Get to Know You
I’ve spent so much time in my last few posts explaining my experiences with sugar and gluten because I truly believe cutting these things are the foundation to preventing cognitive decline — in everyone. Many other factors weigh in, according to Dr. Dale Bredesen, M.D., in “The End of Alzheimer’s
Bredesen lays out a detailed plan for creating optimal health and preventing and reversing Alzheimer’s in his ReCODE Protocol (ReCODE is short for Reversing COgnitive DEcline), and the above diet is a very large part of that protocol. By the time I read “The End of Alzheimer’s
I will begin delving more deeply into ReCODE’s other steps in future posts as my siblings and I work to adopt the program into our lives, sharing our successes and failures and what we’ve learned along the way. I also no doubt will continue discussion on carbs in all their forms from time to time because I believe the Standard American Diet currently is the No. 1 threat to our survival. I want desperately for people to let go of the staunch belief that whole grains are healthy and all fats and cholesterol are evil, and I will continue to fight that cause.
But first I would like to talk about two key aspects to a healthy, long life that many people tend not to consider — getting to know your body and listening to what it has to say. If we’re willing to listen, our bodies are most eager to tell us exactly what we need for optimal health — and every body is different. If we listen to what our bodies tell us after we eat, drink, exercise, take a medication, anything, they will tell us exactly what works for us and what doesn’t. No health regime on the planet will fully work if we are not in tune with our emotional and primal needs. Nor will it ever work if we deny ourselves truly fulfilling foods, making ourselves go hungry, or push ourselves too hard in a workout. True health isn’t as complicated as it seems. All we need to do is slow down, listen and follow our instincts.
I learned the invaluable lesson of how to listen to my body and trust my instincts during the first few years of turning my health around. I don’t mean only reacting when acute pain or sickness arise, as most Americans do. Sadly, The vast majority of people (myself included prior to improving my health) completely ignore their bodies until it is so desperate for attention it starts screaming at the person in the form of injury or disease. Only then do people finally wake up.
But even worse, how many people react by simply going to the doctor and asking for a drug to eliminate the symptoms of their distress. They don’t stop and take a moment to think of what the root cause of their issues might be. They don’t look to their own habits and environments for a solution. I’m not saying this is necessarily a willful decision. Many people likely have no idea their issues are happening for a reason. How many people believe injury and illness are just a part of getting older and something we have to deal with until one of those issues finally takes us in the end? The only solution they know is to go to the doctor, who typically is far to eager to whip out the prescription pad and then move on to the next patient.
So people end up merely suppressing their issues with drugs or surgery — and this holds true for everything from the common cold, to heart disease and diabetes, to joint replacement, to Alzheimer’s and cancer. (Don’t get me wrong, for some issues — such as cancer — drugs and/or surgery are required to save the person’s life. But they’re only part of the solution.)
While the drugs and surgery might relieve pain and other issues for a short time, it often comes with a plethora of awful side effects and it doesn’t deal with the root problem, says Dr. Christiane Northrup, OB-GYN, in her books, “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom
Northrup says whenever anything goes wrong in the body, it’s the body trying desperately to get your attention and to open your eyes to what’s really happening. When pain or sickness arise, she says people should stop and listen. When they catch a cold or flu, their body is telling them to slow down, de-stress, and take a few days to just relax and pamper themselves — and sleep. Instead people often take symptom-relieving medications and push on with their daily grind. People with chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, or worse diseases like cancer, need to look to diet and exercise (obviously) but they also need to look to their stress levels and their emotional relationships.
Northrup emphasizes the importance of maintaining emotional health, saying it often lies at the base of all ailments. A person can never find true health and healing without emotional healing. When painful emotions are repeatedly suppressed and a person never allows him or herself to fully feel and express them, they eventually manifest into disease.
Reading Northrup’s books has opened up a whole new realm of health for me, teaching me to listen to my body. Not only do I give myself permission to feel and express any emotion that might come to the surface, I also listen to what that emotion is telling me so I can make any needed changes accordingly. I also make sure I maintain full self awareness. I pay attention to how I feel after I eat. Do I feel happy, fulfilled and energized (how I feel after I eat vegetables, protein and fat) or do I feel tired and dragged down (how I feel after I eat any grain or too much added sugar)? Every diet change I have made has been with the approval of my body. I never sacrifice, never starve myself or choke down foods I don’t like and never stress out about portion size. And If I fall off the wagon and splurge, I don’t beat myself up. I enjoy the splurge and then get right back on the wagon.
I do the same thing with my workout routines, letting my body decide how far to push myself and when to take it easy. And I only do exercise that I truly enjoy and look forward to doing — whether kayaking, hiking, jogging, bicycling or yoga, I always try to make sure I’m out in nature. (I’ll have much more on exercise and the previously mentioned joint issues/replacements in future posts.)
With every ache/pain/ill symptom I encounter, I don’t reach for the ibuprofen. Instead I stop and allow myself to feel it, ask why I am feeling it and what I need to do about it. My body usually and fairly quickly supplies me with an answer. And that answer is almost always either “back off of that food you’ve been eating increasing amounts of lately” or “stretch, relax, take it easy for a few days and give yourself a break.”
As a result, my health has only improved in ways I have never expected. I am happier than I have ever been; I see the world around me in a whole new light, my curiosity always piqued, wanting to learn more and discover new things; and I haven’t been fully sick in the last few years at least. I might have days here and there when I start to feel a bit run down and under the weather, but like I said, I slow down, give myself a break and then I’m back to 100 percent a day or two later.
Everything I’ve done in the last few years to improve my health I know is exactly the right thing to do because everything has been done with the approval and support of my body. By paying attention, I’ve intimately gotten to know and trust the ebb and flow of my body’s natural cycles and work with them instead of against them.
My hope for everyone reading this is to remember this and keep it at the heart of all your health choices. Your instincts will never steer you wrong.