Physical Health

Being healthy physically means not only having a healthy body, but also having a healthy environment in which to live and work. To help heal the body, alternative physicians encourage their patients to become responsible for their diet and nutritional needs, to exercise regularly and to get adequate sleep, and to take steps to ensure their home and work environments are free of potentially harmful toxic chemicals and pollutants.

Diet and Nutrition

Proper diet is a cornerstone of optimum physical health and can also positively influence mood and mental function. Since the mid-20th century, however, the typical diet has become increasingly devoid of essential nutrients, due to several factors:

The advent of commercial farming methods, which have resulted in minerally deficient soil and an over-reliance on pesticides used to grow crops, and antibiotics, hormones, and other drugs used in raising livestock.

The burgeoning popularity of the fast-food industry and processed "junk foods," which contain unhealthy chemical additives, saturated fats and transfatty oils, and white flour and refined starches.

Environmental pollutants, which continue to poison our air, land, and sea, to the point where even certain, once healthy kinds of sea food are now unsafe to eat due to the levels of mercury and other harmful substances they contain.

The first rule of diet, therefore, is to eliminate, or at least minimize, your intake of processed, commercially grown food. Instead, emphasize a whole-foods diet rich in organic fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, nuts, seeds, fiber, pure water, and, if possible, organically raised meat and poultry products. Also, reduce or eliminate your intake of red meats, fats, and milk and dairy products.

For many people, adopting a whole foods diet alone will produce significant health benefits. For others, however, further attention needs to be given to the foods they eats, especially if their problems persist after following such a diet for a reasonable amount of time (1-2 months). Such people may unknowingly suffer from food allergies or sensitivities, or require the professional assistance of a skilled physician or nutritionist, who can help tailor a diet specific to their unique metabolic type and biochemical individually. This is an area of expertise that is far more common among practitioners of alternative medicine that among conventional doctors, who receive little training in diet and nutrition during their medical education. Naturopathic physicians and practitioners of Ayurvedic can also provide valuable dietary advice.

Nutritional Supplements

Due the increasing prevalence of environmental pollution, the stresses of modern living, and the spread of virulent pathogens, nutritional supplementation in another important self-care health option. In order to tailor a nutritional supplementation program that ideally suits your needs, consider consulting with a nutritionally oriented physician or clinical nutritionist.

American Board of Holistic Medicine, provides a suggested dosage range for the most common antioxidant vitamins and minerals:

"People who are exposed to higher levels of stress and increased exposure to pollutants, or who are not feeling well or experiencing diminished sleep, should use the higher doses.

Exercise

Next to diet, exercise is the most important factor for achieving and maintaining optimum physical health. It provides health benefits for people of all ages and can also prolong life. A Finish study of nearly 8,000 men and women, for instance, found that those who did not exercise increased their risk of dying by 400% compared to individuals in the high-activity group. Here are some tips to help you get started :

Frequency and duration of activity are more important than intensity. Moderately intense exercise, such as brisk walking, is enough for health benefits if done most days of the week. Normal daily activities as well as formal exercise sessions add up. You get health benefits from walking up stairs and carrying out the trash, gardening, cleaning, shopping, vacuuming, making the bed, and mowing the lawn.

If you can, engage is moderate to vigorous exercise using the large muscles for 30-60 minutes three or more times a week; you're likely to gain even more health benefits in addition to greater fitness.

You don't have to do all your exercise at one time during the day. You can accumulate short periods of moderately intense activity, such as mowing a patch of lawn or walking up hills, in 5 - to 10-minute intervals that total 30 minutes throughout the day. The key is the total amount of energy expended not the intensity.

Strengthening exercises at least twice a week help counteract muscle loss due to aging. And since calories are burned more quickly by muscle tissue, muscle mass is a key factor in helping maintain a healthful weight. The more lean muscle mass you can preserve, the bigger the "engine" in which to burn calories.

Ideally, you should have four goals for your exercise regimen: aerobic capacity, strength, flexibility, and weight control.

Ÿ Plan a logical progression. If you have unstable joints from injury or arthritis, or you're in a weakened condition, start by improving your muscle strength and flexibility. Build strength using lighter weights and gently exercising the weakest parts of your body.

When you're ready to add an aerobic exercise, start at a comfortable level, such as walking 5-10 minutes over a short distance indoors. Increase one to five minutes per session, as tolerated.

Remember that for your fitness to improve, you need to exercise regularly. Try for a minimum of 30 minutes of low to moderately intense physical activity on most days of the week. Over time, you may be able to build up to 30-60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise.

Include variety. Combine three types of exercise - stretching (flexibility), endurance (aerobic), and strengthening (weight training) - with three levels of intensity - warm up, workout level, and cool-down-in each exercise session. When you're fit, a typical session might include a five minute warm-up, 20-40 minutes of aerobic activity, 10-15 minutes of weight training, and a five-minute cool-down of stretching.
Mixed training reduces your chance of injury to or overuse of one specific muscle or joint. Alternative among exercises that emphasize different part of your body.

Schedule time for recovery. Many people start with frenzied zeal, exercising too long or too intensely, and give up when muscles and joints become sore or injured. Start slowly build up gradually, allowing time between sessions for your body to rest and recover.

For most older people, brisk walking becomes a mainstay exercise. Walking for 20-30 minutes or more at least three but preferably five times a week offers health benefits. If one of your goals is losing weight, you may want to walk about 40 minutes several times a week. That's because you burn more fat during longer-duration, lower-intensity exercise than you do during shorter exercise periods.

Precautions: Before beginning any exercise program, consult your Physician and have a thorough exam to rule out any health conditions that may need attention. If you have heart disease, diabetes, or are at high risk for these or other serious illness, begin an exercise program only with your physician's approval. Inactive men over the age of 40 and women over 50 should also consult their physician. If you have been physically inactive for some time, it is important to consult with your physician to determine if you may need to undergo an accelerated detoxification program before you begin exercising. Ask your doctor how your medications may affect your exercise plan. Drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, as well as sedatives, anti-histamines and cold medications, can cause dehydration, impaired balance, and blurred vision; in addition, some medications can affect the way your body reacts to exercise.