ALL DISEASE BEGINS IN THE GUT

I remember about 10 years ago I was sick as a dog, losing it from both ends. I couldn’t stand at the toilet & urinate like a man without feces running down my leg & getting into my boots so I could feel it in my sock. Between diarrhea & throwing up, I felt awful, physically, mentally & emotionally & I needed to wear diapers! I’m not going to live the rest of my life like this! I knew how to fix it, I’m just not doing it. I have read about Hippocrates who lived from 460 BC-370 BC, known as the father of medicine. He said “All disease begins in the gut. To let food be your medicine & medicine be your food.” So, I was basically homeless & living on TV dinners & pot pies. A few weeks at the VA Psych Ward got me 3 square meals a day & a mental evaluation. Thank you, VA. Losing muscle mass as you get older is a fact of life. Our body is smarter than we are, but it’s lazy. It is very efficient so, use it or lose it. When we are young, we’re in charge & the body responds. As we get older, the body says, it hurts. Of course it does, we beat ourselves up just by daily living. There's a concept called a doctrine of signatories. It’s a theory of pseudoscience about an old belief that plants resemble body parts that they can heal. Just like a sweet potato can look like a human pancreas or tomatoes have four chambers like the heart & walnuts resemble a tiny brain, while a sliced carrot looks like the human eye. Even the names of certain foods tell you what they are used for like kidney beans. Knowing which food works best for certain organs like the prostate gland uses more zinc than any other organ in the body. That’s why oysters are high in zinc. Your gut loves sauerkraut because it has friendly bacteria & pumpkin seeds contain fiber which adds bulk & helps move things smoothly through your gut. Know your numbers, blood pressure, blood sugar & blood pulse. The normal resting blood pulse is said to be between 60 & 100. If your resting blood pulse is 100. You’re in trouble. Athletes have a resting blood pulse in their 40s & 50s because their heart muscle pumps blood more efficiently. Normally resting blood pressure is less than 120/80 & your fasting blood sugar first thing in the morning should be less than 100, no food for at least 8 hours. Of course, the body needs nutrients like carbs & protein, but we become addicted to pills over food. Look at food sources for dietary minerals like; zinc, magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium, iodine, etc. Losing muscle mass means we have a protein deficiency or a calorie deficit or inactivity, maybe all 3. We can choose between animal based protein or plant based protein. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas & the relationship between cholesterol & blood sugar has to do with exercise to maintain a correct BMI (body mass index). If you are muscular, it tells you that you are overweight. All the foods that we like: cookies, pastries, candy, fries, ice cream, cakes, pies, donuts, pizza & soda pop with artificial sweeteners contain added sugars which just thickens the blood & makes the pump work harder. Think of the difference between pumping water & pumping syrup. It takes more pressure to pump syrup than water. High blood sugar will thicken the blood & increase viscosity. This is why some people take blood thinners. Exercise will lower your blood sugar, but it has to be extreme deep breathing. If you're not deep breathing, you're not exercising (pushups, then check your blood sugar). An internet search shows the average 79 year old takes 3 to 5 prescription medications daily. The only pills I take are vitamins. My resting blood pulse is in the 60s & 70s & my morning blood sugar is below 100. Since blood sugar varies throughout the day, my average is in the 120s to 130s & my blood pressure usually doubles from diastolic to systolic; 130/65, p.s. smoking weed & drinking a red beer once in a while may not be healthy, but I can’t enjoy them if I’m dead. “All disease begins in the gut. To let food be your medicine & medicine be your food.” Max Tuggle 208-818-3229 www.naturesgod.us