AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE.
Practicing prevention has never been as important as it is now, during the coronavirus pandemic. The current worldwide health crisis provides ample proof that prevention is not practiced to a sufficient degree even in the richest and most technologically advanced societies. Older people are the ones that have been the easiest victims of the coronavirus. This proves that while life expectancy has kept increasing over the past decades, it does not mean that older people live sufficiently healthy lives or that they are free from chronic diseases. This is really unfortunate because most of the methods that we may utilize to prevent disease and to protect ourselves from contamination are readily available to most people. They are also quite affordable, and they can be practiced regularly at home.
To my knowledge, there are very few people who practice prevention consistently and to a sufficient degree. First of all, we need to make sure that our immune system is as strong and as active as it can be. Our immune system needs to be strong enough to fight viruses and potential diseases. We also need to do what is necessary to keep our cardiovascular system, and our endocrine system healthy, vital and working as efficiently as possible.
EFFECTIVE WAYS TO PRACTICE PREVENTION AND STAY FIT AND HEALTHY
There are many very effective ways in which we can practice prevention and prevent disease. Fortunately, most of the methods that we may utilize are readily available to most people and they are quite affordable. Some of these methods need to be practiced daily, others less frequently, and some only periodically. Once we have learned what to do, we can practice these methods by ourselves in the comfort of our homes or elsewhere. These methods include diets, exercise, natural vitamins, and supplements, as well as intestinal cleansing.
Fitness, exercises, and yoga
The most effective way for us to exercise is by practicing yoga and similar stretching exercises regularly, preferably for at least a few minutes several times a day. Yoga has been around for thousands of years, and it is taught and practiced practically everywhere. The basic principles and the most immediately effective exercises of Yoga are easy to learn and can be practiced by people of all ages. Yoga has the advantage of dealing with all aspects of our bodies that need to be exercised and activated. Yoga utilizes several breathing techniques that can oxygenate us thoroughly and keep our lungs healthy and clean. Some of the yoga postures help to stimulate our endocrine, our cardiovascular, and our immune systems.
We are as young as our spine is flexible.
This is one of the basic principles of yoga. One of the best ways by keeping our spine young and flexible is by doing some basic exercises that can rotate the spine horizontally, and vertically. Some of these exercises can be practiced practically everywhere, even when we are sitting at our desks.
We need to realize that frequency can be even more effective than quantity. Therefore the more frequently we practice the more effective the results will be. Luckily we need to do these exercises for only a few minutes at a time and we can do them practically everywhere even while we work. The best way to make sure that we practice them often enough is by setting a timer for thirty minutes or less. To do so is especially important when we work for a long time at our desks. Human beings are not meant to live sedentary lives, and staring at a computer or a t.v. screen for a long time tires our eyes and creates stress in our bodies. Whether we are conscious of this, or not.
The coronavirus attacks our cardiovascular system as well as our brain. To keep our cardiovascular system healthy, and working at its best, we need to practice breathing techniques and easy cardiovascular exercises every day. Breathing techniques are fundamental to the practice of Yoga. There are easy and effective breathing techniques that we can practice everywhere, at home, at work, and even at the supermarket or while waiting for the subway.
We can supplement yoga with some simple cardio-vascular exercises, and by rebounding for a few minutes every day on a round trampoline. These trampolines don’t have to be more than three feet in diameter and they can be bought at a very reasonable price. It is also a good idea to go for walks in the park or around the neighborhood. A simple way to get our cardiovascular system activated is by using the stairs rather than the elevator. Just walking up or down a few floors can begin to activate our cardiovascular system. At the end of our workdays, we can try to find time to exercise and to practice Yoga or Qi Kong or similar exercises for fifteen minutes or longer.
Healthy, satisfying, and nutritious diets
Most people know that “We are what we eat.” Food provides us with the nutrients and the energy that we need on a daily basis. The reason to eat a healthy and nutritious diet is to be able to assimilate all the essential nutrients that foods provide, such as proteins, carbohydrates, fibers, minerals, vitamins, natural sugars, essential fats, etc. The healthiest diets are vegetarian diets such as Lacto-vegetarian, Macrobiotic, and Vegan. However the percentage of people who are vegetarian in North America is less than 5%, and the population of Vegans is a fraction of that.
The good news is that we don’t have to become completely vegetarian to begin to enjoy the benefits of a vegetarian diet. We can begin by gradually increasing the proportion of vegetarian content in our diets. We can do so slowly, and gradually, over a period of several months, or years, and we can continue to enjoy other food categories that provide the nutrition that we need. What is important is that we try to eliminate those foods, and beverages that are the least healthy. Making changes to our diets is not at all easy, actually, it can be quite a challenge, especially when we feel deprived of our favorite comfort foods. I will elaborate on nutrition, diets, and dieting in an article that will follow.
A diversified rotation of vitamins and natural supplements
To practice prevention and to maximize our vitality and our energy, it is a good idea to utilize a diversified rotation of vitamins and supplements. This is true even if we already enjoy very good health. We can rotate our intake of vitamins and supplements on a daily, weekly, or seasonal basis. For example, we can take some on an empty stomach, some with our meals, and some only on weekends.
To find out what kinds of supplements we need to buy and to verify whether we may have any deficiencies in our bodies, we need to consult a naturopath; if you don’t have one, health food stores usually have a naturopath on staff or they can refer you to a local naturopath. Fortunately, there are some readily available supplements that we can buy almost everywhere, including supermarkets, and they are quite affordable. For example, to boost our immune systems we can use odorless garlic capsules and ginseng tablets.
Intestinal cleansing
Lastly, I want to say a few words about intestinal cleansing. A professor of physiology once told me: “Everything that goes in at one end, has to come out the other end.” This encapsulates one of the basic principles that we need to practice to stay healthy and to stay young. We need to make sure that we not only assimilate as fully as possible all the nutrients that we consume, but we also need to keep our intestines as clean as possible and working efficiently. There are many very practical, efficient, and affordable ways by which we may practice intestinal cleansing. A diet that includes an abundant amount of grains, fibers, raw veggies, and fruits will stimulate bowel movements. In principle, if we eat well, and our intestines are working properly, we need to evacuate once for every meal we consume. If we eat three meals a day, we need to evacuate preferably three times a day.
The most thorough way to clean our intestines is by undergoing colonic irrigations a couple of times a year. Not only do colonic irrigations empty our bowels completely, but they also help us to revitalize our intestines, and they will help us to rejuvenate. Colonic irrigations are quite affordable and readily available.
In conclusion, in this article, I have tried to share some of the basic principles and methods that we can utilize to practice prevention and to boost our immune system. By practicing these principles and these methods regularly, we have a much better chance of avoiding being infected by viruses and to stay healthy and vibrant.
Copyright ? 2020 by André Korenyi