FEATURED ARTICLE
Most articles start with a premise and lead to a conclusion. I’ll start the other way hoping that my results will encourage you to employ some of the things I’ve learned. This is not intended as medical advice, but as a recounting of my own experience.
I’m 76-years old. Yesterday, I went to the dentist for my regular teeth cleaning. The first thing the hygienist does after seeing that nothing has changed on my chart is take my blood pressure. It was 105/46 (my pulse rate is usually 56-60). I take no medications except a baby aspirin at night. I haven’t had an ordinary illness since 1974. I could go on, but the short of it is that I’m in excellent health.
My condition is not unique, but it is pretty unusual in the U.S. and the Western world. What is important are the things I’ve been doing over the last fifty (50) years to be in this position.
First and foremost, I live a “data driven” life. No, that doesn’t mean I’m run by computer. It means that I read extensively and keep on top of many issues, including those that affect our health which I like to categorize them as follows:
• Family Health History
• Exercise
• Diet
• Sleep
• Stress reduction
• Avoiding potentially toxic substances
It’s never too late to begin your own “data driven” plan.
Preamble. I was a very sick child. I suffered from many allergies (food and airborne allergens) as well as asthma driven by those allergies. I was fortunate. Dr. Matthews, the head of the Allergy Department at University Hospital (Ann Arbor) took me as his patient. He put me on a very restricted elimination diet which was expanded slowly to determine the foods I could tolerate. Dr. Matthews created a desensitization program with injections twice weekly to build my resistance to allergens. He also created a custom vaccine from the flora found in my nose and sinuses to address my recurring upper respiratory infections. The protocols he developed worked wonders and by the sixth grade, I was leading a pretty normal childhood (still avoiding certain foods and taking allergy injections). I am doing even better today.
Family Health History.
When it comes to your health, you start out as your family history. You need to know the diseases that run in both sides of your family. This information should
"He put me on a very restricted elimination diet which was expanded slowly to determine the foods I could tolerate."