"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
What Is Health?: 10 fundamental truths regarding health
• All living things, including humans, are composed of individual living cells working harmoniously together in a self-healing, self-regulating ecosystem to maintain homeostasis (balance), health and life.
• Our cells are genetically equipped from birth with all the necessary intelligence to function properly. Our cells are programmed for health and to NEVER dysfunction without a physical, chemical, or emotional stressor.
• Our cells are all genetically programmed with the perfect recipe for health; it is our choices and our living environment that determine whether or not the proper ingredients are supplied.
• Health, by definition is a state of consistent balanced cell function.
• Sickness is a lack of consistent balanced cell function. Sickness is a lack of health just like darkness is a lack of light. If we want to make someone healthier, you have to increase the amount of health, you have to increase the level of balanced cell function.
• The function of our cells determines our state of health and sickness.
• The cause of all non-homeostatic cell function is stressors.
• All health stressors can be divided into one of two categories: deficiencies in the required ingredients for homeostatic cell functions, & toxicities that drive cell function away from homeostasis.
• Because cells are born with all the required genetic intelligence for homeostasis and health, cells always function perfectly in relation to any given environment. Symptoms do NOT represent an error in the intelligence of cells, but represent important signals from cells telling you that there is something wrong (deficiency or toxicity), and that they are under stress. Illnesses represent the body’s best ability to adapt to a chronic unhealthy environment, to chronic deficiency or toxicity, to chronic stressors. The cells NEVER function incorrectly, the environment is unhealthy!
• In order to function properly and produce health, cells must have all requirements met and be free of toxicity. In other words, it is impossible to be 100% healthy by supplying the cells with only some of the requirements or by eliminating only some toxins. Plants can’t be healthy even if they have all the required sunlight, water, and nutrients they require if they are missing sunlight!
These 10 fundamental truths are taken from Dr. James Chestnut's book "The Innate Diet & Natural Hygiene". Stay tuned for Part 2 addressing what part our genes play and what exactly we should be eating to express our body's fullest potential.