A new paradigm of health

A new paradigm of health

Written by Edward Enever
Integrated Health Consultant
Chronic Disease and Cancer Coach/Mentor

The statistics on health and disease are quite frankly outright scary.

One in two will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime

– that’s one person in every relationship – one in five will develop cardiovascular disease, one in ten will develop chronic kidney disease, one in nineteen will develop diabetes and, according to the ‘Young Minds Matter’ national survey that was released in August this year, 560 thousand Australian children and adolescents aged between 4-17 (14%) had experienced mental health disorders in 2012-2013. These are very conservative figures – not taking into account anyone who is yet to be diagnosed and living with the condition.

I was part of these statistics when in 2013 I was diagnosed with cancer. It took me 2 years to journey back to health and now I am happy to say that I am cancer free, but this isn’t the case for many people.

What is wrong with the healthcare system that is allowing people to get this sick?

What is wrong with how we view health that is allowing us to get this sick? Through my journey with cancer I have Iearned much about health and illness and the true nature of wellness and what it truly means to be healthy. I already had a pretty solid understanding of health and wellness before I was diagnosed, being a health professional who treated chronic disease and cancer, but as I danced with my diagnosis, everything started to fall into place and a new paradigm of health and wellness came into my awareness – it was nothing new really, it’s just the framework became clear to me and has changed me, my practice and how I approach my clients.

Health and wellness or more precisely, the lack of health and wellness, can be a complex issue. Most people when they think of health think only in terms of their physical health, the  body. When the body is broken, I’m unwell. To be truly healthy, happy and well a different  perspective is needed.

A more holistic view you might say.

Now this doesn’t mean dusting off the Thai fisherman pants, chucking on a tie dye singlet and dancing under the moon and stars, it just means we need to alter the way we view our body and our health and what health actually is.

Physical health is only one part of a healthy body and by focussing on the physical body alone, we will only achieve a certain level of healing – this is where orthodox medicine fails and why they are unable to effectively treat the chronic diseases that are so prevalent today. Orthodox medicine relies on an overly reductionist model, with specialists coming out of its ears who rely on medications and the art of diagnosis.

A diagnosis is an opinion.

If you tick enough boxes in a certain order from a specific model, your suffering gets a name – your diagnosis. I choose to practice from a different and more holistic model of medicine which negates the need for a diagnosis.

A diagnosis can give the patient peace of mind but it doesn’t change the fact that orthodox medicine doesn’t have the answer for the chronic diseases such as cancer, auto-immune diseases, fibromyalgia, the chronic gastrointestinal diseases, the fatigue syndromes, Lyme disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental illness to name a few.

In my experience and personal opinion there is but one disease of the human body – imbalance in the organism, the lack of balance.

Whether it be caused by deficiency or excess at the micro or macroscopic level of the organisms’ functioning, it is the root cause of all disease.

As alluded to earlier there is more to health then merely physical health and the physical body.

There are 7 areas of health that combine and interact to achieve complete wellness.

Understanding the role each of these areas of health play in wellness and achieving a healthy balance, is the key to a happy, healthy life.

I’m sure you can appreciate that one area of health can have a negative impact on others, for example – financial health negatively affecting your mental and emotional state which can eventually impact on your physical health. A true health professional deeply understands this and makes this balance a priority on the journey towards true health – they don’t just throw medications, herbs, vitamins, minerals and other supplements at you in the hope that something helps.

With the complex chronic diseases often enough you will find their root causes lie in a chronic imbalance between these areas – the organism (you) is in a state of chronic imbalance. Re-establishing health in these cases is a journey of transformation, literally recreating a ‘new you’.

A healthier, happier, balanced, nutritionally optimal, stress and toxin free version of you.

Symptoms of disease, although an inconvenience, are nothing more than a feedback system that allows the organism (you) to recognise that things are out of balance and action needs to take place.

Unfortunately in this modern world of over the counter quick fixes, there’s a so called ‘pill for every ill’. We ignore the symptoms and what they are telling us and ‘solider on’.

In this article I would like to introduce you to a new paradigm of health and wellness, one that is long overdue – one that has come out of my experience of being met with my mortality. To understand this paradigm I need to introduce you to a few key concepts. I’ve already mentioned above, the seven classifications of health, now, for each of these classes imagine there are three influencing factors – the same factors for each class.

The three influencing factors on health are Nourishment, Stress and Toxicity, in all their forms and contexts.

To understand how this works, simply overlay the influencing factors one by one over each class of health and work your way around asking this question – Is there a deficiency or excess here?

I.e. Physical health –

1. Is it being excessively or deficiently nourished? Is it getting a nutritious, clean diet? Am I being too obsessive about my diet? Am I getting enough exercise? Enough relaxation time? etc.

2. Is there an excessive amount of stress being put on the physical body? Too much exercise, not enough sleep, too much extracurricular activities etc.

3. Is there an excessive amount of toxicity – do you smoke? Drink too much? What type of potions and lotions you put on the body? etc.

Can you see how this works?

It’s actually really simple when you think about it but I’ve never seen it combined in the full spectrum combination of all the classes of health and presented this way.

The aim is neither for a deficiency or an excess in any area of health (with one exception) – it’s about a healthy balance.

The only exception to the rule is toxicity from external sources in the physical body – any amount of toxicity is damaging on some level to the functioning of the physical body.

Balance is the key.

Some of the most important lessons I learned on my journey with cancer were that of balance and gratitude. There are positives and negatives, blessings and drawbacks in everything, as well as pay-offs, but that’s the way it is. Learning to develop a balanced, gracious perspective in all areas and experiences in life is one of the keys to a happier, healthier life.

Now, how does this all relate to additives and a healthy diet in children?

I think you’ll agree that health and disease these days is a somewhat complex affair considering the world we live in. Should it be though? You are what you eat right? Unfortunately it’s not that simple.

Most of the foods on the shelf these days we can hardly call foods, with ingredients like:

amyl acetate, dipropyl ketone, methylphenylglycidate, heliotropin and methyl heptane carbonate.

Its sounds more like a menu from a chemistry lab than just a small sample of about 40 different additives that are found in the “natural flavour” of a strawberry milkshake.  When looking at the physical body and where it fits into this paradigm, if we apply the three influencing factors, in particularly to diet, which we all know has a huge impact on the body, we can ask the following questions:

1. Are we experiencing an excess or deficient amount of dietary stress?

2. Are we experiencing an excess or deficient amount dietary toxicity?

3. Are we experiencing an excess or deficient amount of dietary nourishment?

With the industrial revolution and the advances in food technology, the amount of additives in our foods (flavourings, colourings and preservatives) has soared from 100 in 1900 to well over 4500 known additives today.

The average person in Australia consumes, on average, four kilograms of chemicals a year in the form of food additives and preservatives. Foods marketed towards children these days are laden with additives – the influence four kilograms a year of chemicals has on a child is markedly more than in a fully grown adult –

is it any wonder why we are seeing exponential amounts of childhood issues such as allergies and behavioural issues?

Also this doesn’t include the pesticide residues that are in the food before processing, nor does it include the leaching of plasticisers (such as phthalates) into the food from plastic tin-can linings and packaging. The food chain is literally a minefield.

We are seeing an excess amount of dietary stress and toxicity whilst a deficiency in the amount of nourishment we get from our food.

The body tries its best but it can only do what it can with what is provided for it. Eventually there will be a pay-off – the body will break down and you will start to experience symptoms and suffering which if you remember back to the start of this article, is the body’s feedback mechanism to you, the way it talks to you, telling you somethings not right.

It’s not broken at all, it’s doing what it’s designed to do and it’s communicating with you and asking for better choices, more nourishment from fresh organically grown foods, less toxic stress from packaged and tinned goods and minimally processed options.

Let’s start listening to our bodies, let’s start demanding better quality foods in our supermarkets. As Francine says “let’s vote with our dollar”. They have to listen. As a population we are getting sicker by the year. It won’t change unless we do – As Mahatma Ghandi said “Be the change that you wish to see in this world”.

From the onset of his diagnosis he made the choice that his journey with cancer was not going to cripple him but the complete opposite, it was going to be the ultimate opportunity to grow on all levels. This change of mindset,which is important in all chronic disease, turned a scary, potentially life threatening experience into one of the most positive things ever to happen to him. As part of your treatment with Edward, as well as treating the physical aspects of your condition with nutritional and herbal medicine, he will look at the balance in all areas of your life as well as delving deeply into your subconscious patterning and help you too to change your mindset, unlocking the healing potential of your body.

Diseases can come into your life for a reason; sometimes it can help to have someone who has gone through the process themselves to hold your hand through your Journey. If this makes sense to you and you are ‘sick and tired of being sick and tired’, have a diagnosis of a chronic or terminal disease or just want to upgrade to a better version of yourself, then Edward looks forward to working with you, mentoring and coaching you back to a more vital, happier, healthier you.

To book an appointment phone Edward on 0411 501 979 or for more information contact email edwardeneverihc@gmail.com or visit www.chronicdiseaseconsultant.com