The Best Kept Secret In Medicine Is That, Given The Right Conditions, Your Body Heals Itself

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I almost had to amputate my big toe when my fiancée and I bought our new bed frame a couple years ago…

There’s this hard wooden leg on the side of the bed frame, and I stubbed my toes so many times I lost count (and feeling).

It was a daily disaster for my tender toesies.

For a few weeks, I was in pain constantly, sometimes even limping!

I learned pretty quickly that I have to be extra careful to avoid the terrible toe trap.

So now I get into bed like a scuba diver flopping backwards over the edge of the boat… Although, I don’t usually plug my nose.

Luckily, I got to keep all of my toes!

After I had learned my lesson, my toes healed, maybe even stronger than ever! You could say they toe-tally healed. (sorry)

Why am I telling you this silly story?

Because it illustrates a really important point about your body’s innate ability to heal.

Pain, discomfort and other symptoms are your body’s way of communicating with you.

It’s the language of the body, and it’s up to you to listen.

The best kept secret in medicine is that, given the right conditions, your body heals itself!

When you stub your toe or bang your knee into a coffee table, you intuitively know that it will heal with time.

As long as you don’t go banging it repeatedly into the same blunt object like I did, your injury will heal.

And you will feel as good as new in no time!

This is obvious for visible wounds and pain that we can feel in the moment.

But what about the kind of injuries that we can’t see or feel?

?

Invisible injuries and avoidable ailments.

It’s hard to pay attention to something when you don’t really know it’s there.

So many of our ailments happen beneath our conscious perception; Things that happen so gradually that we barely notice a difference day to day.

• High Blood Pressure
• Heart Disease
• Insulin Resistance
• Arthritis
• Digestive Problems

And so many other common ailments attributed to aging, like hearing loss, vision impairment, and joint pain.

But ask anyone who knows they have arthritis, and you can bet that they feel it every day.

This kind of injury doesn’t just come about instantly at your 55th birthday party.

It happens slowly, progressing gradually under the surface of your conscious awareness.

Usually unnoticed, until one day, you go, “ow, my knuckles are a little sore today.”

That’s not when the problem starts… It’s when you became aware of the problem.

My Dad, and my fiancée's Dad, both have arthritis in their hands.

They only began paying attention when they started experiencing pain.

But unfortunately, as these things progress, it becomes more difficult to reverse the damage.

Like a car needs regular maintenance, your body requires some special care BEFORE you experience visible wounds or painful sensations.

My Mom has High Blood Pressure - called Hypertension in the doctor’s office.

When I talk to my Mom about her Hypertension, she tells me that there's no pain. No visible symptoms.

Maybe a slight lack of energy, or the odd headache.

But the only reason she knows her blood pressure is high is because of routine checkups with her doctor.

Many people write this off, saying “it’s just part of aging”.

“I’m just dehydrated.”

Until, bam… Heart disease in your 50’s.

Again, this has been a slow-burning problem for decades, but without your conscious awareness, it goes untreated…

With no visible injury or painful sensations, so many ailments are ignored.

This is serious stuff.

We need to take care of our heart and our body when times are good!

Side Note: If your doc has diagnosed you with High Blood Pressure, I urge you to Google “White Coat Hypertension”…

Essentially, a blood pressure reading is only valid if you have been at rest for 5 minutes, and are not in a state of elevated stress.

Which literally never happens in a doctor’s office, because you just walked from the waiting room to the tissue-covered examination table.

The best solution? Get yourself a blood-pressure monitor from Amazon, and take your own readings at home when you’re truly in a restful state.

What’s my point here, though?

When you realize that you’ve been stubbing your toe repeatedly, the logical thing is to stop banging your toes.

Avoid blunt objects at foot level…

The best kept secret in medicine is that, given the right conditions, your body heals itself!

If you were to continue banging your toe 3 times a day, it would never have a chance to heal.

That’s essentially what happens when you live a modern sedentary lifestyle infused with junk food and phone addiction.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner - you’re banging the proverbial toe that is your inner-wellness.

Sugar and processed junk are the blunt objects.

Sitting slouched, scrolling on the couch for hours on end is a blunt object.

Even loneliness is a blunt object.

This is not how we were meant to live!

So I want you to realize that the key to improving your health in every way imaginable is to stop doing the things that are causing the damage.

Stop banging into things, and watch the healing happen effortlessly.

Getting older is inevitable, but most ailments of aging are optional.

In recent years, I’ve come across this fascinating idea from leading longevity expert, Dr. David Sinclair, that?“Aging is a disease that’s treatable”!

What a concept!

I highly recommend his book,?Lifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don't Have To.

It’s a dense read, but well worth it.

And don’t worry if you’re not into reading that kind of thing…

That’s why I’m here, distilling what I learn into (hopefully) entertaining and informative articles!

I read dozens of books every year, and stay up to date on the latest longevity research so you don’t have to.

These common diseases of aging are completely optional.

• High Blood Pressure
• Heart Disease
• Stroke
• Type II Diabetes
• Obesity

Even conditions like Asthma, COPD, Osteoporosis, Cancer, Depression, and Anxiety are totally avoidable for most people.

In the medical community, these are referred to as chronic diseases.

But I call them lifestyle-related health challenges.

They’re just challenges that can be overcome with the right tools.

The reality is, only a tiny fraction of these are caused by genetics.

Some statistics to put this in perspective:

The WHO says, “At least 80% of all heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes—as well as 40% of all cancer are preventable."

The CDC reports, “70% of annual deaths are due to chronic diseases.”

The vast majority are lifestyle-related, meaning that you can prevent, treat, and even reverse most of them with… you guessed it: LIFESTYLE.

A study published by the NIH states, “more than 90 percent of type 2 diabetes, 80 percent of coronary artery disease, 70 percent of stroke, and 70 percent of colon cancer are potentially preventable by a combination of nonsmoking, avoidance of overweight, moderate physical activity, healthy diet, and moderate alcohol consumption.”

I know, you’ve heard it all before.

Eat less.

Move more.

Use willpower.

Restrict yourself.

I know that you know this is a dead end!

So here’s what I propose moving forward…

If it doesn’t improve your quality of life, don’t do it!

I know, revolutionary!

After doing this for nearly 9 years, I’ve realized that what makes immediate results possible for our clients are these 3 things:

1.?Understanding just how simple it is to heal,

2.?Receiving personalized support and guidance, and

3.?Feeling good along the journey.

And that’s only possible with a holistic approach that addresses your physical health, mental wellbeing, and your home environment.

So, in short, of course eating well and moving your body matters.?(A lot!)

But clearly it’s not enough to merely tell people to eat better and move more.

Otherwise our city streets and stores would be full of fitness models and bodybuilders.

This trite advice falls short of the finish line.

Throughout the rest of this article (and in future editions of The Longevity Letter), we’ll dive deeper into what actually works.

Measure your quality of life, NOT your carbs.

My Mom spent over 30 YEARS of her precious life following ineffective and often misleading weight loss advice.

At different times, she was a Weight Watchers member, an Atkins aficionado, and a disciple of “Keto”.

For years, she diligently followed the restrictive diets espoused by each of these dietary dictators.

Count calories.

Restrict portions.

Conserve your points.

But did they solve her problem?

Did they actually help her improve her quality of life?

Of course not!

She just felt worse. More hopeless over time. And in the process, the quality of her everyday experience diminished.

Your lifestyle should improve the freedom and control you have over your life, not restrict and trap you on a metaphorical treadmill to nowhere.

The approach that I propose you use moving forward is this…

When you’re trying out a lifestyle improvement, ask yourself these questions:

1.?Is this enjoyable?

2.?Do I feel better and have more energy than before?

3.?Can I see myself doing this for the rest of my life?

I must make a caveat here, because of course, it’s not always going to be easy.

I’m not saying that you should only do things that feel easy in the moment.

I’m saying that what has worked for myself and my clients in the past is reflecting back on the week or month, and deciding if I’m any happier or healthier than before.

Did that improve my life?

Do I feel proud of myself?

You can treat it like an experiment.

What if improving your health was fun?

Like a game, where the prize is living a longer, healthier life free from the avoidable ailments we spoke about earlier.

Instead of the instant gratification of ordering a pizza, I wonder what would happen if I ate a massive salad everyday for a month…

I wonder how I would feel if I actually prioritize drinking 10 glasses of water each day

…if I stretch every morning.

…if I only eat when I’m actually hungry.

…if I go for a long walk in nature after dinner.

Give it enough time to take effect.

Before you throw in the towel, you owe it to yourself to experience the results.

Allow yourself to get through the inertia of inaction, and break into a cool cruise of forward momentum.

Not forever. Just long enough to see for yourself.

Test.

Reflect.

Repeat.

Don’t take my word for it… You will only truly understand the benefits from your own experience.

And if you begin to measure your success in terms of quality of life, you can’t go wrong.

After all, isn’t that what it’s all about… Living a happier, healthier life full of energy and joy?

What’s your health vision?

Let’s be real; restrictive diets suck, and willpower never lasts!

Low fat.

Low carb.

Low quality of life…

The reason so many people fail to create meaningful change is that they focus on surface-level habits like diet and exercise.

But it’s too easy to slip back into your old patterns unless you change the way you see yourself; Your story.

So the first thing I recommend is that you create a vision.

A vision for your health, and your life… Something inspiring to work towards.

When you have clear goals, and a vision of what life will be like when you get there, taking the necessary actions becomes so much more meaningful.

It gives you purpose!

And this sense of purpose is what carries you forward, magnetizing you towards the healthy body, clear mind, and beautiful life that you imagine for yourself.

If you can imagine it, you can have it.

In the last Longevity Letter, we talked about the 3 beliefs that are essential if you want to succeed in improving your lifestyle.

1.?Believe it’s possible.

2.?Believe that you deserve it, and

3.?Believe that it won’t be nearly as hard as you think.

Trust me, you deserve it!

Complexity is the enemy of consistency.

Alright, enough philosophy.

Now that we’ve covered a lot of the mindset stuff, let’s get into the details of what you can do today to experience more energy and joy!

A rule that I live by is KISS: Keep It Super Simple.

That’s why, at the end of this letter, you can download a simple daily routine that I created to help you stay more consistent.

It’s super practical and easy to follow.

I encourage you to print it out, and keep it somewhere that you will see often.

The less you have to remember, the better.

Staying healthy is about doing a bunch of seemingly small things every day, for months and years.

The little things become the big things.

It’s not about perfection.

You will make mistakes.

You will decide to have an occasional treat, or a lazy day watching Love Is Blind, and that’s completely okay.

Aim for the 90/10 rule. If you’re consistent 90% of the time, you WILL be healthy. No question.

Remember that the best kept secret in medicine is that, given the right conditions, your body heals itself!

Here’s how you create those conditions.

First off, the basic necessities for life on Earth as a human being.

These are the foundations of good health:

• Water
• Sleep
• Movement
• Sunlight
• Food
• Connection

There is simply no replacement for these 6 things…

They’re the low-hanging fruit, within reach, ripe for the picking.

If you practice these regularly, the inevitable result is that you will be happier and healthier.

Imagine that your health is a big, beautiful structure in ancient Greece, and these 6 healthy habits are the pillars that hold the whole thing up.

So I challenge you: Go all-in on these for a month!

Strengthen your pillars and I guarantee that your physical and mental health will improve.

You will experience a level of energy and vitality that, until now, you didn’t even know existed.

That’s a sad thing - most people go their whole lives without actually feeling what it’s like to be a totally healthy human!

And it’s so easy. It’s so simple.

The opposite is also true: Without the 6 pillars, your colosseum could collapse under its own weight. (Pun intended)

Neglect any one of these for too many days in a row, and you can bet that negative consequences begin bubbling beneath the surface.

This is all it takes:

Everyone needs to drink 10-12 glasses of water every day.

Everyone needs to get 7-9 hours of high quality sleep every day

Everyone needs to move their body for an hour every day.

Everyone needs to get 10 minutes of sunlight every day.

Everyone needs to eat whole, minimally-processed foods every day, preferably only when you’re actually hungry.

And potentially the most important, Everyone needs to connect with other people they care about on a consistent basis.

There are no exceptions. Precisely zero people on Earth function well if they’re missing any one of these natural needs.

If you can make these non-negotiable, you will be healthier than 95% (maybe even 99%) of people.

The Daily Routine included at the end of this article will help you do that.

Here’s how we take it to the next level:

If you’re the type of person who wants to have complete control of your health, you’ll probably want to incorporate these elements into your lifestyle too.

Focus on what feels good, and never settle for anything less than your highest potential for enjoying your life.

Going beyond the basics, here are the fundamentals that our clients experience in our 6 Week Heart Health Makeover:

Gourmet Plant-Powered Cuisine:?How to make mouth-watering meals that are so delicious your friends will be suspicious.

Rest + Digest:?How to turn on your body’s furnace and properly enter ketosis using intermittent fasting, without restricting carbs.

Natural Movement Snacks:?How to crank up your body heat (thermogenesis) with enjoyable little movement bites throughout the day (no long workouts necessary!)

Healthy Environmental Design:?How to set up your living spaces to inspire healthy decisions, and make unhealthy choices disappear.

Transformational Lifestyle + Mindset Coaching:?How to shift your mindset and build healthy habits without superhuman levels of willpower.

We will explore each of these on a deeper level in next week’s Longevity Letter.

But for now, set your sights on protecting your pillars, and just see what happens!

You deserve to finally feel in control of your health!

Download Your Grounded Daily Routine

Stay Grounded,

Landon Kennedy

CEO, Lifestyle + Mindset Advisor

P.S. - I write these letters because a lot of people are unhappy with their health, and I don’t want you to be one of them!

I believe that you should only have to get healthy once!

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