My favorite quote of all time has to be, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” ~ Benjamin Franklin. One of his similar but less familiar quote is, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” Mr. Franklin imparted great wisdom in his time and it still holds true today. It is so much more difficult (not to mention so much more costly) to take care of a health problem after it’s already gotten completely out of control than it is to prevent it in the first place.

We are a nation of instant gratification and quick fixes. Therefore, to some of the more comfortable and sedentary among us, the idea of solving a health problem with more effort than it takes to swallow a prescription can be a bit of a turn-off.

Understandable. Which is why my advice is to take baby steps.

Eight years ago, the health problems I’d had since childhood went from bad to worse. My digestive system was terrible. I had no energy. I was down to ninety pounds and my hair had begun to fall out.

Desperate, I went to a naturopathic physician for help. He said something that surprised me. The problem I was having could be food-related. He put me on an elimination diet which basically meant I could eat nothing but rice and vegetables for a week or so and then, I was to gradually reintroduce foods to see what I reacted to. Well, other than being grouchy at the bland diet, for the first time in 22 years, I didn’t have terrible pain in my stomach. The fog that had been in my brain since birth began to clear. I could suddenly breathe through my nose. My anxiety calmed. 

When I did reintroduce foods, I found I reacted to wheat, gluten, corn syrup, beans and peanuts.

This fascinated me. That I could be so physically and mentally ill from FOOD was amazing! It sent me on a journey to better understand the human body/mind connection. I began to practice yoga and meditation, kept a food journal to see what form of nourishment my body best operated on and began experimenting with supplements.

The more I learned, the more I wanted to. I tried accupuncture, Reiki, homeopathy and went back to the days of old and studied simple home remedies.

Eight years later, I’ve had quite the accidental education. That’s what this blog is going to be dedicated to; what I’ve learned.

If you’re suffering from health problems and the doctors are still scratching their heads and telling you it’s “all in your head” trust me, I feel your pain.

There are simple ways to prevent illness of all kinds, not just food intolerances or autoimmune diseases.

So go brew yourself a good hot cup of organic green tea, put on some relaxing music and stay a while.

Your mind and body will thank you and the next time you go back to that doctor who didn’t believe you, you too can tell him, “I Told You I Was Sick.”

😉

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This article is intellectual property © Jaime A. Heidel 2010

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