Health Is Not Valued Till Sickness Comes.

The health problems of today grow more complicated with each passing day. We live in a time of synthetic nutrition, impoverished soil, adulteration, and over-refinement of food products. We eat ourselves to death and die of mal-nutrition.

There comes a time in most of our lives when our physical body begins to show definite symptoms of wear and tear. The physical resources are depleted by the inevitable processes of advancing years and the body is less able to sustain the bad habits of the mind and emotions. Obscure aches interfere with our schedule of daily activities, and the natural buoyancy of our youth and good health is diminished.

Most of us would like to assume that we are overworked, undernourished, and are the hopeless victims of world conditions. Certainly, no indiscretion of our own could be held responsible for the twinges that interfere with our blissful way of life.

But, one thing becomes clear, we are uncomfortable; and that circumstance alone also makes us thoughtful. There is nothing that supplies a larger incentive to carefully examine God, the universe, our fellow men, and ourselves than a touch of some life threatening disease.

Only experience, and painful experience at that can finally convince us that our health is a reflection of our code of living. Sickness always bears witness to the failure of judgment, self-control, or internal conviction.

Unfortunately, the body becomes a precious treasure only after it has been thoroughly abused.

When we first discover that we are sick, the first inclination is to develop a deep and terrible fear. Physical health and the sense of security go together. We believe we are well as long as our body appears to be healthy. We are sufficient to our needs if physical health supports our ambitions. But, when our body fails us or even shows serious indications of being inadequate, there is a marked diminution of courage.

We are only as secure as our ability to face the crises in our lives. Pain is a warning that the sufferer has broken faith with the rules of our kind. We have disobeyed laws that are stronger than our own will.

Most of the time we are ignorant of nature’s plan until we violate one or more of it’s edicts. Nearly everyone is more thoughtful and more intelligent as a result of sickness. Unfortunately, only severe illness reveals the impermanence of worldly possessions and inadequacy of material ambitions.

Life is not merely the continuance of mechanical function; it is the will to accomplish something, supported by the body and sustained by an inner enthusiasm, dedication or resolution.

Nature points out what is necessary, first gently, then more insistently, and finally with the full weight of authority. Those who are wise take the first hint. But, it is surprising how little we are inclined to correct our own faults.

Those who have come close to death are less likely to sacrifice essential values in pursuit of temporary goods. The very processes set up in the body by serious disease wean the mind from its attachments to the treasures on earth.

When we travel to a far country we accept many inconveniences because we wish to enlarge our knowledge. In the same way, sickness is a journey that has its disadvantages, but initiates us into a world of values we seldom explore while in good health.

Sickness can prove to be a wonderful eye-opener, especially if we define sickness as an invitation to self-improvement.

Nature gives us these opportunities to learn, but it cannot force us to accept the lessons. Sickness invites us to broaden our perspective and to estimate more correctly the relations between the human being and the universal plan. We all resent bad health, but it can be a blessing in disguise.

The experiences of life can mean something if we choose to think about them, and even our own mistakes are profoundly educational. From what we have done, what we have thought, how we have felt, and what we have believed, we can gain a valuable insight into ourselves and the reasons for our difficulties.

Hippocrates left among other medical axioms the well known statement: “a proper diagnosis is two thirds of the cure.” The doctor may never be in a position to give the proper diagnosis. It remains for the patient to fill in those overtones that are outside the province of physical medicine.

All enlightened physicians realize that intelligent cooperation on the part of the patient is a real and immediate aid to any special line of therapy.

Regardless of the diagnosis, we each can do a great deal to heal ourselves. We may even be able to disprove the scientific diagnosis or escape entirely from the expectancy patterns associated with various ailments.

The student is born, not made.

When false concepts about life and false policies about living have produced their inevitable consequences, we are still inclined to believe, or at least to hope, that these deep seated fallacies can be neutralized by pills, poultices, or the surgeon’s knife.  Maybe, self-improvement does not enlarge the bank account, however, lack of self-improvement can reduce our cash balance suddenly and dramatically.

Materialistic science can supply many useful remedies, but material medicine is only dedicated to the repair of damage already done. It cannot offer or at least it does not offer, a sound program for re-educating the patient.

If you are sick science can most likely provide you with a span of time in which to reorganize yourself. Even though existing knowledge may not be sufficient to cure your complaint. It can mitigate the symptoms and keep you in a state of reasonable comfort and efficiency for many years.

With this added opportunity you may be able to work out your own salvation if you are willing to practice the proper diligence. If science can assist you through an emergency and you accept the lesson that is taught by a health crisis, the best years of your life may lie ahead. If however, you lean upon the medication and continue previous practices a valuable opportunity for self-improvement has been wasted.

There is an expression and eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth. As a result, at least psychologically speaking, everyone loses eyes and teeth.

We all have fine and noble beliefs but we must apply them. The golden rule is not only an important ethical monument but it is also a valuable guide to efficient living. When we break faith, we lose faith. We know when our actions are not consistent with our claims; still it is easier to drift along compromising our convictions and catering to our weaknesses.

We can excuse our faults, but this does not change their substance or relieve us of their consequences.

There is no royal road to health for those of us who have disobeyed or ignored the basic rules. With patience, however, and sincere enlightened effort, much damage can be corrected that affects the average person in the second half of life originating from the excesses and negative habit patterns that were developed and practiced in the first half of life.

Let your sickness be a challenge calling you to make a real and lasting effort to put your life in order. Remember nature will fight on your side if you keep its laws.

Live and Learn. We All Do.

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Filed under: Philosophy, wellness Tagged: disease, healing, health, health is wealth, philosophy, sickness, The Last Rose, wellness

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The Skinny On Coconuts

The Pharaoh’s Nut, also called the coconut, is known as the “Tree of Life” because it is one of the most useful trees in the world.  In addition to its food value, there are innumerable uses for the tree and its fruit including soap, cosmetics, rope, lumber, fuel, fertilizer, charcoal filters, and a host of domestic products that can be woven from the leaves.

Many people are unaware that the first recorded coconut sighting was from Costas, an Egyptian traveler in the 5th century, A.D when he wrote about finding an “Indian nut” that many scholars today claim was the coconut.

Coconuts were also referred to in the story of Sinbad the Sailor in 1,001 Arabian Nights. Coconuts made a strong impression on Venetian explorer Marco Polo, 1254 to 1324 CE, when he encountered them in Sumatra, India, and the Nicobar Islands, calling them “Pharaoh’s nut.” The reference to the Egyptian ruler indicated Polo was aware that during the 6th century Arab merchants brought coconuts back to Egypt from East Africa where the nuts were flourishing.

In the 1700s, the Portuguese finally gave the coconut the name we use today. In Portuguese ‘coco’ means ‘grinning face’ or ‘monkey face’ – (derived from the Portuguese for monkey – ‘macaco’) resembled by the three dark circles on the shell.

For about 3960 years of the of the past 4000 year the documented historical use of the coconut as both a food and a pharmaceutical was well respected around the world in the tropical regions of South and Central America, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Micro-, Mele- and Poly-nesia and most of Asia. The uses are so respected that they were documented by Ayurvedic medicine in Sanskrit from 1500BC in all areas relating to the mind, body and spirit.

However, this all changed in 1954 when the coconut was dubbed a villain by the medical establishment and the fat-phobic popular media. A media campaign demonized the coconut and other tropical oils and blamed them for heart attacks because of their saturated fat content; the health establishment and the American Heart Association quickly jumped on board. All the saturated fats were simply generalized under one category, ignoring the fact that some saturated fat is in fact necessary for human health. As a result, food companies stopped using tropical oils, replacing them largely with partially hydrogenated oils.

This was a bad move, of course, since those oils contain trans fats, which were subsequently found to be more of a health hazard than any saturated fat.

The Prudent Diet, as it was called, left a legacy, which still haunts us today. 40 years on, this conceptual change in the eating habits of Americans has negatively influenced and changed the dietary regimes of societies all around the world that were initially not even affected by America’s particular meat, potato and milk diet.

The American industries were so determined in converting their claims into magnificent billboards of health and wealth that even small island nations in the South Pacific were converted by this powerful marketing machine to change centuries of dietary traditions of tropical oils to importing polyunsaturated fats.

Now, fortunately, the coconut is making a comeback.

Modern research has shown that not all saturated fats are alike and coconut oil is unique in its structural make-up due to its medium chain fatty acids – the closest to those found in human breast milk that nature provides.

This is because they are processed directly in the liver and immediately converted into energy. There is therefore less strain on the liver, pancreas and digestive system and, being easily digested, they also tend to improve the absorption of other nutrients.

Past research has failed to reveal this because it was carried out on hydrogenated coconut oil – a process that transforms all fats into man-made, dangerous, carcinogenic trans fatty acids.

Our health shouldn’t have to depend on the swinging pendulums of nutritional bureaucracy. Nature has provided perfectly packaged foods in the form of whole, natural plant foods. There is a rhyme and reason for every one of these in terms of its macro and micro-nutrient compositions, health, and medicinal properties. When we take these foods and process them in some way, we are moving away from this packaged perfection. The more we process foods and isolate nutrients, the more controversial, problematic, and unpredictable the food becomes.

So how do we choose the BEST Coconut Oil?

First, make sure it is 100% Pure! Pure virgin coconut oil is made from fresh coconuts, NOT copra (used for many coconut oils) and the resulting product should have a distinct taste and fragrance. Oils made from copra have to be refined bleached and deodorized to make them fit for human consumption and they have no fragrance or flavor. Some manufacturers take advantage of the FDA rule that allows for up to 20% cheaper, filler oils to be added to coconut oil. Not cool and not healthy.

Proper harvesting of the coconut (the age of a coconut can be 2 to 20 months when picked) makes a significant difference in the efficacy of the oil making process in addition to how the oil is pressed (cold) makes the best final extracted product.

To pick a high quality product, focus on coconut oil that is virgin, organic, processed in the least invasive way, and packaged in glass jars. Food and plastic do not mix for optimal health. Every few months or years, we learn about some new toxicity issues related to plastic and its potential to leach various harmful compounds into the food or drinks being stored in it.

Focus also on reputable companies who provide fair trade products and accurate, detailed information about their coconut oil. If they can leave the world a little better than they found it – why not help them out?

Coconuts that are prepared, typically right where they grow, by local families for manual pressing tend to ensure the freshest coconut oil and provides the least invasive processing methods possible. It is also the most eco-friendly and supportive of native people’s livelihoods.

Curious about the coconut?

See, Smell and Taste the difference for yourself. Give it a try!

Get 15% off use code: SKINNYCO15.

Live and Learn. We All Do.

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Filed under: Beauty, Health and Fitness Tagged: best coconut oil, best coconut oil for body, coconut body oil, egypt, oil pulling coconut oil, organic coconut oil, ph of coconut oil

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