Chapter 48 Health

They say the body is a temple. Nonsense. It's a bloody miracle. Tell me: where on earth can you find a machine that can digest food and transform the nutrients into energy, circulate fluids to nourish and cleanse, reproduce and recreate, then call itself a temple?

When you think about what the body can do, it's astonishing. And, perhaps, the greatest of all its feats is ability to clean and heal itself. Sure, we have cars that convert fuel into energy, circulate water to cool and cleanse. But where can you find a machine that has a system to patch up its own scratched bodywork?

Most of us take the body's ability to heal and clean itself for granted. Often it works so well we don't think about it. But like any other machine it suffers from wear and tear, and needs constant maintenance. The strange thing is we pay more attention to the machines we own than our bodies. For example: we feed our cars with premium fuel and protective oil. But then we binge on gourmet junk.

Ok, to be fair, we get that the health of our teeth is maintained through daily action. But most of us seem to separate our teeth from our bodies ( and I'm not talking about wearing dentures). We assume the rest of our body is different. We think it's health is in a permanent state. When in fact, just like our teeth, it's in a deteriorating state - unless we take daily action

So here's what you need to do and why:

1) Get proper sleep. That means the right quality: eight to nine hours. And the right quality: deep, relaxed sleep. understand: during sleep your body is healing and cleaning itself. It clears the toxins that have accumulated throughout the day. And this happens during different stages of sleep. So if you don't leave enough time for this process, you'll be left with a dirty body. Allow the process to take its full course and you'll wake up feeling refreshed . What's more, you'll greet the day with a grin not a grimace. Remember: your day goes the way the corners of your mouth turn. So get proper sleep.

2) Eat proper food.  Food provides the body with fuel to function. Eat poor food and expect poor functioning. Continue to eat poor food over a number of years and expect something worse - mal-functioning. So for better health eat lean protein, complex carbohydrates and fresh  vegetables. Proper eating is that simple. Of course, simple. Of course, simple doesn't mean easy. But with commitment and discipline it is possible. So gradually wean yourself off processed, synthetic crap. And when you shop for food, make this your motto: shorter shelf life, longer youthful life.