Do We Really Know What Makes Us Healthy?

This was the title of a recent article in the New York Times that discussed the complexities of determining what exactly it takes to be healthy.  Whether that is determining the effectiveness of a new drug, only to find out later that it is harmful, or determining how much impact our diet and lifestyle has on our health, it is increasingly difficult to determine one factor that leads to disease.  There is so much information floating around that it seems almost impossible at times to determine what truly is good for us and what is harmful.  This is compounded by the fact that we are bombarded by advertisements to the degree that every child has seen more that 20,000 hours of drug commercials by the time they are 18 years of age.  The result is that we look for the answer to our health challenges outside of ourselves.  We are always looking for that magic pill, lotion, or potion to cure us of all our aches, pains, and symptoms.  The reality is that we have already been provided with all we need to heal and it is all located inside of us.  This is what differentiates healing from curing.  Healing involves personal transformation, though it may not always result in what is perceived to be the best outcome.  This is because healing, unlike curing, occurs on more than just the physical level.  It also occurs at the mental, emotional, and spiritual levels.  The result is a greater quality of life, though not always a greater quantity of life.  This is very powerful and often overlooked.  Who wants more quantity without quality? 

What I found to be the most amazing part of the article, though it got very little mention, was that the one link in all the studies conducted that resulted in people being healthier was how faithfully people engaged in the prescribed activity.  This seems obvious to some degree.  The more regularly a person takes the prescribed medication during a given study, the greater benefit they received from it.  However, the remarkable part is that this includes people taking a placebo!  People who regularly take a placebo have the same benefit as those who regularly take the medication.  So it is concluded that it is this behavior that prevents disease and saves lives.  People who maintain hope and have faith that they can heal are more likely to do so!

Our body has a tremendous ability to heal and it is important to have faith that it will do so.  It is true that often times we have to make external changes in our lives to help facilitate the healing process, but by the time we actually make those changes the healing has already occurred.  Jesus stated that it is not what goes into our body that defiles us, but that which comes out. 

Because of this, one of the greatest things we can do to promote healing and maintain a positive quality of life is to encourage a state of love, hope, and gratitude within ourselves.  And last I checked, there are no drugs that can do this for us.  At least not yet!

View the whole article at The New York Times.

Dr. Jonah Yakel, of Life Gate Chiropractic, utilizes Network Spinal Analysis, Flow, and nutritional supplementation to create a unique chiropractic healing experience. Come see Dr. Jonah lecture on “How to Heal from the Inside Out” on Monday, September 24 th , at 7 pm at Bookman's located at Speedway and Wilmot.