The human body is a miraculous vessel used to house the Spiritual Self, of which you are. The misconception is the physical body will continue to function at its peak level without the required maintenance. Operating at peak efficiency requires proper water, nutrients, and exercise balance. When the physical body does not receive these three mandatory ingredients, it begins to break down. This breakdown occurs gradually, usually without you being aware, until it becomes a severe physical problem. However, you can reverse the physical deterioration with proper maintenance and persistence.
It’s no secret that most people living in the United States are overweight or seriously obese; it is an epidemic. This epidemic is primarily due to many cross-dysfunctional, unhealthy practices. Many of these you are aware of but choose to continue, mainly because you are addicted to this harmful way of treating the physical body. There are always exceptions, but the simple truth is that something needs to change, or your lifespan will diminish significantly.
The purpose of the Physical Health category is to assist you in bringing awareness to the fact that you must adequately maintain Physical Health or not fulfill your life plan purpose. The physical body should last far longer than it currently does. The main reason it breaks down prematurely is due to the improper balance of three main ingredients:
Water – Most people go through the day dehydrated without realizing it. According to Wikipedia and Guyton’s Textbook of Medical Physiology, “the human body is about 60% water in adult males and 55% in adult females. This may be as high as 75 percent of the body weight of a newborn infant. Water content regarding specific tissues: Lean muscle tissue contains about 75% water by weight. Blood contains almost 70% water, body fat contains 10% water, and bone has 22% water. Skin also contains much water.”
Common sense tells us that if we are not giving the body ample water to support all of the various functions, it will not operate correctly, especially true for nutrient delivery to the body’s critical organs. The bottom line is that we need to quench our thrust continuously throughout the day and ideally stay away from toxic substances that cause dehydration of the body in the first place, such as alcohol. Water is the elixir of life; without it, the natural chemical balance will deteriorate, and the body will malfunction. The brain is the first to malfunction due to dehydration, which may negatively affect emotional happiness.
Food – Most people in the United States ingest toxic food (fuel) from chemically produced sources but expect to receive the proper balance of nutrients. Which is “a substance that provides nourishment, e.g., the minerals that a plant takes from the soil or the constituents in food that keeps a human body healthy and helps it to grow.” The good news is that you can change how you currently fuel the physical body with little effort, mainly by eating more organic food or purchasing food from local farmers who treat the growing soil properly. If the proper nutrients are missing in the ground your food grows in, do not expect them to appear magically in your food.
The human body cannot operate appropriately with the growth chemicals and preservatives the colossal corporation growing industry adds to our food source. These additives and other addictive chemically produced taste enhancers are causing you to crave the very products that are slowly harming you. Growth additives are there for two purposes: to speed the growing process, such that the product can be brought to the market sooner and to give the appearance that you are receiving more for your money. For example, when examining fruit, one can see that the size of fruit in most supermarkets is ridiculous because growth enhancers make it bigger than usual. Do a taste test for yourself; buy some organic fruit from the local farmer, and then buy some manipulated fruit from the corporate store. The organic fruit will be smaller, naturally tasty, and nutritious.
In contrast, the mega fruit from the supermarket will be oversized, tasteless, and lack the necessary nutrients to keep the body healthy. Highly processed packaged food is even worse. Start reading package labels; if you cannot pronounce the ingredients, don’t buy the food!
When eating healthy is approached from an action-based perspective, it becomes part of the natural balance of your life plan. When you actively pursue purchasing healthy organic food and balance the input, you add years to your life expectancy through eating healthy portions. The human body should graze, ingesting many small quantities of food throughout the day. Most people don’t realize when you starve, the body usually stores the next meal as fat. The body needs constant nourishment or creates its reserve as fat to feed itself when you will not. If you are not eating five to six small portions (the size of your palm defines a serving) of balanced food each day, you will gradually build up fat storage areas throughout the body. Skipping meals and partaking in other harmful substances, such as alcohol and sugar-based products, is a guaranteed way to continue the process of fat storage. Sugar is not your friend; high blood sugar increases insulin output, which causes the body to store more food as fat.
Nothing is more detrimental to your Physical Health than ingesting human chemically produced addictive toxins. One of the purposes of the liver is to burn off fat; however, if it is constantly busy attempting to reduce toxins from addictive processed foods, it cannot burn fat. If you are addicted (and many people are) to these corporate chemically produced products – get help. There is nothing to be ashamed of; being slowly poisoned with toxins will eventually lead to the destruction of your Physical Health. A properly nourished body leads to positive emotions and increases happiness.
Exercise – Most people in the United States lack a proactive exercise plan. A plan does not mean simply physical; it also means your thoughts about exercise. What you think about the practice, the subconscious mind believes. The physical body requires a proper blend of weight training, cardiovascular activity, and nutrients to grow and stay strong and healthy. A body in motion stays robust, slim, and toned. If you stop exercising, the muscles begin to atrophy. When muscle tone is lost, the skeptical structure has nothing to support it. Excess weight coupled with atrophied muscles will result in the body breaking down and will produce abnormal pressures on the physical organs and skeletal structure. Therefore, lack of exercise creates a negative ripple effect in the physical body, which, with little effort, can be avoided. It’s a proven fact; once you start a proactive exercise plan, the body will naturally assist in its continuance.
There is a science dedicated to proper exercise for this reason. Science has proven beyond any doubt that getting some form of daily routine is necessary. If you are not doing any activity, you choose to destroy your Physical Health. Look at our children today; why are so many of them obese? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that they no longer go outside to play and run, which is an excellent form of exercise. Children now come home, sit in front of the computer or television, and exercise if they play an organized sport. How many of you make it a point to teach your children the value of exercise and then show them through leading by example?
People have many reasons for not exercising; most of them are merely excuses. Yes, some cannot do strenuous exercise at the moment. However, it is probably related to an accident in those cases. Unfortunately, and more likely, it could be simply due to years of self-induced physical neglect. Over the years, there has been a tremendous gain in the Science of Exercise. There are many professional programs offered for every situation and age. You can seek assistance from a book, the Internet, or a physical trainer. The options are unlimited. All it takes is a little effort on your part.
Exercise is a prerequisite to maintaining excellent Physical Health—today is the perfect day to start. At least take a walk; it’s great exercise and allows you to harmonize with nature.
When you have Physical Health, your whole world changes, many limitations fall away, and you look forward to the next moment with increased vitality. Physical health is a natural requirement to improve overall happiness and is an excellent motivation for building long-lasting, loving, and interactive family relationships.
Author: Terry Swejkoski