What is Health?
Are fatigue, cravings, indigestion and headaches a sign of health?
In today’s fast paced life we often overlook one of the most precious gifts given to us – our health! There is an old quote that says, “we spend our health to gain our wealth, but later spend our wealth to regain our health,” but what exactly is health?
If you surveyed 100 people, most would say health is simply absence of disease. Is that really a good definition? If you’re not plagued with arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, lupus, MS, or cancer, you must be in good health, right? Not necessarily.
Health shouldn’t be limited to absence of disease, I’ve seen thousands of patients who don’t have any of those actual diseases, but struggle with constant fatigue, indigestion, headaches, cravings, mood swings, allergies, difficulty sleeping, depression, hot flashes, PMS – and the list goes. Are those people truly healthy…I think NOT!
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It’s amazing how many patients I’ve seen who have NOT been diagnosed with any disease, but have a multitude of symptoms, or as I like to call them signals. Little indicators telling us something in their body isn’t functioning right. Think about it, fatigue which is a growing problem in our country. Is it really a disease? Are we deficient in the amount of coffee in our blood stream? NO, fatigue is not a disease, but it is a signal, a symptom, that our body isn’t functioning the way the good Lord intended it to.
The same is true for indigestion, heartburn, and other irritable bowel like problems, which is another growing problem. Are we simply not taking enough antacids and other medications to relief our upset tummy?
Do you constantly struggle with cravings and blood sugar problems? Do they cause you to fail in your weight loss efforts? Do you find yourself moody and irritable when you miss a meal? Do you have to eat every couple of hours to think straight? No one is going to call this a disease, but this is another example of your body giving you signals (symptoms) that you’re not regulating your blood sugar properly, which can eventually lead to diabetes.
Many people are struggling with various health problems that don’t truly classify as a disease, but are causing all types of problems. We need to understand that almost every health problem we face gave us some type of early warning sign. The million dollar question is, what are you doing about those signals?
Better maintenance for our car than our body!
It seems like people do a better job of maintaining their car than their own health. Most drivers will immediately have their car checked out when that warning light starts flashing on their dashboard. NO one wants to be stranded on the side of the road! Unfortunately, most people do a better job of responding to the signals their car gives them then their body. Symptoms like fatigue, indigestion, cravings, headaches, elevated cholesterol, blood sugar, etc. are nothing more than signals our body is given us – letting us know that something isn’t working right. It’s our job to pull over and “look under the hood” to see what is causing the problem.
Should we cover up the warning light with a piece of masking tape, so we don’t have to see it? Hopefully not! So, why do we reach for the coffee to give us energy? The antacids to help our tummy? The aspirin to help our headaches? Aren’t we just masking over our symptoms?
The point I hope I can bring home is that all these little signals (symptoms) your body gives you, are designed to let us know something is functioning properly, it’s our choice to either mask over them or act upon them. The frightening truth is most people don’t start doing something about their health until they’ve been hit with some kind of diagnosis. Unfortunately, it’s much harder to bring them back to good health, as opposed to keeping them healthy, but it can be done!
It’s a matter of choice
It all rolls back to information and choice. As the book of Hosea teaches, (Hosea 4:6) “my people are being destroyed for lack of knowledge.” There is so much confusion and misinformation about health and healing that needs to be addressed. We need to separate the chaff from the wheat – what health information is factual and what is hype. Many people don’t realize the consequences and negative effects of stress, poor diet, missed meals, and lack of rest. They are also not aware that many of the drugs and medications given address only the symptom, and do NOT treat the cause.
The lifestyle choices we make each day regarding what we eat, what we drink, how we deal with stress, whether we sleep well, exercise, or get sun and fresh air, have a great effect on our health. The point is, like sin, it’s a choice!
We know the consequences of our choices. Jeremiah and many of the early prophets would tell us to turn away from sin, because of its consequences. Well, the same applies to what we put into our bodies each day. Do we feed our bodies with wholesome, natural foods the Lord gave us? Or, do we choose more of the processed, refined, foods, loaded with artificial sweeteners and trans fats that have NO nutritional value and have a negative effect on our health and then wonder why we struggle with fatigue, weight gain, arthritis, allergies, osteoporosis, insomnia, PMS, hot flashes and the list can go on? God gave us the ability to make choices…let’s make good ones!
Not only do we have the freedom to choose what we put into our body, we also have to listen to what our body is telling us. Scripture teaches us to listen to HIS Word. Well, we need to also listen to our body, because cravings, headaches, insomnia, fatigue, indigestion, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc could be nothing more than an early warning sign that needs our attention.
Remember, our body is our temple where he indwells in us. It’s our job to take care of it. My goal, in this and future articles, is to give you the information and tools to care for this most precious gift…our health! Much like sin, our health is based on our choices, and if we keep making the wrong choices we can be headed down the wrong path, which can affect our ‘physical’ walk.
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Dr. Len Lopez is the author of “To Burn or Not to Burn, Fat is the Question” and the host of “Action Steps for Health.” His approach to health is “treat the cause – not the symptoms.” He is an expert in nutrition and fitness and lectures on these subjects. For more information and to learn more about health and wellness visit his him at www.DrLenLopez.com and read his health blog www.HealthTipsWithDrLen.com.
