The greatest killers of modern mankind are positively linked to cholesterol, sugar, saturated fat intake, inactivity, tobacco, sitting time, and attitude – causing heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, dementias and cancers to name a few. Yet topping any of the above risk factors is your aggravation/irritation/anger/impatience score and the quality of your life’s relationships, which determine much of your internal chemical/hormonal mixtures. Each of these factors are addressed in scriptures by our Creator God of love and affirmed by modern science. The wise will take heed.
Though overall great benefits have occurred to mankind through modern medicine — which has been my life work for fifty years — greater benefits both in quality and length may occur through a truly healthy diet ( Genesis 1:29 ), regular activity ( Gen. 2:15, 3:19), moral, relational, family and mental peace ( “great peace have they that love Thy law/teaching/instruction” Psalm 119:165) both in healing and in more robust health. Also to aid in healing and health is the intelligent use of internal and external water as well as inter-personal non-sensual touch. With those in place the need for, and the great benefits of modern medicine nearly disappear with the exceptions of some surgeries and physical therapies.
There is an interesting dietary growth point for all who believe in the Christian Bible and would like to be in it’s described after-life. Since the sting of death is sin (1 Cor. 15;56 ) and there will be no more sin. Since the last enemy to be destroyed is death ( 1 Cor. 15:26 ) and death will be swallowed up forever ( Isa. 25:8 ) and yes, death will be destroyed ( 2 Tim. 1:10 ). And in heaven there will be no more hurt… ( Isa. 65:25 ) and no crying or death ( Rev. 21:5 ), thus there will not be the foods one might have trained themselves here to lust after (“their god is their stomach” Phip 3:19). Tastes are a training detail of our lives here which will affect our enjoyment or distaste of such a future. Maybe we should consider retraining our tastes here. A challenge, yes, yet with God all things are possible ( Mt. 19:26, Mk. 9:23, 10,27, Lk. 18:27 ). “Taste and see that the Lord (both He and His instruction) is good” Ps. 34:8.
One’s life quality and length are affected in largest measure by habits in the relational, physical, diet, mental, moral and spiritual realms. Choose and practice wisely.
1 Rest 7-9 hours a night
2 Whole food plant based diet
3 minimal of 30 minute daily outdoor exercise
4 8 – 10 glasses of water a day
5 Develop an attitude of gratitude
6 Do your part in developing positive relationships with all in your life.
7 Daily bathing and tooth care including flossing
8 Eat two or three meals a day without snacks and the lightest meal in the evening 2-4 hours (increasing with age) before bed time.
9 Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.
10 Help someone else daily.
11 Take time each day for thoughtful meditation with a prayer of thanksgiving.
12 Work 6 days a week.
13 Keep the appointment with your Creator each week.
14 Take yearly vacations
Home disease treatment examples of benefit:
Caution: If disease signs/symptoms begin as or become worse or faster than usual, are unusual or you see no improvement over 36 – 48 hours — see your physician.
Respiratory signs/symptoms.
1 Bed rest for 24 hours.
2 Shower with # 7 hot/cool 30 second contrasts while keeping warm before and after. Take at least once a day.
3 Wool chest wrap
If lower respiratory S/S increase add:
4 Hot/cold chest fomentations anterior/posterior changed every 3-5 minutes times four ( 15 – 20 minutes ) with hot foot bath with first fomentation session, keeping hot but being careful not to burn skin. (Scientific Evidence based Efficacy of Hydrotherapy http://www.ncbi.nih.gov, N Am J Sci 2014 May 6. And practical — Fomentation Treatment by Carola – on You Tube, Traditional Hydrotherapy.com, Fomentation Treatment – on You Tube.)
5 Continue chest fomentations Anterior/Posterior 4-6 times a day for two days.
6 With all fomentations use cold ice water soaked wash cloth to head, renewed every minute.
7 Two glasses of oral water intake with each fomentation and a total of 12 glasses a day.
8 If viral, increase these foods with anti-viral properties. Brassicas, legumes, tomatoes, cucumbers, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, citrus, berries, grains.
Example two: For early treatment of skin and just under skin infections.
Hot water applied with cloth renewed every 2-3 minutes for 15 minutes 4 times a day.
————Use each treatment always with prayer for God’s healing touch. ————-
In the Holy Scriptures are given the paths to maintain the best of (or regain) health. Paths that science plays around the edges of, affirming their veracity without giving credit to prior knowledge. I’ll touch on a few.
Activity: God worked 6 days then gave man work to do in Gen. chapter 2 and sent him out to work in chapter 3 and again in chapter 4. In the next book, Exodus, in chapter 20 God said 6 days shalt thou work. Then going on in scripture to mention work and its related words more than 500 times. In 1 Jn. 2:6 we’re told to walk even as he walked. Activity’s contribution to health is a forgone conclusion of science with 150 minutes of vigorous activity or 300 minutes of brisk walking per week to garner the highest benefits with least injuries. The benefits are graded with benefits weighted on the early movements and deepened with consistency.
Diet: In Genesis 1:29 God reveals the manufactures’ recommended/created fuel/diet as fruits, nuts, seeds, and grains then adds vegetables for extra protection after we fell from trust to distrust as recorded in chapter 3:18, for our extra protection from the evil introduced. With all of man’s thoughts, thus actions including diet degenerating and becoming evil as noted in chapter 6:5, God gave in chapter 9:3 regressive permission to eat everything that moves. Then in progressive revelations God first removed blood, then fat from the allowed diet Lev. 3:17; 7:22. Then with further progressive revelation God removed permission for animals that dine on other animals and filter feeders from humans diet in Lev. 20 & Dt.14 thus lowering toxin intake. In Num. 11; Ps. 78:24,25; Ps. 107; 1Sam. 2:15,31-33 He revealed a heavy meat/fat diet leads to degenerative diseases and death. Further progressive revelation is found in Prov. 24:13 & 25:16,17 where honey is recognized as good but to not eat too much. Sweets are now recognized as being a major contributor to ill health. Then God brilliantly set an indicator that put the proverbial ball solidly into our court. Combining thought, wisdom, responsibility and integrity wrapped into practical worship as a test (James 1: 12-15) involving sanctification’s reality of Christ dwelling in the temple – as He did in the Sinai desert (Ex 25:8; 40:34,35; 1Cor 3:16,17; 6:19; 2Cor 6:16; Col 1:27; Jn 14). Yes, your body is a “temple of the Holy Spirit”. Therefore if anything benefits the unified whole (Heb. “nephesh”-“living being” Gen 2:7), the temple in which Christ dwells, what will be our choice? If anything harms the unified whole, what will be our choice? We are His workmanship and His workmen Gen 1:27; Eph 2:10; 2Co 5:20, what will be our choice?. No, the Bible doesn’t use the words tobacco, heroin, nachos, sugar, cholesterol etc. but it does both say your body is a temple and warns against Gk. “pharmakeia” – “enchantment with drugs” (Strong’s Concordance) in Rev. 9:21;18:23. Will we trust His intent Jer 29:11-13; Deut 10:13? Food was the test upon which Eve fell and part of the reason Adam followed Gen.3:1-6. Food was a major contributor to Sodom’s downfall Ez 16:49, and was the first test brought to Christ in the wilderness of temptation Mt 4:2-4. Paul noted that the enemies of the cross of Christ have their stomach as their god Philip 3:19, and Paul in Romans 12:1 tells us to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices holy and acceptable to God.” The Bible implores fifty times through five books for sacrifices to be without defect. This means we are to attempt to maintain the best that we can of our health so as to honor our Creator while serving as ambassadors of His love. Then the Bible gives one last quiet reminder in 1Timothy 4:3 of “food created to be eaten” (Ge 1:11,12,29). “Do you best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed” 2Tim 2:15. In more modern times Peter, Paul and Mary echoed the Son of God in their 1960’s song, Where have all the Flowers Gone, with, “when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn.” A paraphrase of Christ’s words in Lk. 24:25 “how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” A diet based in, if not wholly of, whole plant foods, and that, “it is best not to drink alcohol” (remember Revelations 9&18’s “pharmakeia”) is/are now recognized and recommended by science (see: A New Diet for the Planet, Eco Watch Jan. 2019), the World Health Organization’s (The WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health 29 April 2020), and the American Cancer Society’s 2020 guidelines) –note their bibliographies — as the diet protecting and healing humans, human societies, and keeping the planet in the most robust health. Learning is individual, both in knowing and experientially applying that knowledge. If you need help, ask Him, He’s been shown to both know what is best and be willing to help.
Positive thinking: Philippians 4 encourages us to think about what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent or worthy of praise. Thankfulness and its synonyms occur over 150 times in scriptures, and Heb. 12:28 tells us to be thankful and so worship God. There are whole departments of universities now researching gratitude, awe and positive thinking’s relation to health.
Rest: The body, brain and emotions all go through specific built-in, scientifically known repair chemicals, procedures and rhythms in rest. That’s one reason why the Bible starts each day with rest and specifies a day each seven day cycle for rest.
Marriage: Biblically it’s one man and one woman committed for life from Genesis chapters 1,2 (see the definite articles in vs. 23.24)–and was termed “very good.” The most ancient of inter human relational advice. Variations from that were one reason for a worldwide population destruction by water. Latter, cities by fire, due in part to intersexual relational variations again. Moses latter had to recommended at least giving a woman a certificate of divorce. Christ stated He hated “breaking faith with the wife of your youth” and “divorce” Mal 2:16. Why? Many reasons such as multiple partners is the basis of better than a third of female reproductive system problems, and that along with gender variation is the contributing factor of the greatest and longest lasting pandemic of human history — STIs (STDs)— and contributes to child, thus society instability. Divorce, a loss of that relationship, causes a 23% increase in death rate for both partners in a summation of 32 studies of more than 6.5 million people in 11 countries. Thus another form of suicide/homicide. Both gender statistics unchanged with remarriage. Yes, we are our brothers/sisters keeper as well as our own!
Self-control: The Bible speaks of self-control 19 times. A trait that is lost with alcohol, illicit drugs, aggravation, irritation, anger or impatience. Multiple scientific studies reveal greater than a 7 year life loss with anger. All the above are strongly discouraged in scripture (drugs under the Greek words pharmakos (Rev. 22:15), pharmakeus (Rev.21:8), pharmakeia (Rev.9:21; 18:23). Each of these open a path to early death thus is sin, leading to an early death which the Bible tells us is the last enemy of Christ that He will destroy.
Rest: The body, brain and emotions all go through specific built-in, scientifically known repair cycles, procedures and rhythms in rest. That’s one reason why the Bible starts each day with rest and specifies a specific day each seven day cycle for rest.
Mental distress— may be defined as our emotional loss reaction to real or supposed outside or inside stimuli. Outside often from the unkind and/or unjust acts of others, inside from our own behavior or misguided thoughts. If these negatives are what we dwell on, the ATF3 gene is activated causing a decreased immunity allowing tumor cells, if present, to escape (metastasize). While consistent mixed feelings – ambivalence – in couples followed for 3 years causes higher levels of coronary artery calcification. Chronic distrust, temporal or divine – one form of mental distress – has been shown to increase dementia by 300% and the stress of aggravation, irritation, anger, impatience, usually resulting from dwelling on unkind and/or unjust acts causes a 6-17 times increase in cardiac arrhythmias. The cure — forgive immediately and dwell on the tokens of love and care that surround you and do not restrain cheerfulness nor the smiling face.
These are just a sampling of what could, and can be known health-wise through the ancient writings of scripture being reaffirmed but rarely credited by modern science. Yes, the Bible can properly be viewed as a health textbook. Just as Newton, Faraday, Kelvin, Bacon, Boyle, Steno, Linnaeus, Keppler, Galileo, Hershell, or Mury viewed it as a valid text in their fields of inquiry while setting up the foundations for our modern society. Deuteronomy 10:13 encourages us to keep all His instructions for our good!
If one, in the current pandemic of covid-19 acquires the virus, while the above verifiable health practices are in usage which in its self reduces the persons likelihood of progression to moderate or severe infection by greater than 75%, at this time I would recommend as a medicinal minimum, 40 milligrams of OTC aspirin a day to minimize inflammation and blood micro clots thus reducing, if hospital admission necessary, the likelihood of progression to – ICU/Ventilator Support/Death Rate – each by essentially another 45% as noted in pooled 2020 data from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, U. of Maryland, Wake Forest, and George Washington U. Medical Schools with data reported in Anesthesia & Analgesia December 2020. Simple and simply effective.
2021
Though the kingdom of heaven is not a matter of food and drink Ro 14:17, nor of works Eph 2:8-10, our behavioral choices and actions in these, as in other areas, reveal our faith, or trust in His omniscience and faithful love Jm 2:26 or lack of it. This reality has been powerfully and repeatedly demonstrated in scripture. In food events such as Adam and Eve’s choice to eat food not given to be eaten Gen 1:12,29; 2:16,17; 3:6, or Cain’s choice to elevate his food gathering choices above God’s instructions for sacrifices (which we can deduce were given) Gen 4:3,7, we dietarily reveal our faith in God as we follow His original advice or at least His historically current dietary regressive permissions or progressive revelations. Post flood, with man’s thoughts continually evil, He shared regressive permission in Gen 9:3, “everything that lives and moves will be food for you, just as I gave you the green plants,” (still the herbs of the field would come to fruition sooner than adequate food animals multiply). Then began progressive revelations starting with no eating of meat that has it’s life blood in it Gen 9:4, Lev 3:17. Then Deut 11 progressively recommended against scavengers and bottom feeders for our best health Deut 10:13. For the Hebrews, further original specific dietary instructions were given for the Passover Ex 12, followed by the use of freely provided manna to humble and test them Deut 8:16, Ex 16:4. After this was the Hebrew/mankind use of human dietary desire in place of trust in God’s wisdom and provision in their wilderness wanderings and its results Num 11: 4-6,31-34; Ps 105:40; 106:14,15; Num 7:22; 1Sam 2:29,33, of wasting or degenerative diseases which still are a result of the use of such foods groups today. Again diet was the substrate upon which the initial test for the Son of God’s trust in His Father’s dietary wisdom and provision in His desert wanderings was built Mt 4:3,4. We humans like to pick and choose which if any of God’s instructions we’d like to follow and more than likely we pick and halt upon one of God’s historical merciful regressive permissions or early serial progressive revelations that were given as people could handle them. Thus we have a growth arrest, and its results. Like those, say for example in marriage: original instruction: “a man…his wife” (singular) Ge 2:24; (self-control), or regressive permission: “to give them a certificate of divorce” Dt 24:1; MT 19:7,8 instructions given because man’s ways were evil — an example of a current secular growth arrest and its resultant greatest pandemic in world history – STD’s (STI’s) plus their associated common cancers — and then for our benefit, a progressive revelation on marriage back to the original, “I hate divorce” Mal 2:14-16; Mt 5:32. Likewise we pick and choose a dietary progressive instruction such as Proverbs 24:13 “eat honey my son” and the taking of God literally in His provision of a land flowing with milk and honey while ignoring His further instructions in Proverbs 25:27 not to eat too much honey (sweets) or our use of a lifetime of milk, ignoring Peter’s and Paul’s encouragement to progress beyond milk figuratively (implying literally also) 1Co 3:2; Heb 5:12,13; 2 Pe 2:2, as an appropriate use of a step in growth back to “solid foods,” “created to be eaten” 1 Tim 4:3. Thus another of our growth arrests and its results. Our bodies are to be temples of the Holy Spirit (Divinity), thus to be respectfully kept in the best condition possible Ro 12:1. We Christians, or anyone however, are not to judge others positively or negatively, especially in areas of diet Col 2:16, marriage, or of worship days! Romans 14’s message is to “stop passing judgment on one another,” God is the judge. His recommendations/instructions/prescriptions (Strong’s Concordances definitions of command/commandments) have been given for our best good Dt 10:13, Ge 4:6,7, and God notices and alone judges how we individually use them. World nutritional science in the areas of disability, disease and death strongly affirm God’s wisdom in original or ending teaching/instruction/concern in the dietary area ( “I give you every seed bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it they will be yours for food….the plants of the field” Gen 1:29;3:18 – “don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple.”1 Co 3:16), with recent research establishing dietary links to better than 90% of western human diseases. Relational research in marriage reveals the original instructions promote a lengthening of life, as well as increased satisfaction as does world research in our circadian circaseptan rhythms. Yet how often do we still, as did biblical Cain, choose our own ways. Does full trust in Him still lie ahead for us Judges 21:25; 1Ki 14:8; Isa 66:3; Pr 16:25? As a physician I must agree with the psalmist who wrote in Ps139:14 that we are amazingly, awesomely and astoundingly made, and also with Christ who, while on earth said and further illustrated that His desire and undeviating intention and attention from creation has been to bring us “life and life more abundantly” John 10:10. If I do things that I have been made aware of from trusted sources that shortens that life or neglect to do things that I have been made aware of from trusted sources that will prolong that life and it’s efficacy, I as a human, am acting in opposition to God by removing life. And if I, as a Christian human, whose God given privilege/opportunity/task is to bless fellow humans, do or neglect to do or instruct in things that will detract/shorten that life, I am guilty also of robbing my fellow humans beings of those blessings. Both breaking the prescription for happiness “Thou shalt not steal” Ex 20:15. Thoughts worth thinking and actions worth applying.
After practicing medicine for 50 years, and reading scientific studies on how human behavior affects human disease loads for 50 years, followed by reading the Christian Holy Scriptures, I am convinced that if one follows the ancient advice contained therein, stated to be given “for our own good” (Deut 10:13; Jer 29:11; 26:13), in activity levels, original diet, psychological and individual relationships, one would see at least an 85% decrease in human psychologic and physical disease loads as well as surgeries. Further if a society acted upon being their “brothers keeper” (Genesis 4:9; Jn 3:16,17; Rev 22:21,22), that percentage could go into the high 90’s. Put simply, the Bible I’ve found, is a medical text revealing not only the way to physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual health but with freely offered power to individually put into grateful and consistent practice the costless counsels. If any or group of individuals would have trustfully applied the counsels, they would, even now, not be like the rest of self-indulgent humanity appropriately cowering like dogs with their tails between their legs but in radiant health, without fear, unhindered in their physical, emotional and relational health, as true spectacles to men and to angels. Like the physicians at Tuft’s University have so well observed, this current fast pandemic of 2020 is but a heat seeking missile honing in on the slow moving pandemic of human metabolic and immunologic dis-health found widely in North America and around the world from poor dietary, activity, interrelation and emotional behaviors. Might this pandemic of 2020 well be used as a wakeup call Mt. 25 :7; 26:46? The Bible offers health counsel worth not only considering, but individually applying!
If one is touched with pneumonia in this current epidemic, resting prone (on your stomach) increases lung oxygenation thus reducing mechanical ventilatory assistance need by 76% in covid-19 patients according to recent research. But change to RT or LT side every 2 hours.
One eventually finds in life that their spouse [ or co-worker, boss, neighbor ] is not and will likely not be a perfect person. But they are still the perfect spouse/co-worker/boss/neighbor for them, both in their strengths and in their weaknesses. Strengths to bless us with and weaknesses to strengthen us. [ Yes, we also are not perfect and can use some improvements too ]. So “what ever you wish that others would do to you” ( smile, spoken to kindly, listened to, rub your back, be faithful, speak cheerfully, forgive….) “do also to them” Mt 7:12 ESV. Yes, in Christ we do not need to be even annoyed [ or any of it’s congeners ] . As we, in Him, instantaneously give chosen preexistent forgiveness [ Eph 4:32; Lk 6:37 ], we will rejoice in our trials [ James 1:2 ] and He will turn us into renewed spouses/co-workers/neighbors [2 Cor 5:17] leading to ever increasing relational joys!
2023
9/11 A towering exemplification of a true physicians visit in these extreme times is found in Luke 9:11. “He welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.” This is the core of disinterested benevolence.
Human viral infections are far and away the most common infestations of the human race. To help counteract this attack of the adversary, God made and recommended certain foods. Anti-viral foods include olives, and olive oil, garlic, yogurt (introducing commensal bacteria into the gut which are naturally there in whole plant vegetarian diet users), pumpkin, squash, zucchini, legumes and more, and there are certain condiments such as ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, elderberry lovage etc. God also recommends certain emotions to refrain from such as aggravation, annoyance, irritation, fear, anger, all which devastate the immune system – while recommending forgivness – a cleaning of you own slate of toxic attachments to the past – then transacting compassion, kindness form other-centered love. Each which markedly increase humans main and powerful immunologic defense against virus – IgA.
We in America are an interesting group of people as we put together, support and defend industries that knowingly kill humans, our grandfathers and grandmothers, our moms and dads, brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends all in the name of profit. Heart and cancer deaths via the flesh food industry. Diabetes, heart deaths and amputations via the refined carbohydrate industry. Lung, lip and mouth cancers, pulmonary and heart deaths from the tobacco industry. High blood pressure, strokes, heart and cancer deaths as well as obesity from the salt/fat/artificial flavors of the ultra processed food industry. All are designed to hijack our dopamine pleasure centers leading to addiction thus bringing them a larger portion of humans life blood that has been converted to monies by these means available to them. Theres the pornography industry taking advantage of the human hormonal system to now obtain greater than 58 billion plus internet hits per month just for the top three sites while knowingly breaking up relationships thus decreasing lifespans of those relationship losers by 3+ years and un-researched life-span losses of most children involved. There are the digital and gambling industries addicting for cash all ages with gaming and social media engineered to trigger powerful consumptive urges – addiction leading to loss of physical activity, depression, suicide, thus inducing early loss of life. This is all added to a society that’s already destroying fetus’ at the rate of 1700 per day plus financially encouraging abortions world wide for millions of pocketed monies. We as a society then feign surprise as the pharmaceutical industry picks up the option in their attempt to capture monies by monetarily hijacking diseases, the media, politics, science and the medical disciplines as allies. Is it much different than our culture (and others) fostering Christian churches that do similarly in knowingly dropping off or adding portions to God given instructions thus likely closing off some temporal years as well as potentially eliminating an eternal life of peace and joy for their adherents – just for fashionable temporary feel good and monies. If every word of God is flawless then what did He say about diet, exercise, work, rest, destructive habits, money grubbing, pharmakia, adding to or subtracting from His word or the benefits of trusting obedience, worship, purity, nobility, kindness and the beauty of the One who is our loving progenitor?
LIFE EXCOGITATIONS 