Holistic Health Sleep, Water & Food by Noah Hittner | Date Released : 15 Dec 2003 4 comments Print Close There are many great practitioners of the industry (MDs, NDs, DCs, PTs, RDs, HHPs, CPTs, etc.) who constantly push and strive to learn the truth behind achieving optimal health and vitality. (And as a wise man once said, “The truth shall set you free.”) This article and the abbreviated concepts presented within are a tribute to them all - and many of you as well. Unfortunately, there is still a considerable fog that shrouds our society and fools us all into confusion about what’s healthy and what’s not, what saves and what kills and ultimately what’s RIGHT and what’s WRONG. This shroud, or “Veil of Deception” as it has been labeled, has spread itself far and deep into our medical establishment via the great and powerful pharmaceutical companies, our agricultural/farming industry via pesticide, herbicide and genetic modification companies and ultimately our homes via TV, magazines and our government. As health and fitness professionals, we get flogged daily on countless issues that seem to have equally powerful contradictory evidence to support both sides (i.e. medications, fad diets, supplements, exercises, etc.). It truly has become maddening. The objective of this article is to shed some light, for the truth is not so far away if one knows where to look, who to talk to and what to read. The point is this: drugs are most certainly not the answer. They cure nothing but symptoms while causing a host of other problems. The following information is drawn directly from the three books. These books cover three of the most overlooked and ironically most important aspects of optimal health, vitality and disease prevention: sleep, water and food. These are a MUST READS for anyone who desires and has passion for the truth. Let your journey begin. "LIGHTS OUT" By T.S. Wiley & Bent Formby, Ph.D. Believe it or not, we are often sick, fat, diabetic and suffering from heart disease and cancer because we don’t sleep. The invention of the light bulb brought with it a host of chronic health concerns. In 1910, the average adult slept nine to 10 hours per night for over 4,000 hours yearly. Currently, we are lucky to get seven for an average of 2,555 hours yearly. The body is punishing us for this. Mammals are hard wired to store fat, become insulin resistant and get high cholesterol during the longer days of summer and then to sleep (hibernate) or at least starve for a while, become insulin sensitive again and drop cholesterol levels when the days are shorter (winter). This cycle was programmed into our physiology over a millennia. Electricity and the light bulb brought endless light, which the body interprets as endless summer. Now, we don’t sleep (hibernate) and we don’t starve (for carbohydrates). We are fat and getting fatter. Literally, the later you stay up at night, the more your brain will force you to seek energy for storage by eating sugar (carbs). Again, your body is thinking “endless summer before the winter.” Sugar is the only path to insulin release. (Please remember that ALL carbs that are not fiber, whether they are complex or simple, break down into sugar at the cellular level.) Insulin’s job is to store excess carbs as fat and CHOLESTEROL. Cholesterol levels increase to lower the freezing temperature of the cell membranes in preparation for the hibernation that never comes. Additionally, all of these late nights equate to massive “light toxicity.” This condition causes excessive paranoid, aggressive, hysterical and urgent behavior - or STRESS. In this chronic state, blood sugar is elevated, taxing the insulin response, increasing CORTISOL levels in the blood, which has powerful blood sugar mobilizing effects. This means, if you are not paying attention to these factors, signs and symptoms and you stress yourself out too much, exercise can make and keep you fat! Bottom Line: Sleep nine to 12 hours a night in pitch black darkness. After all, it's free! "YOUR BODY’S MANY CRIES FOR WATER" By Batmanghelidj, Ph.D. The average body is 75 percent water! This vital element plays many crucial roles including digestion, transport of nutrients, elimination of waste, circulation of blood, lubrication of joints and internal organs and regulation of body temperature, to name a few. Research has shown that the average body needs half its body weight in ounces of pure water daily as a minimum to maintain adequate hydration. Because this amount may shock some of you, it’s not difficult to comprehend how at least half of the American population has been estimated to operate in a chronically dehydrated state for the majority of their lives. Research has also shown that many of the following are symptoms of dehydration and are treated with a high rate of success by simply drinking more water: Hypertension/High Blood Pressure Heart Burn/Indigestion Peptic Ulcers Asthma Allergies Free Radical Damage DNA Trauma Weakened Immune System Type II Diabetes Fatigue Loss of Mental Clarity and Focus Inability to Perform These symptoms are simply the various signs of the body’s water rationing system during periods of dehydration and thus have often been mistaken for disease! Rather than providing the body with water, medical practitioners have traditionally been taught to treat these symptoms of dehydration with drugs. Chronic pain that cannot be explained as injury or infection should be first interpreted as signals of chronic water shortage in the area where pain is registered - a local thirst. This includes dyspeptic pain, rheumatoid arthritis pain, anginal pain, low back pain, intermittent claudication pain (cramps), migraine and hangover headaches, colitis pain, etc. “Dry mouth” is NOT a safe judge of thirst. It is actually a sign that the body has gone beyond moderate dehydration into a serious dehydrated state! Pure water is the key - it is the only element the body was meant to drink from an evolutionary standpoint. All other beverages (i.e. diet/regular soda, juice, coffee, tea, processed milk, alcohol) require much more water than they actually contain to process/detox/pass them out of the system, and thus, act as agents of dehydration. Bottom Line: Drink half your bodyweight in ounces daily of fluoride free/chlorine free water and add a pinch of organic unrefined sea salt to every liter to maximize absorption. "THE METABOLIC TYPING DIET" By Wolcott & Fahey Metabolic typing is based on the fact that over thousands of years of evolutionary history, people in different parts of the world developed very distinct nutritional needs in response to a whole range of variables including climate and geography and whatever plant and animal life their environments had to offer. As a result, people today have widely varying nutrient requirements, especially with regard to macronutrients: the proteins, carbohydrates and fats that are the fundamental dietary “building blocks” most essential to sustaining life. We all need a full spectrum of nutrients. But different people have genetically programmed requirements for different amounts of various nutrients. It is these differing genetically based requirements that explain why a certain nutrient can cause one person to feel good, have no effect on another and cause a third person to feel worse. Believe it or not, obesity is a sign of malnourishment. Overweight people are literally starving for the right kinds of foods and nutrients to satisfy their hunger and normalize their metabolism. Hence, one man’s food is another man’s poison!” Unless you acquire all the nutrients for which you have a genetically programmed need (i.e., your metabolic type), your cells’ ability to perform their functions (i.e., burn fat, achieve optimal health, build muscle, etc.) will be impaired! When you eat according to your own unique hereditary requirements, as opposed to following some universal dos and don’ts or randomly prescribed dietary advice, it’s entirely possible that you can: Prevent and reverse degenerative disease Strengthen you immune system >Achieve and maintain your ideal weight Optimize physical energy and mental clarity Overcome mood swings and depression Enhance athletic performance and endurance It is important to understand that if you’re overweight, you’re bound to have other physiological problems and nagging ailments of one kind or another. They may not be as noticeable or as bothersome as your weight, but they’re every bit as significant. The truth is, there’s only one way to achieve lasting weight loss, and that is within the context of building health. Metabolic typing is based on the synergy of nine fundamental homeostatic control mechanisms, which regulate all the biochemical reactions taking place in the body at any given moment. All chronic diseases have one thing in common: they involve an imbalance in one or more of these control mechanisms. Metabolic typing is used to uncover and correct imbalances in these regulatory mechanisms. Thus, a 65 question self quiz was developed to aid in determining which of the three basic metabolic categories one might be: CARBO TYPE - Require low-protein, low-fat, high carbohydrate diets PROTEIN TYPE - Require high-protein, high-fat, low carbohydrate diets MIXED TYPE - Require relatively equal amounts of proteins, fats and carbs What needs to be made very clear is that if one makes a decision to become healthy, weight loss just naturally follows. There’s no single greater influence on your health than the food you eat several times a day, every single day of your life. Weight normalization is simply a component or a side effect of a much broader picture, involving balanced and efficient metabolism at every level (i.e., cells -> tissues -> organs -> systems) within the body. That is why the real secret to staying thin is no different from the secret to staying healthy. What you need to do first is to identify the specific raw materials that will support your body’s unique biochemical requirements and supply them in the right combinations. Then, simply step aside and let your body repair, rebuild and regulate itself! Bottom Line: No two people should be eating exactly alike - learn your metabolic type today. References & Recommended Reading: Chek, P. (2002). Under the Veil of Deception. Chek, P. (2002). Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach. (course manual) Chek, P. (2001). Flatten Your Abs Forever. C.H.E.K Institute, CA. (video-lecture) Chek, P. (2003). How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy. (forth-coming December ‘03) Cohen, (1998). Milk, The Deadly Poison. Internet (www.mercola.com) Brasco, J. Md. (2002). Low Grain and Carbohydrate Diets Treat Hypoglycemia, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer, and Nearly ALL Chronic Illness. Crayhon, R. MS. (2002). The Paleolithic Diet and Its Modern Implications. The Guardian. (2002). Dangerous Grains. Mercola, Dr. J. (2002). Lower Your Grains & Lower your Insulin Levels! A Novel Way To Treat Hypoglycemia. O’Shea, Dr. T. (2002). The Doors Of Perception: Why Americans Will Believe Almost Anything. Rosedale, R. MD. (2002). Insulin and Its Metabolic Effects. Thiessen, Dr. D. (2002). The Awful Truth About Eating Grains. Appleton, N. PhD. (2002). 78 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health. Wolcott, W. (2002). To Succeed at Any Diet, You Must Know Your Metabolic Type (Parts 1 &2). Mercola, Dr. J. (2003). The No Grains Diet. Price, W.A. (1997). Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. 6th Ed. Rampton, S., & Stauber, J. (2002). Trust Us, We’re Experts! Rivera, R. & Deutche, RD (1998). Your Hidden Food Allergies are Making You Fat. Ross, J. (2000). The Diet Cure. Williams, R. J. (1998). Biochemical Individuality. 2nd Ed. Back to top About the author: Noah Hittner In his time in the health and fitness industry, Noah Hittner worked with a wide range of clientele—from the high school athlete to the senior citizen. This experience, in great part, still inspires his work today. Now, years past his days as a fitness professional, Noah has turned his focus to writing and music. His books and songs explore the process of human consciousness and the quest for personal freedom. Noah now approaches his work, as well as his life, with self-honesty as his first intention and his top priority. It is with this intention in mind that he aims to connect with the lives of as many people as possible in an inspiring and empowering way. Noah's books include The Modern-Day Buddha, Beyond Victim and Villain, and Something to Give Back. 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When it is given as advice it must be assumed that the person you suggest it to already has health enough in mind that they don`t consume over processed high sodium foods. Eating a natural diet keeps you within salt requirements and adding a tiny bit to your water wont do you any harm.It would be unwise to suggest specific tweaks to someone that hasn`t yet mastered their basic diet requirements. Reply Magedera, Carl | 20 Mar 2010, 22:47 PM Of course sleep is important, but 9 to 10 hours a night? And this lights out stuff? Not in this day an age, would be a social and personal nightmare, completely impractical! to drink water with salt seems an unwise presription for all to follow, let alone putting forth a blueprint that diagnoses certain illnesses as the result of a lack of water! And what the heck is DNA trauma?Metabolic typing is for the birds, but there is some sense to it, but on balance it is an unnecessary and arbitary distinction, that will become just another passing fad. Reply Murphy, Corey | 02 Dec 2009, 13:25 PM This article is indeed an eye opener. Thanks for posting it! Reply Clubley, James | 15 Oct 2009, 06:29 AM Thanks for this really intresting eye opening article.I will definatley be checking out the recommended reading. Reply Back to top