Sonia Davidson

Most of us take our health for granted. We are often motivated to act only when we experience pain or develop a life-threatening illness. People all over the world are living twice as long as they did 100 years ago. They are living long enough to pay the price or reap the dividends of their personal lifestyles.

Western medicine, which the world has come to rely so heavily on, seems to be able to do so little to prevent 'lifestyle diseases' such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and arthritis. Increasingly, more people are compelled to take matters in their own hands in a quest to enjoy a better quality of life, well into advanced years. Personal care in the form of wise lifestyle choices is essential to realising the goals of good health and prolonged youthfulness.

Extreme culture

There is, however, an emerging culture of extremism which defines itself as natural. You may identify this culture by the extremes to which people are prepared to go to care for the body while sometimes neglecting the mind and spirit. Advocates of this culture will insist on feeding the body with 'good food'. They will place the joints and muscles under extreme, repetitive strain by running three miles or more daily, and compulsively swallow as many as 20 'natural' vitamins pills.

Whereas we do have a duty to take care of our bodies, it is wise to realise that man is more than flesh and bones; he is a thinking, feeling spiritual being. We ignore this to our peril.

The individual cells of the body are intricately interconnected with the resultant effect of its activities being directed to the survival of the collective (the body). The collective survival and normalising mechanism of the body is called the immune response. The key to the efficient function of the immune system is the relationship between mind and body.

Experience has shown, and research findings confirm, that a happy, relaxed, confident person is less likely to suffer from disease than one who is unhappy, anxious and uncertain. Conversely, many conditions of the body affect mood as well as clarity of thinking and ultimately the ability of a person to cope with demanding and challenging situations.

Relationships

The connection between health and human relationships has caught the attention of researchers. Social isolation is being studied as a contributory factor in illness and early death of the elderly. Studies indicate that premature babies who are touched are more likely to survive than those who are isolated.

Dr. Sonia Davidson MD, general practitioner, advocate of integrative medicine and minister of religious science; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.