Good Health Made Simple

 

By Steve Wohlberg

 

Americans are fatter, sicker, and suffer from more chronic diseases than ever before. In spite of 21st century medical advancements, endless How-To-Be-Healthy TV shows and bestselling books, instant availability of multi-vitamin and mega-mineral supplements, and the plethera of health food stores and health clubs popping up in every major city, rates of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and auto-immune diseases are skyrocketing.

Honestly, it doesn’t have to be this way.

How many TV commericials have you seen promoting purple pills that “Doctors Recommend Most?” Yet we’re still sick. Supposed “miracle cures” saturate the Internet, yet the majority of sufferers who purchase them don’t recover from what ails them. Billions of dollars keeping flowing into well-funded Quest For A Cure organizations, yet killer diseases won’t die. Instead, we do.

Again, it doesn’t have to be this way.

To make matters worse, “professional advice” based on the latest “clinical study” often contradicts the last “clinical study.” Even experts disagree with each other. What’s good? What’s bad? Confusion reigns. Meanwhile, men, women, and even kids get sicker, and sicker, and sicker.

Isn’t it time for some practical, sensible, inexpensive advice?

No doubt. Americans are literally dying for want of it.

But first, I have a confession to make. I’m not a doctor, but a minister. What are my qualifications to write an article on health? I haven’t been to medical school, neither have I taken even one university course on nutrition. But on the other hand, here’s a few things worth noting. I’m 53, medication-free, physically fit (I enjoying jogging, hiking and swimming), and overall - thank God - pretty healthy. Doesn’t that count for something? I think so. Yes, I do have my share of aches and pains, but so far, not too many. True, I’m a laymen, but my health is at stake too, just like yours. In my own earnest quest to bypass an early grave, I have researched health and nutrition topics as if my life depends on it. As a result, I’ve learned some very simple truths that have blessed my body enormously. In this new series of articles, I’ll share these simple truths with you.

The bottom line is: they work, and can enhance your health.

I make you this promise: If you will practice the simple truths you are about to read, consistently, and daily, you will save lots of money in doctor bills, skip many unnessary trips to the ER and hospital, and feel better too. You may even avoid dying from a killer disease. You might even cure yourself of one you already have. Countless people are doing this now, and you can too.

Again, these principles really work. They’re not whimsical, speculative, fly-by-night, or out in left field. Quite the contrary, they’re well-established, scientifically tested, tried and true. If you don’t believe me, ask your doctor. In fact, your doctor will probably admit that if he (or she) would follow them too, he’ll live longer. And here’s more good news. These steps are easy to implement, and don’t cost much, if anything. So stick with me, and keep reading. If you do, your own conscience will affirm the truth. Honestly, you’ve got nothing to lose (except possibly some extra pounds, plus some medications you may no longer need), and everything to gain.

Here are 10 principles of Good Health Made Simple:

(1) Drink more water. But I don’t like water, you may be thinking. Perhaps not, but your health depends on water more than you realize. Approximately 70-75% of YOU is WATER. You can’t live without it. Besides oxygen, water is the second most needed substance to sustain life. Your brain, blood flow, internal organs, abilitiy to digest and assimilate food, and even your ability to sleep, hop out of bed, walk, drive a car, or read this article, is entirely dependant upon water. Most Americans don’t drink enough water. Instead, too many of us prefer coffee, Coke, Mountain Dew, or Pepsi.

If you want to improve your health, it’s a scientific fact that one of the best things you can do for yourself is simply to drink more water. The rule of thumb is: half your weight in ounces per day. In other words, if you weigh 150 lbs, you should be drinking at least 75 ounces of water each day. As an incentive, spend a few bucks at Wal-Mart and buy yourself a water bottle. Fill it up each day, and then, first thing in the morning, drink. Between breakfast and lunch, drink again. Between lunch and dinner, drink some more. You may have to go the bathroom a bit more, but isn’t that better than riding vertical with a paramedic? Ask your doctor. It’s a fact: drinking more water can save you money and suffering.

This simple habit could save your life.

(2) Get off your bottom, and exercise. You need exercise. So do I. Our bodies are designed for motion, not stagnation. If we don’t move, we lose. Joining a health club is great, but if this isn’t convinient, the most affordable and beneficial option available to everyone is simply taking a daily walk. Studies show that walking even a half-hour a day, with your head held up, in the open air, breathing deep, is enormously beneficial. Personally, I like to walk after I eat a meal. It helps digestion, and gives my whole body a boost. Motion helps the body work better to eliminate toxins and waste through the kidneys, bowels, lungs, and skin. Why do you think people often stink after a hearty workout? The reason is simple: exercise helps the body elimate junk. So if you want to be healthier, get off the couch and move. It’s an established fact. Again, ask your doctor. If he’s honest he’ll probably admit that he himself needs to exercise more too. Start slow, and then steadily, and reasonably, increase the pace, whether walking, hiking, biking, or swimming. When I exercise, I feel great! You can do it, if you try.

How am I doing for not being a doctor?

Putting on my pastor’s hat, I leave you with this Bible verse, “For you are bought with a price [the death of Jesus Christ on a cruel cross]: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” --1 Corinthians 6:20.

This morning I sat in my dentist’s chair in Newport WA. With my mouth filled with devices as the dentist filled a tiny cavity, I couldn’t help overhear my dentist’s conversation with his assistant. “There’s a benefit dinner for Betty next week. She has cancer. Her hair is falling out from the chemo, which, while not a huge thing, hasn’t made her too happy. Her brother has brain cancer too.”

“Oh my,” I thought to myself in my vertical position. Is this Vietnam? What a disease-filled minefield we live in. People are suffering from cancer, heart disease, MS, and diabetes are all around us.

As I mentioned in Part 1, I am determined -- with God’s help -- to outwit an early grave, which is why I have been doing a vast amount of personal research for many years seeking to improve, and safeguard, one of the most valuable treasures I have. My health.

In Part 2 of this series I will continue sharing with you some exceedingly simple, inexpensive secrets to vibrant health. Of course, there are no 100% guarantees that we will never get sick. Nevertheless, I promise that if you will practice these tips regularly, they will bless your body enormously.

3) Chew your food well.

How simple is that? Wikipedia reports, “Horace Fletcher (1849–1919) was an American health food enthusiast of the Victorian era who earned the nickname ‘The Great Masticator,’ by arguing that food should be chewed thirty two times – or, about 100 times per minute – before being swallowed.” His motto was, “Nature will castigate those who don’t masticate.” The article continued:

“Although many people believed Fletcher’s laboratory reports, the more important eye-opener to doctors and laymen was his series of experiments in the Payne Whitney Gymnasium at Yale University. It was here that he participated, at the age of fifty-eight, in vigorous tests of strength and endurance versus the college athletes. The tests included: ‘deep-’knee bending,’ holding out arms horizontally for a length of time, and calf raises on an intricate machine. Fletcher claimed to lift ‘three hundred pounds dead weight three hundred and fifty times with his right calf.’ The tests claim that Fletcher outperformed these Yale athletes in all events and that they were very impressed with his athletic ability at his old age.”

Obviously the elderly man was doing something right, don’t you think? Now, I’m not endorsing all of his theories, but Mr. Fletcher was surely correct in stressing that the more we chew our food, the better our health. Years ago, I remember reading a news article about an old woman who passed the 100 mark. “What’s your secret,” a reporter inquired.

Her response was, “I chew my food until it is a cream.”

Here’s the facts. When we chew our food, tiny glands in our mouths secrete a watery substance called “saliva” (you knew that right?). But few understand how miraculous saliva really is. I recently read a dental article called “Saliva: The Miracle Fluid” which declared, “Saliva contains enzymes, proteins and immunoglobulins, bacteria and their byproducts, host DNA and RNA, host cells and steroid hormones, ions and volatile compounds ... A recent consortium of three research groups published the salivary proteome, identifying 1,166 proteins in human saliva.”

Imagine: 1,166 proteins! Who would have guessed? And that’s just the proteins. What about all the other substances scientists haven’t discovered yet? Are you starting to get the picture? The truth is that that human mouth has been masterfully created by a magnificent God to secrete a miracle fluid perfectly designed to break down food and make it easier to digest. If we chew well, God’s well-thought-out plan is realized.

To start with, the stomach has less work to do, and food is broken down more completely. Then what gets into the small intestine -- which is where the bulk of food nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream -- does so more efficiently. Thus, more chewing (within reason of course) means less work by the body, more nutrition, and better health. If we fail to chew, not only does the body have to work harder (which uses up more energy and resources), but less nutrition gets into the bloodstream, and ultimately, to every cell in the body. Not only that, but less nutrition means less proteins and enzymes that can be created for future saliva itself, which in turn affects future digestion, future assimilation, and future health.

It becomes a vicious cycle. A wise saying is, “Drink your food, and chew your drink.” In other words, if you drink, let’s say, a smoothie, let the drink mix first with some saliva before going ‘down the hatch.’ And when you chew food, make it a regular goal to turn that food into a liquid before it exits the mouth.

Such a simple thing to do. Eat, and then chew well. By doing such a simple thing as chewing better at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, what is happening is that, bite by bite, meal by meal, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year, we are increasing the amount of nutrients available to nourish the brain, liver, kidneys, lungs, heart, pancreas, veins, bones, and every other organ and system in the body.

It’s so simple. But it can save your life.

I know, I’m not a doctor. But what you have just learned is valuable truth you can sink your teeth into.

  In Parts 1 and 2 of this series I stressed the importance of drinking more water, getting more regular exercise, and chewing our food more thoroughly to improve our health. Although simple and universally acknowledged, most of us don’t drink enough of the healing tasteless liquid, sit around and watch TV too much, and scarf down our food. As a result, people’s health is suffering - big time.

Here are two more simple steps to help you avoid an early appointment with the Grim Reaper.

Eat More Real Food, Not Junk

“He [God] causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, that He may bring forth food out of the earth” (Psalm 104:14).

In the Garden of Eden, after creating a plethora of colorful, aromatic and exquisitely delicious edible plants, the Magnificant Author of Life and Natural Law informed Adam, “to you it shall be for food” (Genesis 1:29, NKJV). Notice carefully that in Genesis 1 (the first book of the Bible), God not only “created man in His own image” (verse 27) but also his “food.” No matter how you slice it, the most nutritient-dense edibles possible for human beings to eat are whole plant foods. One of our biggest problems today -- even more serious than the economy and combatting terrorism -- is that so much of what slides into our stomachs is refined, processed, denatured, and saturated with chemicals, additives, flavorings, preservatives, heated oils, and too much salt and sugar. From a health standpoint, apple candy isn’t good. Apple sauce is better. But by far the best of all is to actually bite into a ripe apple just picked off a tree.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” reveals a deep truth. Many mysterious health issues are rooted in the simple fact that millions of us consume more merchandise than real food. “Life is a tragedy of nutrition,” stated one health expert. While it isn’t possible to take a time machine back to Eden, the more unprocessed whole fruits, vegetables, seeds, whole grains and nuts we can place into our mouths, prepared as simply as possible, the more vitamins, minerals, healthy proteins and essential fatty acids will pass through our digestive tracts, enter our bloodstreams, and be delivered to our cells. Don’t ever forget this. Eating more real food strengthens your health. Junk won’t. The wise sayings, “The longer the shelf life, the shorter your life,” “The whiter the bread, the sooner you’re dead,” and “Many dig their graves with their death,” sound a sensible warning. If your taste buds have become so accustomed to merchandise that natural food seems boring, start slow. Taste buds can change. God will help you.

In your quest to improve your health, you might also consider using more of these well-recognized wonder foods: blueberries, lemons, garlic, walnuts, kale, spinach, brocolli, cilantro, barley, sunflower and flax seeds. Believe me, they’re loaded with nutrients. If you want to get more agressive, check out the incredible healing power of wheatgrass juice, spirulina, chlorella, chia seeds, bee pollen, and live sprouts. Personally, I have little confidence in processed, isolated, synthetic, man-made vitamin supplements. After years of research, I now understand that the greatest healing power is concentrated in whole foods that God makes. “Let food by your medicine, and medicine your food,” declared Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine. The old man was right. Never forget this: Natural food as God made it cannot be improved upon.

Let the Sunshine In!

“Truly the light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun” (Ecclesiastes 11:7).

“Avoid sunlight like the Black Death, or get skin cancer!” we’re often told. “Not so fast,” counters Michael F. Holick, M.D. in his eye-opening book, The Vitamin D Solution, which explains the critical the importance of Vitamin D which our bodies make naturally when sunlight caresses our skin. Professor of medicine, physiology, and biophysics at Boston University Medical Center and one of the world’s leading Vitaman D researchers, the information Holick presents is shocking. Bucking the trend of avoiding sunlight at all costs, Dr. Holick not only proves that every single cell in our bodies have Vitamin D receptors, but also that the farther north humans live from Florida, Texas, and California, the higher the rates of cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases. In other words, the less sunlight we’re exposed to, the sicker we get. Vitamin D also increases our digestive tract’s ability to absorb calcium from food, which helps prevent osteoporosis. Bottom line: Vitamin D has myriads of functions and is an essential nutrient for human health.

We need sunlight! The caveat is, avoid a burn. If we get regular sunlight, but not too much to singe the skin, the risk of skin cancer is miminal, or non-existance. So if you’re a guy, take a walk on a sunny day without a shirt. If a woman, find a secluded place and enjoy some rays. Make sure the kids get sun too. If you live in snow country (like my family does), Dr. Holick says that supplementation with either Vitamin D2 or D3 is an absolute must.

Parts 1-3 of this series highlighted the critical importance of eating an abundance of natural, unprocessed, whole foods from plants (the best nutrition available), drinking more water, getting regular exercise, chewing food more thoroughly, and getting plenty of healing sunshine to maintain healthy Vitamin D levels. In Part 4, here’s are three more simple steps to avoiding an early R.I.P. engraved tombstone.

Temperance (Self-Control)

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22,23).

To be blunt: most of us eat way too much food. The phrase, “I’m stuffed,” says it all. We call this overeating. The Bible calls it “gluttony” (see Proverbs 22:2,20,21). The current epidemic is more serious than we realize. Not only are rates of obesity soaring, even among children, but so are killer diseases that accompany those extra pounds around our waistlines. “I want it, when I want it, and I want it now,” is the language of this generation. If we know what’s truly good for us, we’ll resist such craziness. “Eat less, live longer,” is a wise saying.

The idea is called “temperance,” which includes “self-control.” Unfortunately, it’s nearly a lost art. Essentially, it means to be “moderate in the use of what is good, and to abstain from what is harmful.” I know, it’s not easy to give up bad habits, but the evidence is overwhelming that alcohol destroys liver function, tobacco causes lung cancer, caffeine overstimulates brain and nerves, excess fat clogs arteries leading to high blood pressure and heart disease, and too much sugar depresses the immune system. The true path to health, or to its recovery once we’ve lost it, is to develop a firm habit of saying “No!” to deadly poisons that are slowly killing us, no matter how yummy they taste!

You’ve heard the slogan, “Just Say No to Drugs.” It applies to more substances than heroine.

Fresh Air: Oxygenate Your Body

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).

Our bodies can survive weeks without food, days without water, but only a few minutes without oxygen. Air enters our lungs when we breathe and is miraculously picked up by trillions of red blood cells and pumped by the heart to every cell in the body -- from head to toe. Each cell needs oxygen to function efficiently. Without oxygen, cells weaken, degenerate, suffer, and die. Or, they become cancerous.

To be healthy, we need lots of fresh air to energize and detoxify our bodies.

But everybody breathes, you may be thinking, so what’s the big deal? Yes, we all inhale and exhale, but many critical factors influence the amount of air that reaches our cells. One big factor is diet. Eating lots of “bad fats” can make the bloodstream thick and sluggish, which results in less oxygen reaching cells. Alcohol also causes red blood cells to clump together, causing similar problems. Failing to drink enough water makes blood thicker too. Cigarettes clog the lungs with black goop, lessening the amount of oxygen that reaches the bloodstream. So does inhaling “second hand smoke” from smokers, or even just breathing polluted city air. Indoor air too, if windows are never opened, becomes stale and devitalized.

Here are some tips. Stop smoking. Forsake alcohol. Drink more water. Get outside as much as you can. Exercise in the open air. Open windows in your home, office, and car more often. Finally, practice deep breathing from the diaphragm (lower chest) instead of from the top of the lungs. Many articles exist online about the health benefits of deep breathing. It’s relaxing, alleviates stress, and increases overall oxygenation.

So open the windows and let Dr. Air in. And guess what? He’ll never send you a bill.

Rest: Don’t Burn the Midnight Oil

“I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).

We all need rest and sleep, generally between 7-9 hours per night. The habit of staying up late will slowly, but surely, take its toll, weakening the entire system. Sleep experts warn us that if we regularly deprive ourselves of necessary ZZZs, we’ll pay the piper, sooner or later. The whole body will suffer, and we will reap sickness. Maybe even death. Sleep experts also contend that every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after midnight. I believe it.

In our home we have two children (ages 8 and 5), and as a general rule, it’s lights out by 8:00 pm. My wife and I usually join them between 9:00 and 10:00. For me, it wasn’t always that way. During my teenage years, I often watched TV past midnight, or stayed out until wee morning hours with the guys. But now, all has changed. During those wild days, I once spied a slogan on a wall stating, “He who hoots with the owls at night can’t soar with the eagles in the morning.” To this day, I haven’t forgotten that slogan.

In his article, 10 Top Benefits of a Good Night’s Sleep, Mark Stibich, Ph.D. references clinical evidence showing that regular sleep boosts heart health and memory, reduces cancer risk, lessens stress and inflammation, and allows the body necessary time for rebuilding and repair. If you eat an evening meal, it’s best to finish it a few hours before retiring so that you go to bed on an empty stomach. If food needs processing during the night, the body has extra work to do, which detracts from what it needs to do most: rest, detoxify, and rebuild.

So don’t eat late, and go to bed earlier.

In April of 2012, CBS News (quoting the CDC) warned that over 40 million Americans are sleep deprived. Not only that, but the sleep industry, which now offers an almost endless variety of How-To-Get-Your-ZZZs gizmos, is a 32 billion dollar business. While some sleep disorders may be unavoidable, if we would only obey natural laws more carefully, we can save big bucks, and sleep better too.

Isn’t it time that we wake up to our need for a good night’s sleep?

 

Parts 1-4 of this series highlighted the critical importance of eating an abundance of natural, unprocessed, whole foods from plants (the best nutrition available), drinking more water, getting regular exercise, chewing food more thoroughly, and getting plenty of fresh air and healing sunshine to maintain healthy Vitamin D levels, and of course, a good night’s sleep. Here is the conclusion:

Trust in God: The Moral Factor

“Trust in the Lord ... and depart from evil,” (Proverbs 3:5,7).

“Be pure. It’s what doctors recommend most.” You will never hear this on a TV commercial, but it’s the truth. Deep within each human heart is a mysterious something called “the conscience,” which somebody once defined as “that little part of us that feels awful when the rest of us feels great!” When we yield to temptation, commit a sin, or do what we know is wrong, we experience “guilt.” Our moral violation may be hidden from the eyes of friends, co-workers, relatives, or even a spouse, but deep inside, we know what we did. And although doctors often ignore this basic principle, the fact is that a prolonged sense of guiltiness is 100% disease producing.

“Trust in the Lord,” the Bible says, “and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones” (Proverbs 3:5,7,8). Did you catch that? Trusting God and renouncing all “evil” brings “health.” As a pastor, husband, and father, I realize this as never before. When I trust God’s love, repent of my sins, and through His power live a morally pure life, the result is not only that my conscience becomes clean, but I feel better too. Seventh-day Adventist health educator, Ellen G. White, wrote insightfully, “The consciousness of right doing is the best medicine for diseased bodies and minds.”

She was right. Morality and health are inseparable. Our sin-sick world may not grasp it, physicians may not take courses about it at Harvard or UCLA Medical Schools, nor pharmacists prescribe it, but daily doses of faith in God and obedience to the Ten Commandments promote peace of mind and exert healing influences upon the central nervous system and entire body.

“A merry heart does good like medicine” (Proverbs 17:22), says the Good Book.

It’s the truth. Morality and vibrant health fit together like a lock and a key.

The Miracle of Fasting

Let me tell you a personal story. In the spring of 2011, I began to experience some frightening symptoms which I soon discovered were the result of high blood pressure. At age 52, I was surprised at this, for overall, I was living a healthy life. 196 (systolic) over 115 (diastolic), was one reading. “Oh my,” I thought to myself, “this is serious.” Not only did my high blood pressure affect my ability to conduct weekend seminars for White Horse Media, but it also threatened my capacity to provide for my lovely wife and two small children. At times, I felt like I was staring death in the face, especially when I began feeling increased pressure in my hands and head. In an effort to kick this problem myself, I tried to slow down (I’m naturally a high-speed guy), improve my diet even more, and step up my exercise routine. But alas, my high blood pressure continued, which was a mystery to me. Out of desperation, in January of 2012, I opted for medication.

First, I took Bystolic, which worked for a while, but then I added Lisinopril too. But alas again, I had to keep increasing the doses to keep my numbers in range. Finally, out of the deepest desperation, I asked God to guide me to someone who could help me. Then I met Linda Clark, Director of Highway to Health, who wisely recommended something I hadn’t thought of: a raw juice fast.

“We can beat this,” she said confidently.

At that point, I was willing to try anything reasonable.

So, in June of 2012, my juice fast began, which consisted mostly of raw carrots, celery, apples, lemons, beets and kale, and plenty of water. Linda also sent me a steady supply of organic herbal products designed to aid, detoxify, nourish, and invigorate my heart, veins, kidneys, liver, bowel and central nervous system. After 4-5 days into my fast, my blood pressure dropped to 110/63. “Wonderful!” I thought. Seeing real progress, I slowly weaned myself off both Bystolic and Lisinopril. Then on June 23, 2012, I took the plunge and became medication free.

I’ll be the first to admit it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Shortly after I quit the meds my blood pressure reading was 196, which was awful, over 76, which was fabulous. “You’re making progress, stick with the program,” was Linda’s kind advice, “your body will heal itself, but it takes time.” So, I forged ahead, trying my best to obey natural laws more fully by eating lots of raw fruits and vegetables, exercising more, and drinking plenty of water.

At the end of my 3-week juice fast I carefully transitioned back to solid food by eating only raw fruit for three days. After that, my regular diet - which continues to this day - included lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and fresh sprouts, supplemented by the periodic cranking up of my Greenstar juicer. As the weeks wore on, my BP readings steadily improved. Then on October 12, 2012, at a doctor’s office in Spokane, Washington, a nurse slipped a blood pressure band around my right arm. “110 over 63,” she said, “you have the cardiovascular system of a 20 year old.” I could have kissed her! (I didn’t). After many months, I am still medication free, and feel fabulous! God answered my prayers.

If you are interested in juice fasting, I recommend that you watch “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead,” which won first place as Best Documentary Feature at the Iowa Independent Film Festival in 2010. The film’s website declares:

“One hundred pounds overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease, Joe Cross is at the end of his rope and the end of his hope. In the mirror he saw a 310 lb man whose gut was bigger than a beach ball and a path laid out before him that wouldn’t end well -- with one foot already in the grave, the other wasn’t far behind. FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD is an inspiring film that chronicles Joe’s personal mission to regain his health. With doctors and conventional medicines unable to help long-term, Joe turns to the only option left, the body’s ability to heal itself.

Believe me, you’ll love Joe’s story. For practical details, I also recommend my new pocketbook, Juice Your Way to Fabulous Health (available end of April). The basic idea is that when we cease eating solid food, which takes lots of energy to digest, the human body can not only attend to eliminating stored up metabolic waste and deadly toxins soaked up from our polluted environment, but on healing what ails us. A raw juice fast also floods our cells with extra nutrition which aids the body even more. Above all, fasting can deepen a person’s spiritual life so they can hear more clearly the Voice of God.

No one should plunge into a lengthy fast without qualified medical supervision. Again, a wise principle is to start slow. Just skipping solid food for one day a week can work wonders. Two or three days on fresh fruit alone is also incredibly healing. In Bible days, Daniel ate “no pleasant food” for “three whole weeks” (Daniel 10:2), Nehemiah spent “many days ... fasting” (Nehemiah 1:4), Jesus Christ fasted for forty days (Matthew 4:1,2), and New Testament believers “fasted and prayed” (Acts 13:3).

If you have a nagging health issue, consider fasting. It worked for me. It may help you, too.

Heavenly Help

As I wrap this up, here’s a bit more personal information about your author. In the 1970s I was a reckless teenager inhabiting the Hollywood Hills, where I grew up, drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, snorting cocaine, dancing past midnight in discos on the Sunset Strip, and ruining my eardrums with high-decibal Rock n’ Roll music. Enslaved by hurtful habits, I was on a fast track toward lying lifeless beneath a R.I.P. engraved tombstone. It’s a long story (described in another book), but I finally picked up GOD’S BOOK and discovered JESUS CHRIST, “the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). Often referred to as The Great Physician, the Bible says that during His public ministry great “multitude[s] sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all” (Luke 6:19).

Thus Jesus is described as both a Healer, and a Savior.

In the summer of 1979, I dropped to my knees and prayed. “Dear Jesus, help me, forgive me, change me,” was my heartfelt plea. Believe it or not, that prayer was heard beyond the stars, and answered. Suddenly, my guilt lifted, my conscience was cleared, and an indescribable peace flooded my soul. That was 33 years ago. Today I’m a different man through the power of God’s grace.

Dear friend, the One who helped me can help you, too. “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:58, emphasis added). But does He really want to help me? you many be wondering. I’ll answer that question with this famous Christian dialog:

I asked Jesus, “How much do you love me?”

And Jesus said, “This much.” Then He stretched out His arms and died.

Yes, there’s no doubt about it. Jesus will help you, if you let Him. Fabulous health is possible, even in this life. But even if we never fully experience freedom from pain down here, if we accept Jesus as our Savior, someday we will receive a new body (see 1 Corinthians 15:53) and enjoy the bliss of “eternal life” (see John 3:16) in God’s bright tomorrow (see Revelation 21:1-5).

The choice is up to you. If, after reading this, you feel overwhelmed by the thought of so many changes, remember this old Chinese proverb, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.”

“Join the Revolution. Reboot.” beckons Joe Cross, after he lost over 100 lbs.

“I am the Lord who heals you” (Exodus 15:26), says our merciful Creator, when we do our part.

Now you know what to do. So do it! Take the first step.

Cited:
http://www.wisconsinchristiannews.com/view.php?sid=4315
http://www.wisconsinchristiannews.com/view.php?sid=4421