.  Hormones (both intrinsic and extrinsic), diet, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure are a few of the areas of special note in designing a specific plan for heart health.  

Commandment Nine 
You Shall Drink…Water:
The Real Fountain of Youth    

The human body is anywhere from 55% to 78% water, and virtually all body systems rely on adequate hydration for proper functioning.  A leading cause of morbidity is moderate, chronic, inadequate fluid intake.  Myths abound regarding the safety and contamination of tap water supplies.  The “six to eight glasses of water” mantra we all know and never do is nevertheless true.  Our bodies enjoy a well designed, miraculous constitution, but it is our responsibility to be good stewards of this gift by filling it with the “elixir of health”: water.  

Commandment Ten 
You Shall Worship:
God Wants You to be Healthy

    
     Studies have shown that regardless of your religious affiliation, folks who worship God in whatever fashion are healthier. This basic act of obedience not only fulfills one of our inherent purposes, but also has been shown to be good for our health.  Cutting edge research from such institutions as Duke University and Harvard Medical School show the surprising health benefits of worship.  Obviously this is not the purpose of worship, and it has been shown that those who practice false religious piety don’t exhibit the same benefits as those who display intrinsic religiosity.  Praise and adoration is an end in itself, but it is characteristic of God to add a wonderful “side effect” to worship like improved health. Worship in its many iterations ties together many of the other nine commandments and creates an environment for health and healing.  There is no right or wrong way to worship; no template for healing.  It is shown that any heart felt act of praise and obedience can result in a harmony of wholeness.   


       In this turbulent time of change, one thing remains constant; your health is largely a choice.  More importantly the health of your family is a legacy that will either bless or afflict those for generations to come. With the full understanding that new resolutions are kept for an average of 36.4 seconds, I challenge you to make 2016 the year of the health nut.  Be abnormal! Get healthy!
Continue reading
    Share:


   
 A few weeks ago my wife and I picked up our daughter from the Atlanta airport.  She was returning from a "Maymester" in Ireland.  This is a new concept to me which I found out was a clever semantic substitution for "vacation."  Colleges make reciprocal arrangements with foreign universities for study abroad programs and then give a few hours credit for classes like "media studies" and "Living History."  I guess when students come to the U.S. they can study "Imagineering" and "The Broadway Experience".  I must admit some genius administrator was sitting around the faculty lounge one day, eating his bologna sandwich between lectures to sleeping freshmen, and thought there must be a better way.  Why not set up a program where I get paid to tour Europe, spend two hours a day talking about a subject that I mastered from an online Khan Academy course, and then drink wine all night.  Thus the birth of the travel abroad program at your local university.

     I'm sure these kids have a great time, but let's get real as Dr Phil might say.  They are not getting a massive amount of edumacating!  Some of these classes claim to cram three credit hours into two weeks of backpacking through Croatia.  That's like saying I can learn astrophysics while strolling around Disney World.  It's hard to see how intensive instruction can be wedged between touring various pubs and kissing the Blarney Stone!  After all, if you tour enough pubs everything begins to sound like Blarney.

     My oldest daughter also did a stint in Europe.  She was in London, Rome and Florence for about eight weeks.  This was a bit less of a whirlwind tour of the breweries and a bit more of the classroom, but it was still a pretty sweet deal.  The best part of her extended stay is that my wife and I could use it as a rationalization for us to visit.  We had no doubt that she would completely decompensated unless we arrived to bolster her and take in a few wineries and museums while we were there.  We didn't get any college credit however, and she would have done just fine without us, but we went anyway.  The most recent excursion by our youngest offspring was, alas, too short notice for us to plan a visit, and I suspect she planned it that way.

     It had been a while since I had been in the International terminal at Hartsfield International airport and it was a pleasant surprise.  Being used to the cattle call that is the main terminal, I bathed in the relative spaciousness of the international terminal and never felt I was being groped liked I often did on terminal A-D, or especially on the germ infested people transporter claiming to be a tram system.  The international terminal actually had Muzak you could hear (a nice mix of Burt Bacharach tunes), relatively short lines and TSA agents who looked like they wanted to be there, and a nice place to meet deplaned loved ones.  Both Susan and I had a grand time watching arriving passengers being greeted by what appeared to be family, friends, lovers, acquaintances, and drug sniffing dogs.  It was so fun to imagine the stories behind each arrival.  Being the international terminal, we didn't much have to worry about people hearing what we made up because English was definitely a second and possible a third language.  Whatever the story, they were all punctuated by joy, relief, and not a few tears.  If you ever want a pick me up, go watch families greeting each other at the international terminal.

     The reception area where arriving passengers depart is a bit deceiving however.  There is the main chute where it seems the majority of folks arrive and run into the arms of awaiting family and friends, and then there is a back way that allows some passengers to go around, passing directly behind those anxiously awaiting them.  I mention this because Susan and I were standing at the rail, waiting to completely embarrass our daughter with a totally unnecessary display of affection, until we got a text asking where we were.  Of course my genius answer was "here".  She appropriately replied, "and where might here be?"  At this point I decided instead of thirty texts to clarify the matter, I was better off actually having a conversation so I called her.  It seems she had cleverly bypassed us at the gate and had already picked up her luggage and was waiting rather impatiently for her chauffeurs...us.

     I am thankful that I have the resources to let my girls experience the travel and study abroad phenomenon.  They both appreciate and understand that they, like many of their peers, are blessed, and they both came back with a special and unique perspective that they couldn't get anywhere else.

     When I die, I want to come back as my kids! 
Continue reading
    Share: