Healthy Choices! This Is About More Than Just Back Pain Relief!

 

 

We’ve all heard of healthy choices. You just need to go to your local supermarket and you can see many different foods that are marketed as being a healthy choice.

But what does it mean beyond the marketing jargon?

What it boils down to is this: Your health is a direct result of the choices you make. Whether you have takeaway junk food, or if you cook with fresh foods at home; whether you watch TV or go for a walk; whether you choose to dwell on the past, or plan for a positive future.

If you think about it for a minute, you will see that in nearly every moment of our day we have the opportunity to make a decision that will have an effect on our health and well-being. Sure, most of those decisions are only going to have minimal impact, but they do all add up.

 

 

In fact, it is well established now that poor health is not due to bad luck or bad genetics. Mounting scientific evidence shows that the major cause of poor health and chronic disease is due to bad lifestyle choices. It is an accumulation of all the various forms of stress and strain on the body (whether they be physical stress, mental/emotional stress, or chemical/toxic stress) that add up to a health problem, whether that is back pain or a heart attack.

Indeed, heart attacks are a very poignant example. Let me explain.

Frankly, you don’t just wake up one day with heart disease so bad that you suddenly have a heart attack. Although, unfortunately, for many people a heart attack is often the first sign of heart disease, the truth is it has taken years of build up to get to that point. And it is the choices that we make every day that is the cause of that build up. In the case of heart disease, it relates to diet and exercise.

The same can be said for most chronic illness. Type II diabetes is another classic example that is becoming more and more common. And 100{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999} of cases of Type II diabetes are lifestyle related. That means, the food you choose to eat now will determine whether or not you develop one of these chronic illnesses in the future.

 

The point is this:

You have the choice right now to be healthy, or to not be healthy.

 

If you want to be healthy, you have to work on it. And it is our everyday decisions that determine what our health are therefore our life, will be like going forward.

 

 

Quite simply, your health is your responsibility. So it is up to you to make “healthy choices”. Eating fresh whole foods to provide your body the nutrition it needs, and staying active by exercising regularly to keep your body moving and your heart and lungs healthy are the two main ways of maintaining good health.

You may have heard insanity as being described as doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result. That same rule applies here. We cannot expect our health to improve if we continue to do the very same things and make the same choices that made us sick in the first place.

 

One of our favourite sayings is:

Good health happens by choice, not by chance.

 

What could you be doing differently, what little changes could you make? What action can you take right now, no matter how small, that will be good for you. It might be something as simple as going for a walk (which itself has huge benefits, check it out here).

Often the hardest part is the first step, but remember; even the longest journey always starts with one small step. Just make a start with one thing. Grab a piece of fruit instead of a cookie, water instead of coke, walk to the shops instead of driving, do some stretches instead of sitting on the sofa. You might even feel a little bit better about yourself just knowing that you have done something to improve your health!

The great thing is, once you make that difficult first step, each subsequent step becomes easier and easier. Particularly when you start to feel better and notice the effect of making those changes!

 

So what are healthy choices when you have back pain?

Well firstly, chose to do something about it! I have consulted thousands of people who have been ‘putting up with’ their back pain for years before they have decided to get help.

Choose to sit less and go for a 30 minute walk every day.

Choose to go and see a chiropractor or physical therapist.

Choose to learn about what causes back pain.

Commit to an program specifically designed to treat back pain like our Total Back Pain Solution program.

 

The point is: do something! If you have chronic back pain, you might have figured out that it is not going away by itself. You’re going to need some help, or at least you will need to make some changes and address the underlying cause. But like all healthy choices, it is up to you to decide. But don’t be scared, it’s not really that hard once you have made up your mind!

So remember, good health happens by choice, not by chance. And every choice has a consequence, good or bad, just as every action has a reaction. Are the choices you are making moving you toward better health, or towards sickness?

At HealthySpines.org, as well as being the best online program for naturally correcting the cause of back pain right at home, we are dedicated to educating everyone about healthy lifestyle choices. Read our free articles and browse the website for the most practical, easy to follow, and up to date information on health and wellness.

 

If you have any questions, or would like to share your own experience, please leave us a comment below.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The Health Benefits of Walking

 

It might seem obvious that walking has got to be good for your health. There are many different health benefits of walking, and it goes way beyond just another way to help back pain.

Did you know that walking is our most natural movement, and we all do it every day. Or at least we should!

The human body has evolved over 200,000 years to be a walking machine. It is estimated that we should walk around 10 kilometres (6 miles) every day! And not that long ago this was the normal, with the majority of people regularly having to walk to work or school and back each day.

But as life has gotten ‘easier’ with modern technology, you could theoretically never actually leave your house. Even if you did, you would probably only walk as far as the garage to get into your car. I would guess that many people reading this would probably walk less than 1 kilometre (0.6 mile) per day.

This is becoming a reality for more and more people. We are less active now than ever in the history of mankind! And our health is suffering considerably because of it. You just need to have a look at the increasing rates of chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

In fact, currently you are most likely to die from one of these chronic diseases than anything else, with an estimated 80{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999} of the population expected to develop a preventable chronic illness. These diseases are all preventable by the way, and walking is the easiest and cheapest way to decrease your risk of developing chronic disease.

How exciting is it to know that you can actually prevent your own death! Okay, maybe not. But it is great to know that you can greatly decrease your risk of developing heart disease, obesity, diabetes and even cancer by simply going for a walk. Not to mention that that you will also be actually improving your general health and well-being.

 

So What Exactly Are The Health Benefits of Walking?

 

There is a stack of research on the health benefits of walking.

The following list is taken from a paper published in the Journal Of Applied Physiology. (Booth et al. Waging war on physical inactivity:using modern molecular ammunition against an ancient enemy. J Appli Physiol 93: 3-30, 2002)

These are the just some of the documented health benefits of walking from that article. Most of these benefits are based on just 30 minutes of brisk walking, and the research shows that it is dose dependent, which means that the more you get, the better the results!

 

Okay, so here are SOME of the benefits of walking for just 30 minutes a day.

 

Prevent 91{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999} of cases of obesity and Type 2 Diabetes.
Prevent 50{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999} cases of all heart disease.
Reduce stroke risk by 25-30{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999}.
Reduce risk of breast cancer by up to 60{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999}.
Restore and maintain cholesterol levels.
Reduce lung cancer, even in smokers, by 72{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999}.
Reduce melanoma by 72{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999}.
Normalize blood pressure.
Prevent up to 50{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999} of ALL cases of heart disease.
Reduce risk of breast cancer by up to 60{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999}.
Prevent 50{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999} bowel cancer.
Improve digestion and bowel function.
Increase immune response.
Decrease depression by 20{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999}, including relapses.
Decrease all cause mortality by 67{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999} in general population.
Increases sex binding hormones, which slow aging.
Prevent up to 47{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999} of cognitive impairment.
Prevent up to 62{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999} of Alzheimer’s and 52{95f364b8aea3ba4afb976a81c1dcc2e8147daac1866ef443968911255633a999} of dementia.
Increase immune system function.
Decrease rate of aging.
Reduced risk of developing, and improving outcomes of those with, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
Prevent osteoporosis and increase new bone formation.
Increase strength, flexibility and balance.
Improve physical function in older adults.

 

I am not making this stuff up, these are actual documented facts. Think about it, it is absolutely amazing that these incredible health benefits are available to almost everybody, right now, and they are TOTALLY FREE.

There is nothing else out there like this! What drug or surgery could ever come close to competing with these documented health benefits, and not to mention that there are no side effects whatsoever! Without a doubt, the simplest, cheapest and best thing that you can do for your health is simply walking.

 

I just want to point out the last few points again, since we are particularly interested in back pain.

 

Reduced risk of developing, and improving outcomes of those with, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
Prevent osteoporosis and increase new bone formation.
Increase strength, flexibility and balance.
Improve physical function in older adults.

 

By getting out for a walk, you are going to make a big difference to your level of back pain. And not just now, but for the future as well.
It improves the functioning of our bodies. Simple as that. And the more you do, the better off you will be!

 

There is one key point I would like you to keep in mind.

 

 

WALKING IS OUR MOST NATURAL MOVEMENT.

 

 

 

It might seem rather obvious, but just think about it for a moment. What other movement do we as human beings do that is more natural. Putting food in our mouths maybe, but it is definitely not typing away at your keyboard!!

 

If you have read my article on what really causes back pain (if not, you can check it out here) you will know that the underlying cause of the vast majority of back pain is unnatural movement patterns putting strain on the spinal tissues. So it makes sense that walking is going to help restore normal movement patterns, as well as increasing strength, flexibility and balance as we just learned. This will inevitably lead to less back pain!

 

One of the great benefits of walking is that our whole body moves when we walk, and it is very gentle exercise. You can go for a nice easy stroll, or you could ramp it up and make it a workout.

 

I hope that this is enough to motivate you to get out there and go for a walk. You can literally walk your way to a better, longer life! And don’t forget to take your family, children and co-workers!

 

If you have any questions, or would like to share your own experience, please leave us a comment below.