Tips on How to Heal Fast

We are a self-repairing, self-regulating, self sufficient organism. We have the ability to heal broken bones, remove cancerous tissue, kill off bacterial and viral invaders, and grow our own tissues. 

This raises an interesting question: "How come we don't continually repair and heal from everything?"

This is quite a loaded question and requires more than just a simple answer, yet often times the simplest answers are often overlooked.

Even though we are self healing, and able to fend off invaders and repair ourselves,  there are several factors effecting our ability to heal. 

The following are a brief list of how we can heal better and reach a more optimal level of health.

1.     How we eat:  How we eat and what we eat drives our metabolism or slows it down as well as being the raw material to build our tissues in a healthy way or building them poorly.  You most definitely are what you eat over time. An occasional treat is no problem for a healthy body, but high fat, minimal amounts of fruits and vegetables, little or no fresh pure water, and high sugar damages our ability to replace and reproduce our body cells and tissues.  Sugar in high amounts interferes with our immune system function and can interrupt cell to cell communication.  The timing of our food based on our lifestyle also can effect how we process our food and where it goes when we eat too much.  Choose to eat unprocessed, organic, hormone free foods such as vegetables, fruits, and free range, grass fed animals.  These supply the nutrients, micronutrients, and phytochemicals necessary to build a healthy body.

2.     Exercise:  We need to move and be active, our body is designed for movement.  People sit more and do less active work than they did 20 years ago.  Our joints and muscles thrive and repair with proper and regular movement.  The heart and lungs respond to regular progressive exercise.  The brain functions better with improvedr blood flow and oxygen resulting from regular exercise.  Stress hormones are removed and utilized at a greater rate during exercise, resulting in a healthier body response to stress.  Regular exercise at least 3-5 times a week for a minimum of thirty minutes is necessary for optimal health.

3.     Proper neurologic function.  Often times the nervous system is overlooked as part of the major control and coordination system of the body.  Our brain processes all the information about our internal and external environment.  If there is improper input then the output by the body will be a less than desirable effect.  There needs to be unimpeded nerve flow from the brain to the body and the body to the brain.  The spine is the major cable connected to the wires of the nervous system which connects the brain with the body and organs.  If the flow of information is interfered with due to improper body mechanics or spinal alignment causing misinformation to the brain the body will respond improperly.  This can cause a decreased immune response, muscle spasm, blood flow changes to organs of digestion, immunity, and even heart function.  Have your spine check for alignment problems to keep the vital nerves working optimally. Call  your chiropractor for a spinal alignment check to see how your nervous system is processing your environment.

4.     Our thoughts:  Thoughts are actually things.  Our thoughts create definite physiological responses and our physiological responses can create thoughts. A perfect example is if someone is feeling an increase in stress in their lives they will experience an increase in heart rate, sweating, a knot in their stomach, muscle tension, and even headaches.  If a person is thinking of a stressful situation this is how their body responds.  The contrary is also true, thinking about a happy experience, imagining a serene beach with regular flowing waves will create a relaxation response in the body which slows heart rate, relaxes muscles, and creates even more thoughts of peace and relaxation.  We can influence our thoughts by what we put into our mind daily.  Stop reading negative news, stop hanging around negative people, and start reading inspiring stories, movies, and tv shows.   Spend time in nature daily without cell phones, tvs, computers and all media each day.  Consciously think about positive happy experiences or places to keep your mind focused.  You do get what you think about most of the time.

These are just a few2  tools necessary to help an individual achieve a higher level of health without supplements, drugs, or anything other than using what you have, which is an inborn intelligence that will help you heal if it is allowed and supported. 

Expect to be healthy and live a life that supports the health you deserve.

Got a question for Dr. Amdur? Just email Patch and we'll get it answered in a future column:  judy.mottl@patch.com.