Healthy Choices

Everyone either has, or someday will have, a health concern. And everyone will need to make some decisions concerning how they will treat it. Some conditions require medication from the start but others present options to the patient. Thankfully, my health issues have not been of the life-threatening kind, although in the early days of my autoimmune system disorder I prayed for death. I'm glad now that God didn't grant that prayer.

But even then I had to make some major decisions about just how far I would go with treating the disorder. After much prayer, Pastor Dad and I drew a line in the sand and stayed behind it. I can't say that I'm "happy" with our decision, because there is nothing about this awful disease that falls under the heading of HAPPINESS, but it was the right one. And we've soldiered on for 20+ years now without the dreadful side-effects that some meds would've caused over the long haul.

That was the only health-issue I had experienced until a few years ago when my doctor said that my blood pressure had been steadily creeping upward for a few years. It was still in the pre-hypertensive stage and he didn't want it to go higher but he didn't want to put me on medications until he absolutely had to do so. He talked to me in a pretty straight fashion. He was surprised to find that I am not in love with the salt shaker like many who suffer from hypertension. It is hard to cut out something that isn't being used much. So with his encouragement, I began to research and to make lifestyle changes.

For one thing, I determined to drop a few pounds but without going on a diet. I decided to make changes that I could live with for the rest of the life that God grants me. I put the scale away and never got on it again. Here is what I did to gradually change how I eat:

1. I began eating lots of fruits and vegetables. I found "The Rainbow Plan" in the July 2001 "Prevention Magazine." I now eat a colorful assortment every day.
2. I eat dessert every day. It just so happens that it is a Hershey bar. NOT a whole bar, mind you, but part of one. Or I drink hot chocolate made the old-fashioned way with cocoa powder and just enough sugar to make it taste sweet but not syrupy sweet like the prepackaged kind.
3. I stopped using artificial sweeteners. I use only pure cane sugar and honey or nothing at all. After I got used to the sweetness of fruit I found that I didn't have the sweet tooth I used to have. I even managed to drop the sugar from my several-cups-of-coffee-each-day (but don't try to get me to drink it without cream!).
4. I changed the way I eat protein. By that I mean that I added lots of nuts and seeds to my diet. They have more fat in them but it's a better fat than in meat. We also eat more peanut butter, tuna salad, or egg salad for lunches and very little lunch meat or hotdogs. We still eat meat each day, but I've noticed that I don't eat as much of it because vegetables fill me. We eat more fish, chicken, and eggs. We still eat red meat, but not as much as we did.
5. We eat mostly bulky bread. I still buy white bread but I consider it dessert, not part of a meal. Real bread doesn't require several slices to fill me up and it has more fiber and nutrients.

For another, I decided not to exercise. I hate exercise! But I decided to add other things to my life that I enjoy:

1. I now get more movement in my day by doing real work and play as opposed to fake routines. It is a whole lot more fun to swing a 20 lb. baby than it is to lift a 20 lb. weight in repetitive motion! Just my opinion, but I'm telling you what works for me.
2. We got rid of the satellite t.v. and I limited my computer time so that I wouldn't be so sedentary. Pastor Dad bought me an iPod so that I can listen to books while I do other things like yardwork instead of sitting on the couch reading.
3. We took up biking, but for the peace and quiet and chance to be together and not for the exercise. We are NOT the fast-paced, racing type of people. We're more the "let's get out in the sunshine and notice the scenery" kind of bikers. Consequently, we enjoy ourselves AND get a bit of exercise to boot, even if it isn't the optimal heartrate kind.

And finally I read a book. Specifically, this book:

It took me a lot longer than 8 weeks to get my blood pressure under control, but at least I had a guide. For one thing, I found out that I was right when I said salt was not the culprit in my situation. I got too little of other needed electolytes and that was causing my levels to be out of balance. I read what trace elements I need and in what amounts. I then checked with my doctor to make sure the products and dosages I wanted to use were safe. Once I got his okay, I began adding things one at a time with a couple of months between additions until I found the right combination. One of the vitamins requires me to have regular blood tests, but as much as I hate blood work I think I'd hate buying prescriptions more. And I'd probably still have the blood work! As my doctor explained, it is all a matter of experimenting with the right drugs and dosages to find what works anyway so why not try it with vitamins and minerals first?

My parents bought me a b/p kit so that I can keep track of my numbers at home. It was checked against my doctor's reading for accuracy. Since I know my numbers now I also know that they have been steadily dropping for the last several months to the point where I am no longer pre-hypertensive. My doctor is pleased and so am I.

There have been several other plusses, too:

• My weight has dropped 15 pounds in the last 2 years. Since I don't weigh myself I found this out through my annual gynecological exams. These are done by a different doctor than my primary care physician who has been helping me with the b/p experiment so really two doctors are happy. 15 pounds lost over 2 years doesn't sound like much, but at least now my weight is heading in the right direction and I don't feel like I have deprived myself of anything in order to make it happen.
• I sleep better. I have this theory that not sleeping well caused my b/p to rise and my b/p rising caused me to not sleep well.
• I seem to have more time and more energy
• I seem to have less stress and less depression.

I won't list the vitamin regiment that I'm taking because that isn't the point. What I'm trying to say - in my less than eloquent way - is that health is a priceless gift from God and as such, we should try to find real solutions to our problems and not quick-fixes. We'll all probably reach the point where we're going to need that doctor's prescription pad but delaying that day as long as possible is worth the effort of doing some research and experimentation with healthy alternatives.