Four Aids for Good Health

“A STITCH in time saves nine.” “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Sayings such as these may well be applied to the matter of our keeping in good health.

Why wait until you are sick before giving thought to your health? Absence of distressing symptoms does not necessarily mean good health. Well did an ancient Chinese sage observe: “To administer medicines to diseases which have developed . . . is comparable to the behavior of those persons who begin to dig a well after they are thirsty.”

The popularity of European health spas is no doubt largely due to the fact that many Europeans appreciate this principle. Regarding these a leading United States professor of physical medicine said: “Too few people who are medically well take advantage of a regimen of rest, relaxation and exercise tailored to their individual needs. The spa provides the much-needed ‘maintenance therapy.’”

Why do so few people give thought to ‘maintenance therapy’? Many may feel that they are too busy. But it may well be that it takes more than concern about health for the average person to take ‘maintenance therapy’ seriously. As one noted nutritionist observed: “Over the years I have found that a patient must have some sort of mission in life​—something very important that he hopes to accomplish to the best of his ability—​before he is really motivated . . . The average person does not have any real mission in life.”

How little people in general are interested in health maintenance can be seen by their ignoring the warnings about the harm to lungs and heart from cigarette smoking. In fact, in regard to health maintenance or preventive medicine even the medical profession comes short, as one of its own critics noted: “The senseless spending of thousands of millions for care [of illness] and nothing for prevention is increasingly apparent.”

Yet, regardless of what others do, there are things that you can do for yourself. Said Dr. J. F. Montague, one of America’s leading physicians: “Everybody should get acquainted with . . . himself in this way: He should know what his reaction is to certain foods . . . to the matter of drinking, exercise and fun. He should know these things.” In fact, there are four basic aids for good health to which you do well to give attention: (1) sensible eating habits; (2) regular exercise; (3) sufficient rest, relaxation and sleep and (4) good mental and emotional habits.

As reasonable as doing these things may seem to be, doing them will not always come easy. Why not? Because of inherited inclinations. In applying these things to our lives we are faced with the same problem that faced the apostle Paul: “The good that I wish I do not do, but the bad that I do not wish is what I practice.” (Rom. 7:19) But we can change if we really want to.

Sensible Eating Habits

‘Better than any drugs for pregnant women is the right kind of food.’ So recently said one of America’s leading gynecologists. That applies not only to pregnant women but also to all who would stay well. Hippocrates, called the “father of medicine,” is reported to have said: “Thy food shall be thy remedy.” Better than food as a remedy is food for health maintenance!

One thing on which practically all nutritionists seem to agree is that the most common failing as to diet is eating too much. There is wisdom in being abstemious at the table. Especially would all who engage in sedentary occupations, who are overweight or who are continually plagued with one or more minor ills, do well to heed the counsel of the inspired proverb: “Put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite.”​—Prov. 23:2, RS.

Self-control at the table​—how can you accomplish it? First of all, convince yourself that it pays to do so. Try it out for a month and note the difference in how you feel. Some persons find it helpful to make it a rule not to take more than one helping of any one food, especially if they eat more than one variety at a meal. Others find it helpful to cut down on the number of different foods they eat at one meal. Advantageous also is eliminating rich desserts, contenting yourself with fruit as a dessert. If you are invited to a banquet you can eat slowly and so be more likely to avoid overeating. If you find that you may have eaten too much, you can skip the next meal.

The problem, however, is one not only of eating large quantities, but of over-nutrition. One may eat too much rich food. Some have therefore found it helpful to limit themselves to fruit or fruit juices one meal a day. And the “day of meals of fruit only” that has been used for certain chronic diseases can also serve for health maintenance.

Sensible eating habits also include getting sufficient vitamins and trace minerals. Many persons need additional supplies of either or both of these elements. According to Dr. Jean Mayer, Harvard nutritionist, “the U.S. diet is often much lower in iron than are the diets of poorer populations.” And so, especially for many women in the prime of life, iron supplements on a periodic or regular basis are “indispensable if progressive iron depletion is to be avoided.” No doubt this is due to over-refining or highly processing foods.

Very important in this regard is eating sufficient leafy vegetables. Thus we are told: “Leaf vegetables have a high value from the point of view of nutritional physiology and the maintenance of man’s health (as a form of preventive medicine),” being rich in vitamins and minerals. In addition to being rich in iron, which makes them effective against anemia, “they neutralize the acids in the blood and by their effect on the kidneys stimulate the elimination of waste.”

Tomatoes, apples, sauerkraut and onions have an alkalizing effect, and just recently it has been found that mushrooms and onions are particularly valuable in combating cholesterol in the blood. Giving thought to such factors of nutrition also aids in maintaining mental health, and especially in the aged.

Regular Exercise

Regular exercise is good for all, but especially should those who are overweight or do sedentary work make it a point to get some exercise​—a fact being appreciated more and more. Thus a South Carolina physical education professor gathered a group of men with ages from 40 to 87 and put them through hour-long exercises three times a week. After just six weeks he compared these men with a like group that had not exercised. The difference in reduction of blood pressure and body fat, and rise in oxygen consumption (one of the best indexes of vigor) were pronounced “profound.” As physicians Bierman and Light have observed: “Exercise . . . helps maintain a state of well-being in a person who is healthy and . . . has remedial value for persons suffering from diverse conditions.”

For exercise to be beneficial there must be a certain degree of regularity about it. Some remind themselves of it in various ways so as to have a routine; others make it a point to get up a few minutes earlier each day for the sake of exercising. Some have found it helpful to walk instead of ride whenever that is convenient and to climb stairs instead of take the elevator. There are many forms of exercise that benefit both the muscles and the nerves, such as push-ups, swinging dumbbells, and so forth.

Especially for those in sedentary occupations and who tend to put on weight has jogging or stationary running been recommended by some physicians. These are the kind of exercises that tend to strengthen the lungs and heart, for which reason insurance companies recommend jogging. According to one health publication (Prevention, July 1968), such relaxed and unhurried running is “one of the easiest and most inexpensive of all exercises and also the very best for overall health.” Of course, one does not want to go to extremes. Those who do much walking and climbing of stairs may well get all the exercise they need. And we may not forget the apostle Paul’s inspired counsel: “Bodily training is beneficial for a little.”​—1 Tim. 4:8.

Sufficient Rest, Relaxation and Sleep

Ever so many persons just naturally know how to relax, have the good judgment to take sufficient rest and get their needed sleep. But others, again, need to work at these things. This may be due to their being the slim, nervous type, the ectomorph, or because of being naturally intense, or due to a mistaken sense of duty. It may also be because of materialism, trying to get rich or amass mundane treasures or because of pursuing pleasures too eagerly.

One can learn to relax if one will but work at it. Learn to work at a steady pace; do not think you must be going full speed all the time. Musicians must learn to relax if they would perform at their best without undue fatigue, and the same applies also to many other forms of activity that involve mind, heart and muscle. When driving an auto, be mentally alert but physically relaxed. Smiling will help you to be relaxed. And that goes for many other activities that, like driving, involve responsibility and require alertness. Relaxation makes for physical ease and is conducive to mental and emotional balance. The key is self-control!

Then again, there is the matter of rest, that is, rest apart from sleep. Do not feel you must be active every waking moment, from the time you get up until you go to bed. Allow time for rest and the right kind of recreation. Do not thoughtlessly or ambitiously try to cram in too much when taking a vacation, as when traveling.

Nor may sleep be neglected if you would enjoy good health. Here again, some persons obviously need more sleep than do others, even as women usually need more sleep than do men, and children more than do adults.

Sleeplessness may be the payoff for many sins of omission and commission, such as not eating right or neglecting exercise. Or it may be due to anxiety, frustrations, feelings of guilt or like detrimental emotions. Clear house of these if you would enjoy sound sleep. If new sounds disturb you, relax. You can get accustomed to them if you make it a point to do so, enabling you to sleep in spite of them. As the saying goes, ‘What cannot be cured must be endured.’ Learn to slow down in the evening before bedtime. Some have found warm milk, others hot grape juice or orange juice, helpful. And G. G. Luce and Dr. Segal, two United States authorities on sleep and insomnia, offer the following suggestion:

“A person who sincerely wants to improve his sleep must be willing to make an effort for good health. He should be prepared to eat an athletic diet, eliminating starches, sweets and inessential foods. He should also undertake a gradual program of physical exercise, to be followed every day. A person who lives on coffee, cigarettes, nerves and inertia should not expect perfect sleep.”

Good Mental and Emotional Habits

Yes, there is the psychosomatic factor, the effect of the mind and the emotions on the body, which must also be taken into consideration if one would continue to enjoy good health. For this there is no better guide than God’s Word. As the Bible shows, those things that are bad for your body include loose conduct, hatred, jealousy, fits of anger, revelries and heavy drinking.​—Gal. 5:19-21.

On the other hand, there are the beneficial emotions, such as “the fruitage of the spirit [which includes] love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control.” Yes, not without good reason does the Bible say that “a cheerful heart is a good medicine” and that “godly devotion is beneficial for all things,” including this present life.​—Gal. 5:22, 23; Prov. 17:22, RS; 1 Tim. 4:8.

Giving thought to maintaining good health is not following the line of least resistance. However, those with a real mission in life will want to make the best possible use of their time and their mental and physical powers. All such therefore do well to give attention in a balanced way to the four aids for good health: sensible eating habits; regular exercise; sufficient rest, relaxation and sleep, and good mental and emotional habits. Doing so will not only enable them better to carry out their mission in life but also help to give them the fine feeling of true physical well-being.