Since Covid came into our lives, being unwell has become a scary thing.
I’m not just talking about contracting the virus, I’m talking about being ill in any way at all. Whether you have a chronic illness or are having symptoms for something new, you are in a difficult place. Sadly, doctors and hospitals are not able to take care of us in the way they used to anymore. It is time to take back your power and learn how to take care of your own health.
Of course, if you are in something like a serious car crash you need emergency care. There is not much that you can do for yourself in this situation and you need to surrender to the amazing care that most A&E departments provide. However, if you need to see a doctor, need drugs, need a diagnosis or need treatment/routine surgery you are likely to find yourself on a long waiting list, that is if you can get any attention at all.
I feel that in the further future, this will change and a new type of medicine will exist that will counter a lot of the illnesses of aging. For now, the truth is, we are left pretty much to ourselves. This can feel a little scary but we can also see this as a positive challenge to learn how to take care of our own health and not be so dependent on a system that can’t do that for us anymore.
The Body Believes What You Think
The human body is an amazing thing. We have been designed to survive on this planet, we are not some flimsy, vulnerable creature that cannot take care of itself. We have a lot of what we need to stay healthy inside us already, we just need to give the body what it needs and not poison it with what it doesn’t need. I really encourage you to start believing this as, not only will it give you peace of mind, it will change your biochemistry to that of a healthy person. Our thoughts become cascades of chemicals in our body so you may as well have thoughts that make you more robust. The body believes what you think.
Unfortunately, getting the best care and medicines, whether that is modern medicine or complementary, does cost money. But we put aside significant amounts of our income for our cars, holidays, clothes, beauty treatments, presents, home décor yet we rarely think about keeping a part of our budget for health. I’m not saying that these things aren’t important but, to me, what is the point of having these things if you can’t really enjoy them because you are suffering from a chronic, debilitating illness? And if it isn’t debilitating now, it is likely to get that way over time.
Self-Health is a Priority
I’m afraid that the days when we could assume that the state would take care of all of this for us are gone now. We need to make self-health a priority in our lives and this is not a bad thing. I appreciate that not everyone has lots of money to spend on this (especially now) but there is still a lot that you can do for yourself even if you don’t have a big budget.
THE 4 KEYS TO SELF-HEALTH
There are four main ways you can help yourself when it comes to your health:
- PREVENT ILLNESS DAILY
- Create a Rock-hard Immune System
- Keep clean inside
- Intelligent Movement Every Day
As a biohacker, I have been studying many cutting-edge health practitioners from around the world for over 20 years now and I find that these people are often way ahead of general medicine. They will often speak the truths that are not normally shared. They all seem to agree that when it comes to self-health PREVENTING DISEASE, IMMUNE SYSTEM SUPPORT, KEEPING CLEAN INSIDE and MOVEMENT are all really important. The great thing is these can all be done at home. So, don’t wait until you are ill before you start taking action for your health. What we put into our body each day is really important.
In this blog we will look at PREVENTING ILLNESS DAILY and there will be follow-up blogs on IMMUNE SYSTEM SUPPORT, KEEPING CLEAN INSIDE and INTELLIGENT MOVEMENT.
PREVENTING ILLNESS DAILY
True health is created and maintained day by day. In China, you pay the doctor while he is keeping you well and stop paying him if you become ill until he has got you back to health again. There is so much you can do at home to make sure that you don’t become ill in the first place, but nutrition is one of the key things.
Nutrition doesn’t have to be as complex as it sounds, and you don’t need to learn any fancy diets. Many diets don’t work and can screw-up your metabolism and make things worse anyway. Having said that, if I was diagnosed with cancer I would go straight on a strict ketogenic diet for a few months but I would not stay on it forever although I would certainly be careful with carbs going forward (cancer feeds on sugar).
I am not a nutritionist, but I have found that there are 3 general rules for everyday nutrition that keep disease away:
PREVENTION RULE No 1: EAT REAL FOOD
The fact is, we are all different so one particular style of eating is not right for everyone. We are different sexes, different ages, different blood groups, different work styles, different fitness levels, different genetically and may have different health challenges from the past. However, eating REAL FOOD is good for everyone. This also means avoiding processed foods with additives and God knows what in them as much as possible. I’m not saying you need to become fanatical about it, I will have the occasional ready meal if I really need to, but around 90% of my eating is natural foods as nature provides them.
Some people don’t do well on wheat or dairy though and, if that is you, you will need to minimise these, too. It is also good to reduce the amount of refined sugar in your diet (this is a hard one for me) as sugar can suppress our immune systems and can also lead to blood sugar and cardiac problems in later life.
I realise that time is critical for some people but there are now many good ‘food box’ subscription services out there that deliver fresh, natural ingredients to your home and you just assemble it. So, no planning, no shopping, no weighing out.
We have used Gousto for some of our meals for several years but there are others like Hello Fresh, Riverford, Abel & Cole, Mindful Chef. Compared to the prices of food in the shops now, they don’t work out too expensive either especially as we often get a third meal out of a 2-meal recipe.
PREVENTION RULE No 2: ADD HERBS AND SPICES TO YOUR FOOD
Herbs and spices are really medicine in a jar. ALL herbs and spices have medicinal properties and usually taste pretty good, too. Try and make them part of your everyday meals (or teas) and you can add them in all sorts of ways.
For example, I will add things like nigella seeds, mustard seeds or fenugreek seeds to my rice when I cook it. Tastes great. Try and get some Ceylon cinnamon into your food (lovely in a banana smoothie) as cinnamon helps control blood sugar and it is also a very powerful antioxidant. If you are doing some roast cauliflower or mini potatoes sprinkle on some chopped rosemary (boosts immune system) or some cumin seeds (improves digestion) before you roast them.
Gotta Love Sirtuins
Some of these gifts from nature also work at the genetic level which I think is pretty amazing. For example, an herb called Lovage contains proteins called sirtuins. Sirtuins act like little Pac-Men (Millennials may need to Google that one!) which wander around your cells gobbling up any faulty or broken DNA that might otherwise lead to disease. Lovage is easy to grow in the garden and tastes great chopped into potato salad.
Most herbs and spices are pretty cheap, so this is a great way to get nature’s medicine if you are on a smaller budget. Here are a couple of links to give you some ideas for herbs and spices in cooking:
PREVENTION RULE No 3: TAKE TONIC HERBS
Most cultures around the world have taken tonic herbs as a natural part of life for thousands of years. They would think you were potty if you didn’t take a tonic herb, especially as you got older because tonic herbs not only keep us healthy, they also help with longevity.
By definition, a ‘tonic’ herb is something that you can take every day and is not a remedy that you take just for a specific illness
Amazing Maca
One of the tonic herbs that I am in love with at the moment is Maca. The Maca plant grows in South America and it is the dried root that is used as a tonic. You just add a little of the dried powder to some water or juice first thing in the morning.
Maca not only helps balance our hormones, which is important for men and women from middle-age onwards, it is also a great source of lots of vitamins and minerals. It improves your mood and gives you energy and endurance. It also improves brain function, especially memory and learning. What’s not to like! You can buy a packet of organic Maca powder for around £8 which will last you for months.
Apart from Maca there are some other tonic herbs that are great for giving you energy, keeping you motivated and staying resilient. These include:
Rhodiola https://draxe.com/nutrition/rhodiola-benefits-burning-fat-for-energy-and-beating-depression/
Siberian Ginseng https://draxe.com/nutrition/eleuthero-siberian-ginseng/
Ashwaghanda https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-proven-ashwagandha-benefits#2
Cordyceps https://draxe.com/nutrition/cordyceps/
Fenugreek https://draxe.com/nutrition/fenugreek/
I find it best to take a tonic herb for around 3 months and then give it a rest and take another one for a while so that the body doesn’t get too used to one particular herb and the effect gets blunted.
Look out for the next Health blog from Futureproof Human which will be on Boosting the Immune System…
Photos by Dimitry Shamis, Katie Smith, Clement Bergey and R+R Medicinals on Unsplash