Disclaimer: “The information provided in this document is not intended to replace

consultation with a physician. Please see your doctor without delay if you have any symptoms that you are unsure of. Do not stop taking any prescribed medication or start any lifestyle changes without your own doctor's supervision. This document is for your

information only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition”

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Use this overview as a checklist to see where you may be weak. If you are experiencing disease or ill health of any kind, then go see a doctor that can help you strengthen them. These articles serve as guides and are not intended to replace consultation with your physician if you develop any symptoms. 'Symptoms' are your body's way of drawing attention to the fact you've got a weak pillar, so don't ignore them. Seek to find out what's wrong from the root cause, then fix things from there.

This is an overview of what used to be the 8 Pillars of A Healthy Life. I had to expand them to 10 because 2 topics are so important they deserve to be stand-alone pillars: Vitamin D and Gut Health. Disease results when one or more of these pillars is weak. The first and the 10th pillars of a healthy life are foundational ones upon which the 8 in the middle are built.

10 Pillars Of A Healthy Lifestyle

Pillar 1 - Mindset

Healthy Mindset : Healthy 'Thought-style' (TM)

Thinking Differently - More Than Just "Positive Thinking", it's

"Balanced Thinking"

This includes Stress management, Self Awareness, Self Confidence/esteem, Thought Control, Beliefs, Attitude and everything to do with what goes on between your ears. This Pillar is foundational and deals with why you do what you do - what inspires or motivates you to act the way you do, to eat/drink the things you eat/drink, to say the things you do, to relate to others the way you do. Everything in this key pillar, is 100% under your control: it's your power centre, and is the one thing you can do something about. You can't do anything about the way others (choose to) behave, you can't do anything about the weather or the crisis in the middle east, you can't do anything about your past - but you CAN do something about the way you see these things, the way you perceive or interpret things, the way you (choose to) think about, believe about, talk about, respond to or act about, these things. That's a lot of power right there, between your ears. Pillar One is about helping you see/perceive/interpret things in a way that empowers you to be an overcomer rather than a victim, to be proactive rather than reactive. This is one pillar you must get right, and are likely to continue working on for the rest of your life, as there's always room for improvement.

When things go wrong with this pillar, you feel any of the following:

• Stressed out

• Overwhelmed

• Guilty

• Frustrated

• Depressed or Anxious

• Panicky

• Low self image/low self esteem

• Lack of self confidence

• Prone to self-destructive behaviour like smoking, emotional eating, drinking to excess ('drowning your sorrows in a bottle'), promiscuity, body mutilation, under-eating, etc

The interesting thing about all those 'symptoms' of a faulty Pillar One is that each one of them is largely under your control! The way you (choose to) think , turns on the switch for certain chemicals in your body which then go on to make you feel a certain way or other. This is why drugs which turn off those chemicals work in certain conditions such as depression. A smarter approach than this band-aid approach, however, is to go back to the roots and find out what thinking patterns led to the chemicals being switched on, and change things from that level (permanent solution), thus negating the need for drugs (additional chemicals) which provide a temporary solution. The drugs sometimes have a place though, in an urgent or emergency situation, but it's a temporary place to keep things going while the lifestyle (including thinking pattern) changes kick in.

The paragraphs below use 'stress' as an example to illustrate your potential power as found in Pillar One. Stress is a response to an event. For the most part, this response is under your control - you can choose your response to an event such as when someone says or does something to you: you have the POWER to CHOOSE your how you respond to them. You can let them get you upset or anxious or depressed, or you can choose not to give them such power over you, you can choose to not let it bother you, etc. More on this later. Other times you can't choose your response but your body does respond to something it considers to be a stressful event (for instance sleep deprivation is stress to the body...with detrimental effects, etc) In either case, 'stress' causes you to release certain hormones which have been called 'stress hormones' like cortisol (see below). Stress chronic, prolonged, stress that is, is a very common cause of physical illness today. This is largely due to the fact that it leads to release of certain hormones in the body - your fight or flight hormones, especially Cortisol. If cortisol is released in the little bursts it was designed to be released in, it's helpful and beneficial. However if its release is sustained... then it becomes harmful, leading to all sorts of diseases.

Learning how to deal with existing stress will greatly improve your overall health. Even better is learning how to OVERCOME it altogether and keep it from becoming chronic.

Changing the way you think about life, yourself and the world, to an empowering way of thinking, causes you to release chemicals that promote and restore health. It's no coincidence that optimistic people are generally healthier than pessimists. Note that this empowering way of thinking is what is known as "Balanced Thinking" and is a smart combination of both positive AND negative thinking. More on this later, but read this article to understand the benefits of 'negative thinking' and its contribution to a healthy mindset. So essentially the first pillar is mainly about what goes on between your ears: Your mindset, because your mindset determines your behaviour.

Speaking of behaviour, here are the rest of the pillars.

Pillar 2 – Optimal Hydration

• You must drink enough water for your body size, each day, in order to function optimally. It's not one size fits all.

• Dehydration causes many symptoms such as headaches, body and joint pain, heart burn, etc. Don't treat these symptoms with drugs - treat them with water! If you're well hydrated (see below) and you've still got the symptoms then go see a Doctor. Read this series of articles on WATER for more.

• Drink (33ml x your body weight in kg) of water each day. More if you exercise or drink anything that dehydrates you eg caffeine-containing drinks, alcohol, etc.

Pillar 3 – Optimal Nutrition & Dentition

• You must eat the right types of healthy carbohydrates, healthy fats, healthy proteins, in a proportion that depends on your 'metabolic type'. No one 'diet' fits all.

• Adequate nutrition shall be your medicine, as Hippocrates wisely said all those years ago. Nutritional medicine is true Preventive Medicine.

• You must also take high quality, comprehensive, complete, bioavailable and balanced nutritional supplements daily, to provide optimal levels of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants for your cells.

• According to 2 reviews published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in June 2002, "...it appears prudent for all adults to take nutritional supplements.“ So start eating a healthy balanced diet, PLUS take high quality nutritional supplements daily.

• Be aware that Nutrition also includes what you put on your skin, since it all gets absorbed same as what you eat - and ends up in your blood stream; in fact because it doesn't go through the liver for detox when it's from the skin, you are likely to get more of a substance in your blood from your skin, so pay close attention to the ingredients of your skin products, and avoid known toxins such as 'parabens' when you can.

Oral health is a crucial part of your overall health.

Poor dental health has been linked to a whole host of health problems including heart disease.

Remember to get your teeth checked regularly by a dentist to be sure it's in optimal shape.

Get rid of any mercury amalgams in your mouth as the slow release of mercury into your system is toxic to your body.

Dentition: Oral Health

Also, ideally choose a fluoride-free toothpaste as there are concerns about its effects on the body in general. Read this article for more: FLUORIDE.

Pillar 4 – Gut Health

“All diseases begin in the gut” said Hippocrates, ‘Father of Modern Medicine’ many years ago. He was onto something, which seems to have been lost along the way in medical education such that

not many doctors today are aware of the vital part your gut plays in your overall health.

• Irritable bowel syndrome

• Atopic dermatitis

• Allergic rhinitis

• Some autoimmune diseases

• Obesity

• Diabetes

• Heart disease

• Coeliac disease

• Constipation

• ADHD... and so many more symptoms.

An unhealthy gut manifests in a wide variety of ways such as:

Not too surprising when you realise that your gut originates from similar tissues as your brain (which is why it’s often referred to as your second brain.) When it comes to gut health, there are 2 aspects of it that you need to watch for: a) Gut Flora: Your gut contains about 100 trillion bacteria – more than 10 times the number of cells in your entire body.

85% are probiotics – healthy bacteria, which are responsible for 75-80% of your immunity. They feed on fibre (‘pre-biotics’) which is one reason why veggies are good for you! Various modern day habits (such as antibiotic consumption, diets high in processed carbohydrates, low in fibre, stress, etc) lead to disruption of the balance between good bacteria (probiotics) and bad bacteria, and lead to all sorts of health problems. b) Gut Lining/Membrane: In health this serves as a barrier to keep foreign substances from entering the body. It is able to selectively allow helpful nutrients to pass through this barrier, but when unhealthy, it loses its ability to do this and toxic substances pass through the barrier into the body, wreaking such havoc as certain autoimmune disorder.

Pillar 5 – Sunshine/Vitamin D

It is now known to do more than just give you strong bones and teeth: it affects the functioning of most every cell in your body, and boosts your immunity, therefore a host of illnesses occur when your Vitamin D levels are lower than normal. Certainly if you feel ‘tired all the time’, get your doctor to add this to the other blood tests they’re doing to see if low levels are contributing to your symptoms. Pregnant women also MUST have their Vitamin D levels checked as low levels have not only been associated with hypertension in pregnancy, but are also known to lead to deficiency in the baby, with sometimes serious health consequences for the baby. You must ensure you have optimal levels of Vitamin D (ask your doctor to test for ‘serum (25, OH) Vitamin D’ levels. If insufficient, you need to be taking 2000IU of high quality vitamin D3 (colecalciferol) daily; or if deficient, you need to start off taking 10000IU of Vitamin D3 daily, then go have your blood levels tested again after a month on the supplements to make sure your level’s improving.) Read more about this vital nutrient (also is a hormone) : VITAMIN D.

Pillar 6 – Exercise

If you are strapped for time, you could achieve an equally or more effective workout, by practising High Intensity Interval Training (where you work out at your fastest possible rate for a minute, then slow down for 2 minutes, and repeat the cycle up to 8 times – or you maintain your speed of movement but increase the intensity or resistance you’re working against)…or you could invest in ‘Acceleration Training’ with a vibration plate: with this piece of equipment you can achieve in 10 minutes what you’d normally achieve in a 45 minute workout… Whatever you choose to do, start today, don’t delay. Discipline will bridge the gap between your dreams and their realisation so get that butt moving! You must maintain correct posture at all times as well. To get you started on regular exercise, here’s my 12-Week-Jumpstart-To-Exercise post.

You must exercise regularly – the human body was not designed to be sedentary but to be active. Any good exercise program must include aerobics, strength training and flexibility exercise, done in correct form and posture. At least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least 3 times a week, strength training with weights for at least 20 minutes every other day, stretching for flexibility daily.

Pillar 7 – Optimal Oxygenation

You must breathe well enough to ensure your cells have enough oxygen for you to function optimally. Many other benefits of being well oxygenated exist including stress management, blood pressure control, some cases of pain management, etc. Ways to ensure you get adequate oxygen include regular exercise (see above), specific deep breathing exercises and laughter. Now you know why laughter is like medicine! So find reasons to laugh each day.

Adequate oxygenation also aids elimination of carbon dioxide from the lungs. Speaking of elimination, that’s the next one in our list of the 10 pillars.

Pillar 8 – Optimal Elimination

Optimal elimination is crucial to your health. Disease occurs when any of your elimination pathways is clogged up or blocked. Your elimination organs are shown in the diagram on the right hand side. Keeping your elimination functioning optimally regularly is the ideal state of things, as opposed to waiting for things to go wrong then seek to do irrigations and other such things to relieve the acute problem. Always think in terms of keeping the organs healthy from the root so that they never have cause to complain by causing you symptoms. There will be more articles on specific elimination channels, but here’s one to get you started: LYMPHATICS.

Pillar 9 – Adequate Rest

You must get enough sleep each night. You must also set aside one day each week to do nothing but rest your body and soul. It is a phenomenally refreshing and recharging ‘discipline’ to engage in, and no wonder it’s one of the Ten Commandments – direct from the One who created the human body and knows what it needs to function optimally! A lot of your body’s restorative and growth processes take place while you sleep. Certain hormones are released at night while you sleep, to aid in the said processes. Just as a point of interest, inadequate sleep has been linked with weight gain among other health risks… Experts’ seem to agree that 6-7 hours of sleep minimum per night, are enough for most adults. Go with what your body asks of you. Read more on ‘Sleep’ over here: SLEEP.

Pillar 10 – Support: Receive support, Give support, Social Health

Studies show that being part of a support system helps you maintain a good habit. Studies also show that people in a stable relationship are generally healthier than those who are not. People who are isolated have a higher incidence of mental illness than those who are not. Also, a strong support system is invaluable in the event that you receive devastating news from the doctor – you don’t need sympathy in such an event, you need encouragement and empowerment, which the right type of support group can give you, and which you can give to your friends in their time of need. ‘Support’ could be in form of a spouse/partner, friends, coaching group, Personal coach, etc. You must be plugged into a proactively support system if you are to establish, build and maintain strong Pillars for your Healthy Life. Isolation is bad for your health! You’ve got to have at least someone you can confide in and offload/share your burdens with. ‘No man is an island’ may be cliché, but it’s true. We were not created to be loners. We were created to be social beings, and we thrive best in a socially healthy environment. And disease (either mental or physical) ALWAYS results when we go against the way Nature designed us to function, as a general principle…

You should also seek out ways to be a source of support to others. Give of your time, talents, money, to those in need. This is a powerful therapeutic habit. Certainly does wonders for you if you suffer from depression: it’s hard to feel depressed if you’re focused on others and what you can do for them…(this mindset ties in with the first pillar, however the taking action bit of it is under Pillar 10.). Seek ways to be of value to others and value will be returned to you, not necessarily from the ones you are giving to, either : it’s an undeniable and irrefutable spiritual law.

If you find yourself feeling unwell, go through the above 10 pillars of a healthy life and honestly ask yourself where you’ve gone wrong. If one or more Pillars is weak, disease WILL result. So if this is you then seek help from your doctor or from a doctor who can help you strengthen your weak pillar using a Healthy Lifestyle.

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