Diet and Exercise

It is not often I recommend more than a single homeopathic remedy to a client. Those clients who are in relatively good health sometimes ask what more they can do to take care of themselves. Vitamins and supplements can be helpful but require a certain expertise in using them correctly. I find that the need for vitamins diminishes when good diet  and exercise are adopted. Of all of the recommendations though, these two are the most difficult for people to follow because it involves a lifestyle change, not just the taking of another pill.

Hahnemann recognized that our lifestyle is integral to our general health. He also recommended that we remove all foods that could have a medicinal effect. He referred to this in Aphorism 260. In Aphorism 261 he addressed the issue directly, "The most appropriate regimen during the employment of medicine in chronic diseases consists in the removal of such obstacles to recovery, and in supplying where necessary the reverse: innocent moral and intellectual recreation, active exercise in open air in almost all kinds of weather (daily walks, slight manual labor), suitable,nutritious, unmedicinal food and drink, etc."

As we all know diet plays a great part in the maintenance or destruction of our health. Many times obesity and weight loss become the driving reasons for diet and exercise. I have found that as with homeopathy any program of diet or exercise needs to be for the person. No one size fits all.

In terms of the food we eat and what works best I recommend that my clients take a test available on www.mercola.com to determine their nutritional type. Dr. Joseph Mercola has created a well balanced yet simple way to determine how our food preferences can determine our basic nutritional type. http://products.mercola.com/nutritional-typing/?aid=CD94 This makes it easier for someone to adopt a new diet into their lifestyle and increasing their health at the same time. He recommends eating good quality and organic food if possible.

He has found that people fall into three nutritional types; Protein, Carbohydrate, or Mixed Type. By determining your nutritional type he has made dietary recommendations that are easy to incorporate. I have found that most people who eat a diet that is simple to follow and easy to prepare do extremely well with this approach.

Needless to say that sugar, refined grains, and other processed foods, especially those with many chemicals added are to be avoided. If we eat fresh fruits and vegetables, farm raised meats that have a natural diet, fish that are line caught, poultry that are raised naturally we will benefit with increased vigor and health. It is not enough to include all of these without decreasing the processed foods though. We can not make a change in one part of our diet without removing the detrimental foods as well.

Along with a simple dietary life change I recommend an exercise program to increase our physical health and stamina. There are as many ways to exercise as there are diets to loose weight. Those programs that include outside fresh air are most enjoyable. Walking or any other sport can be good for anyone but for those leading a more sedentary life, any body movement will be sufficient. We must take care to not jump in too fast as it takes time to build up our muscle and endurance. I also recommend a program of light resistance training. Lifting light weights to keep our muscles in tone is good if we do not have a profession that keeps us active. Yoga, Tai Chi and other body movement activities are very recommended.

Dr Al Sears has developed a program for resistance training that activates aerobic as well as anaerobic exercise. I have used this method for years now and find that it gives the most benefit for the least amount of time invested. His program is called PACE. You can learn more by going to his website.  http://www.alsearsmd.com/google/new-pace.html

As with all changes in life, some do not come easy. That is why I recommend programs that are easy to follow without a huge commitment of time or money. Most people do NOT want to change. I find that making elaborate recommendations just do not work. But to help a person incorporate a few simple change works much better. As a person responds in a beneficial way they will naturally want to continue to evolve.

So when anyone asks me what more I recommend for them, these are the two things that will benefit them the most, diet and exercise. They are usually not expensive and can be easily incorporated into any lifestyle.  Recommending anything other than a simple change in these areas usually does not work.