Be Healthy

The words below from Byron Richards' book, Mastering Leptin, have greatly helped me in my resolve to improve my health and well-being. Annie

Be a Health Asset Manager TM by Byron J. Richards, CCN, Mastering Leptin, pp 7-13

Quality of health is an individual’s most important asset. Everyone should know enough about health to stay on a good track and have appropriate solutions in the event that health problems arise. Individuals need to be able to think for themselves, make correct decisions, and take effective action.
In terms of health, this requires an ability to understand one’s own body and to have enough knowledge to implement solutions to keep on a healthy track. This is the bare minimum of expertise required to stay in charge of one’s own health
....Too many Americans are illiterate on the subject of health, a sad state of affairs directly contributing to out-of-control health care costs and burdens. Many Americans have a poor ability to implement even rudimentary health data and to translate it into correct action.
There is only one solution to these problems, on both an individual and a society-wide basis, and that is for individuals to learn to become much more responsible for their own health. This means having the knowledge and skills to manage the most important personal asset --- health. We call this becoming a Health Asset ManagerTM.
….In order to improve personal health, one must be able to think with health data. This requires a whole set of self-assured ideas relating to health and the ability to implement those ideas….Empowering oneself with useful knowledge is the first step to becoming a competent Health Asset ManagerTM.

The quick-fix mentality and excessive stress lifestyles will be replaced by more prudent understanding of the long-term consequences of current actions on future health. Everyone knows they need to save money for retirement; this is called financial reserves. Some people do it better than others. It takes some restraint not to spend everything on a current “want” so as to have stability in the future.
The same concept applies to being a competent Health Asset ManagerTM. An important aspect of health is that every part of the body has reserves of different types that provide stability to health. When reserves run low, then health problems are prevalent and risk factors skyrocket. There are many types of reserves that relate to health: antioxidant reserves, mineral reserves, alkaline reserves, and energy reserves, to name a few. Stress demands tend to drain health reserves just as financial problems drain savings.
Any person who needs caffeine or antidepressants to function has a clear warning that energetic reserves are lacking. Building up reserves that have been drained takes time, minimally 3-6 months. It is also a life-long commitment to doing things correctly, similar to managing a regular savings plan.
The skill with which a person builds and maintains important health reserves determines the quality of health that is established for a lifetime. Even decisions made early in life affect one’s overall reserves in the long run. It is never too late and seldom too early to begin being a good Health Asset ManagerTM.

Timing is the most powerful principle that will align health-related decisions. Timing influences optimum health as a dominant principle. When one eats is oftentimes more important than what one eats.
Getting the body into rhythm is far more important than any single symptom that may be viewed as a problem in terms of permanently resolving that symptom. Leptin responds to specific rhythmic patterns and is a fundamental hormone in regulating body rhythms.
….When the body is working in harmony, it has much less internal friction and much less wear and tear.