Ben Kim D.C.

With few exceptions, disease and dysfunction do not develop quickly.
Disease and dysfunction tend to develop slowly, usually over many years
as subtle and overt signs that mark loss of health are ignored.

I have found that many people feel that they are fine until they get
diagnosed with a named condition like diabetes or hypertension. The
reality is that degeneration is a fact of life - with each passing day,
we lose some of our health potential. It's the pace at which
our bodies degenerate that we influence through our daily choices. By
understanding the main causes of disease and dysfunction, we can make
dietary and lifestyle choices that promote longevity.

The main causes of acceleration of disease and dysfunction can be categorized into three groups:

• Injury

• Toxicity

• Deficiency

Let's take a close look at each of these categories of causes of disease and dysfunction:

INJURY

There are four main types of injury that contribute to disease and dysfunction:

• Cellular Damage by Unhealthy Foods

• Gross or Repetitive Stress Injury

• Emotional Injury

• Electromagnetic Injury

Cellular Damage by Unhealthy Foods

Some foods - or more accurately, some heavily adulterated foods and
food-like chemicals - are capable of causing direct injury to our
cells. Other highly processed foods cause indirect injury to our cells
by deteriorating the health of our major organs and blood vessels.

Some of the worst offenders include:

• Deep-fried foods like donuts, French fries, and most varieties of potato chips
• Margarine and shortening
• Artificial additives like MSG and aspartame
• Sugar-laden snacks and beverages
• Hot dogs, most varieties of sausage, bacon, and highly processed luncheon meats that contain nitrites

Gross or Repetitive Stress Injury

A gross physical injury like a strained back or sprained ankle is an
obvious cause of dysfunction. What's not so obvious in such cases is
that if injured joints and muscles are not properly stretched and
conditioned post-injury, the result may be scar tissue formation and
joint dysfunction that may cause problems with mobility and flexibility
over the long term.

Whenever we experience a gross injury to muscles or joints, it's
best to stretch and exercise the injured area as soon as we're able to
without creating intolerable pain. For an example of how to do this and
why it's important, view the following article:

How to Effectively Treat a Sprained Ankle

Examples of repetitive stress injury include back and shoulder pain
from wearing a backpack over only one shoulder, a strained neck from
talking too long on the phone while leaning to one side, and carpal
tunnel syndrome from typing too long with our wrists over-extended.

The best way to avoid repetitive stress injury is to stay physically
comfortable while doing activities that require the same position or
motions for long stretches of time. Designing an optimal work
environment, taking regular breaks to stretch and rest, and making sure
that we don't maintain an asymmetrical position while doing repetitive
work are all effective means to avoiding repetitive stress injury. For
more guidance on this topic, view:

How to Protect Your Health In The Computer Era

Emotional Injury

Emotional injury refers to cellular damage that is caused by chronic emotional stress.
As a direct cause of disease and dysfunction, this category is not
given the attention that it deserves because it's difficult to come up
with standardized treatments that can address every person's personal
sources of anxiety and fear.

My view is that our emotional health status is the single most
important determinant of our overall health, since it's the foundation
from which all of our daily choices are made. Plus, our emotional
health status affects the tone at which our autonomic nervous system
hums day and night. And over many years, the tone of our autonomic
nervous system is a huge determinant of our overall health status.

For more information on chronic fear and anxiety, including some
suggestions on how to promote peace of mind, view the following
article:

How to Overcome Chronic Fear and Anxiety

Electromagnetic Injury

In an early draft of a report issued in the spring of 1990, the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States recommended
that electromagnetic fields (EMF's) be classified as a class B
carcinogen - a probable human carcinogen. Unfortunately, by the time
that the EPA released the final draft of this report, the words "class
B carcinogen" were deleted.

Despite their change of opinion on electromagnetic fields, the EPA included the following thoughts on EMF's in their report:

"In conclusion, several studies showing leukemia, lymphoma and cancer
of the nervous system in children exposed to EMF's, supported by
similar findings in adults in several occupational studies also
involving electrical power frequency exposures, show a consistent
pattern of response that suggest a causal link."

There is plenty of evidence in the scientific literature that has me
convinced that electromagnetic fields can be a significant cause of
disease and dysfunction.

X-rays, mammograms, and other forms of ionizing radiation are also capable of accelerating disease and dysfunction.

Clearly, it's not practical or possible for a lot of us to live off
the grid to dramatically lower exposure to EMF's. But we can take steps
to minimize our exposure to some of the following, most common threats:

1. Talking for long stretches of time with a cell phone pressed against our heads.

2. Living close to cell phone towers and broadcasting antennas.

3. Working for many years in a profession that involves being in close proximity to devices that emit ionizing radiation.

4. Regularly lying in tanning beds.

With each passing year, electronic devices like flat screen TVs and
computer monitors are becoming bigger and more pleasing to the eyes.
While all of these devices are not guaranteed to emit significant
amounts of electromagnetic radiation, common sense dictates that it's
wise to be modest in our choice and use of all devices that require
electricity to run.

TOXICITY

There are two main types of toxicity that contribute to disease and dysfunction:

• Exogenous Toxicity

• Endogenous Toxicity

Exogenous Toxicity

Exogenous toxins are chemicals that are made outside of our bodies
that can harm our cells if they are ingested, inhaled, or absorbed into
your bloodstream.

While it's unrealistic to live and work in an environment that is
completely free of exogenous toxins, we can minimize our exposure to
exogenous toxins by being aware of the most common household toxins.

Over-the-counter, prescription, and recreational drugs are all exogenous toxins.

Endogenous Toxicity

Endogenous toxins are toxins that are produced inside of the
digestive tract by microorganisms. While some endogenous toxins are
eliminated as gas, some make their way into our bloodstream by
traveling through our intestinal walls, and once they make it into our
bloodstream, they can access our cells and contribute to toxic burden.

The best ways to minimize the amount of endogenous toxins that are
produced in our digestive tracts are to chew our foods well, eat mainly
fresh, minimally processed foods, and ensure exposure to friendly bacteria.

DEFICIENCY

Disease and dysfunction are accelerated when we are deficient in any of the following:

• Nutrients

• Physical and Emotional Rest

• Sunlight and Fresh Air

• Love and Life Purpose

Nutrients

To be optimally healthy, our cells need enough energy (calories) to
carry out everyday metabolic activities - these calories are obtained
by burning one or more of the following macronutrients: protein, fat,
and carbohydrates.

Our cells also require a steady supply of the following
micronutrients: vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. And to be optimally
healthy, we require adequate intake of water, fiber, and
phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are organic components of plants that
are not essential to health, but are needed to experience optimal
health; examples of phytonutrients include flavonoids (found in citrus
and raw, organic cocoa),
carotenoids (found in carrots and spinach), and indoles (found in
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower).

The best way to ensure optimal nourishment of our cells is to eat
nutrient-dense foods - these are foods that are highly concentrated in
vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and phytochemicals. Nutrient-rich foods
include fresh vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and
seeds. Organic eggs and wild fish are also healthy, micronutrient-rich
foods that are well tolerated by many people.

A good way to become deficient in the micronutrients that we need to
prevent disease and premature aging is to eat highly processed foods
that fill us up but don't provide us with substantial amounts of
natural micronutrients - soda and foods that are made with white flour
belong in this category.

If we regularly eat micronutrient-rich foods but want extra
insurance against developing nutritional deficiencies, we can include nutritional supplements made with whole foods in our diets.

Physical and Emotional Rest

Adequate physical rest is critical to preventing premature disease and dysfunction, as the endocrine system relies heavily on restful sleep to function properly.

Adequate emotional rest goes hand in hand with the section above on
emotional trauma. Taking time to rest the mind and nervous system via
meditation, prayer, journaling, or any other activities that help us
feel calm can promote optimal autonomic nervous system tone, which is
an essential requirement for getting and staying well.

Sunlight and Fresh Air

Promoting optimal vitamin D
status by exposing skin to sunlight without getting burned has been
receiving tremendous support from the research community over the past
several years. Vitamin D supports several major organ systems,
including our nervous, immune, and skeletal, and cardiovascular
systems.

Optimal health also requires optimally oxygenated blood, which is
only possible when we have regular access to fresh air. We must not
overlook the importance of sleeping in the presence of fresh air.

Love and Life Purpose

Consistently feeling loved and cared about is essential to
preventing disease and dysfunction as we age. If you can't accept this
without a long list of footnotes of studies that support this notion,
have a look at Dean Ornish's book, Love and Survival.

As discussed in the section on emotional trauma, making healthy
choices is easiest when we have a foundation of good emotional health,
which includes a sense of purpose for our lives.
Our unique life purposes don't have to involve anything on a global
level, or even a small rural town level; the idea is to feel content
with our daily efforts to be kind and helpful people.

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Where do our genes fit into our risk of developing disease and
dysfunctional cells? Like our emotional health status, our genetics
serve as a type of foundation that all of our daily choices build upon
or tear down. In the vast majority of cases, genetic predispositions
for specific health challenges like breast cancer, endometriosis,
prostate cancer, colo-rectal cancer, and other conditions that are
often described as having strong genetic components can stay dormant if
we minimize our exposure to the major causes of disease discussed in
this article, and if we consistently make health-promoting choices.

So now that you know the major causes of disease and dysfunction,
how about some guidelines for making positive choices? This part is
simple. Regularly include the foods mentioned in the Full Body Cleanse Diet in your daily regimen, and adopt some or all of the lifestyle suggestions found here: Full Body Cleanse Lifestyle.

Not all of us may make it to 120 years of age, but by understanding
the main causes of disease and dysfunction, working on staying
emotionally balanced, and making sensible choices each day, we can have
peace of mind in knowing that we are maximizing our health potential.

Website: http://drbenkim.com

E-mail: websupport at drbenkim.com