Deep inside our bodies are the cells themselves, each one of them a complex factory working around the clock to perform the necessary functions to keep us alive and well.
How you treat them matters.
I love eating a natural diet packed with lots of fresh, wholesome food and as a result I can hear an intelligence inside of me somewhere sighing a deep sigh of relief.
I remember a naturopath lecturer at college saying to the class that everything has to work on a cellular level, or nothing works at all.
Each cell has a specialist job to do making up tissues, organs, organ systems, and collectively, the organism itself – us. And in my work as a nutritionist, I analyse these systems thoroughly, yet I often go back to the wisdom of that lecturer…
Back to basics
Regardless of its specialist job, each cell has basic requirements to function optimally.
Energy production, excretion of metabolic bi-products, absorption of nutrients and other substances through the cell membrane. And then of course there’s the mysterious DNA inside the nucleus, which is the mastermind behind everything.
How you feel affects how your cells perform
The latest science of genetics is called epigenetics and it’s all about how DNA expresses itself based on its environment. It has now been proven that genes switch on or off, based on what surrounds them.
And the interesting part of this is that it’s not just what you eat, drink or your toxicity levels that influence gene expression, but also the way you feel.
When you feel happy, your body produces molecules of emotion such as serotonin and endorphins.
When you feel sad, your body produces molecules of emotion such as stress hormones.
These molecules of emotion flood the cells with their messages. When you feel anything, your cells get a chemical message too.
It’s been proven that these molecules of emotion also affect gene expression. I find that fascinating.
Are you giving your body what it needs?
So back to the basics:
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- Balanced emotions
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- Clean environment
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- Absorption of nutrients
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- Energy production
- Excretion of toxins
Seems simple right?
Unfortunately, in today’s world, our poor cells are bombarded with toxicity from pollution, drugs, food additives, synthetic chemicals from body products, cosmetics (yes, they all get absorbed through the skin), air fresheners, perfumes, deodorants…. just have a look at the labels on your skincare products and ask yourself, “Do my cells need or want these chemicals?”
Then there’s the constant onslaught of insulin and stress hormones bombarding the cells, due to most people’s sugar-addicted and stressful lifestyles. It’s no wonder that cancer is on the rise.
A sigh of relief
Your cells are longing to be clean, to relax, to be nourished, to be able to excrete their own metabolic bi-products without the burden of all the man-made toxins flying around. To have the extra burdens that they are not designed to deal with taken away so that they can do their jobs properly. You get the picture.
So, your body does sigh a deep sigh of relief when you feed it well, remove the toxins, such as unnatural foods and sugar, – water it, de-stress, exercise and learn to relax.
The 7 doctors of life
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- Fresh air
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- Sunshine
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- Clean water
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- Natural foods
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- Relaxation
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- Exercise
- A positive outlook
So, keep things simple. Slow down, watch your thoughts, notice your feelings. Enjoy moving your body, learn how to deeply relax. Eat clean, nutrient-dense foods and drink pure water. Rid your body and home of any synthetic chemicals, and get outside into nature as often as you can.
Set the stage for wellness, not sickness
I find it baffling that in today’s world, being healthy is not considered simple. Many people in fact find it very challenging. It’s almost as if society is setting the stage for sickness, not wellness. How have we got to this state? A place in our evolution where we can’t even look after ourselves properly, and to do so is considered a big effort?
Unfortunately, the current medical model doesn’t help matters, as it teaches that foods and lifestyle have no relevance in healing, and that our bodies need synthetic drugs when they get out of balance. This is certainly true for life threatening conditions or if you need emergency assistance, but not when it comes to daily health and quality of life.
Your wellness journey
Your inner wisdom knows that junk foods, sugar, too much alcohol, stress, lack of relaxation, chemical toxicity and unaddressed emotional distress, do not promote health.
We have to remind ourselves in this busy, information-overloaded world, that going back to basics is what our bodies need to be healthy.
Our bodies are striving to be in balance. It’s their natural state and they will return to it given the right conditions and environment.
Article by Jo Rowkins, Nutritional Therapist at Awakening Health
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