Inner Peace and Forgiveness

Lately, I’ve been thinking about quality of life. Natural health practitioners believe they achieve a better quality of life. I, for one, maintain that because of the state of my health, my quality of life is better than it would have been otherwise. I support that conclusion by comparing my health to that of friends and family my age or younger and because of the success I’ve had treating various personal conditions throughout the last 12 years.

But I want to focus on other factors that influence quality of life. At this time, I have identified four key factors that affect it:

• physical and mental health,
• financial health (or freedom or security),
• time freedom, and
• inner peace.

Today, I want to focus on inner peace. I believe that inner peace is a result of the state of our walk with God. God is forgiving and wants us to also be forgiving. Yet I have found forgiving some people to be hard.

So I read with interest a book entitled, “The Forgiveness Habit” by Jo Ann Rotermund. The author claims that “forgiveness is not:

• a sign of weakness, ignorance, or low self-esteem,
• forgetting the past and putting yourself at risk again,
• repressing your anger and pretending you haven’t been hurt, or
• refusing to hold people accountable for their behavior.

“Forgiveness is something you do for yourself, not for anyone else….When you forgive, you actually set yourself free….Forgiveness clears emotional toxins from your body and boosts your immune system.”

Rotermund “spent her life being a victim until 2001, when her study of forgiveness helped heal her past and bring personal power, freedom, and joy into everything she does.”

I personally know Jo Ann. She is part of my networking group in Houston. I have tremendous respect for the research and thought she put into this book. Reading it exposed me to the reasons why forgiveness can be so hard.

If you struggle with forgiveness, if grudges encumber you, if you want to be set free, get the book and study it. Jo Ann’s website is www.TheForgivenessHabit.org. You can order the book there or from Amazon.

Hearing loss caused by free radicals?

Although health news in the media and the press are predominantly medically-oriented, I occasionally run across an article of interest from a natural health perspective.

So an article in the August 22, 2015, Wall Street Journal about a drug trial to reduce hearing loss caught my attention. According to the article, “researchers believe excessive noise causes the body to produce large numbers of highly reactive molecules (free radicals) that can harm tissues such as the hair cells of the inner ear.” The proposed drug is an antioxidant (d-methionine).

Of course, antioxidants neutralize free radicals, so if free radicals are a cause of hearing loss, then an antioxidant should be effective.

But why do we need a drug with all its side-effects? There are many natural antioxidants already available on the market, and they have no side effects!

Do free radicals cause hearing loss? This is the first I’ve heard that proposed, but it certainly is plausible. Free radicals are believed to be a major cause of aging, and hearing loss is typically associated with aging. So there’s one more reason to take an effective antioxidant.

I take several antioxidants, but I consider the best to be Microhydrin Plus™ from RBC Life. 

Free radicals are created constantly within the body. And free radicals are highly reactive, looking for a site to capture an electron from another molecule. So when a free radical is created the most effective protection is to have an antioxidant nearby to provide that electron.

The antioxidant should be both water soluble and fat soluble. And the antioxidant should not become a free radical itself when it gives up an electron. Microhydrin Plus™ meets those specs. I take it at least twice a day to be sure it is available when a free radical appears.

Disease or Disorder? The difference is important!

What is the difference between “disease” and “disorder”? 

Some people say they are used interchangeably. But if there is no difference, why have two terms?

To me, a disorder is a condition in which the body does not function the way it was designed to function. A disease is the state in which the body is suffering from the effects of an invading organism—a virus, bacteria, fungus, parasite, etc. The distinction between these two terms has become blurred.

The body is designed to heal itself. If the body is not healing itself, the way it was designed to work, that is a “disorder”. Probably the two most common disorders are immune system disorders and genetic disorders.

Immune system disorders 

If the immune system is malfunctioning, the body may experience any or all of the following possible results:

• The immune system will attack healthy tissue (over-active immune system leading to auto-immune disorders),
• The immune system will over-react to benign particles (over-active immune system leading to allergies and sensitivities),
• The immune system will not destroy an invading organism (under-active immune system leading to frequent and prolonged diseases),  
• The immune system will not identify and destroy cancer cells (under-active immune system leading to cancer).

Auto-immune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes, lupus, asthma, are the most common. Auto-immune disorders fall into the category of over-active immune systems.   

What to do about an immune system disorder? 

The medical community has a drug for any and all of these conditions.

A drug may help the body fight an invading organism. That is certainly an appropriate application for a drug.

But the cause of an immune system disorder is not a missing drug. A drug may relieve pain and discomfort, but it does not address the cause of the disorder.

The mostly likely cause of an immune system disorder is a deficiency of one or more nutrients that leads to the malfunctioning of the immune system. One of the most common missing nutrients is polysaccharides, which are critical to having a properly-functioning immune system.

Personally, I believe that many of our nation’s immune disorders could be resolved with proper nutrition, consequently resulting in a check on the nation’s sky-rocketing medical costs.

Do you have an interest in cancer?

I feel led to address cancer

Not because I have an answer. But because I believe that I have an understanding about cancer that could benefit my readers. My understanding has developed over 12 years of digging into the topic. I’ve attended sessions devoted to cancer, read dozens of books and articles, watched numerous webinars, and talked with medical researchers and natural health practitioners.

We all have cancer cells within our bodies at all times. Why do these cells progress to the level of “cancer” in some people and not in others? According to current statistics, one of every two men and one of every three women will get cancer during their lifetime.

The financial incentive not to get cancer is huge

A recent Wall Street Journal article (“Doctors Object to High Cancer Drug Prices,” July 25, 2015) reported on over 100 oncologists calling for new controls on soaring patient costs in the U.S. An editorial published in the Mayo Clinic medical journal reports that “the out-of-pocket costs are bankrupting many just as they’re fighting a deadly illness….About 10% to 20% of cancer patients don’t take their treatment as prescribed” the doctors say. “The average cost of new cancer drugs was more than $100,000 per year in 2012. Memorial Sloan Kettering forecasts that the annual costs could approach $300,000 per patient per year.”

It is much easier, and much less expensive, to reduce the chances of getting cancer than it is to fight cancer once it has developed in the body.

I will never get cancer

I strongly believe that I, personally, will never develop an internal “cancer.” I say “internal” because I once had skin cancer on my scalp, but I don’t have it anymore.

My confidence is based on

•  the insights I’ve developed into the probable causes of cancer,
•  the actions I take based on the above, and
•  the apparent absence of cancer among a large number of associates and customers who actively consume key nutritional supplements.

I’ve put together a talk about reducing the risks of getting cancer. It has been well received by those who have heard it.   

This is the first in a series of blogs that will focus on cancer and how to reduce your chances of getting it. I hope you will find them helpful.

How quickly are you aging?

“Investments in your health in middle age will have payoffs in old age.”

“What happens to us at the end of life has its roots many years prior.”

Those are key messages from “Calculate the Speed of Aging,” an article in the July 14, 2015, issue of the Wall Street Journal. The article further proclaims that the investments “should be in diet and exercise.”

Hooray for the Wall Street Journal! Of course, the messages are not from the writer of the article, but are quotes from researchers on aging from various institutions.

“Intervention to reverse or delay the march toward age-related diseases must be scheduled while people are still young,” is a quote, referenced by the article, from a study published on-line last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study strived to identify key factors that affect biological aging, which the researchers define as “the declining integrity of multiple systems.” (Aging experts say that, as yet, there is no standard clinical measure of biological age.)

The findings are from a study of 954 men and women of the same age. The objective was to calculate the individual aging rates by comparing various measurements of their health at ages 26, 32, and 38. The data came from a study being conducted in Dunedin, New Zealand, of a group of young people all born in 1972 or 1973.

The research team chose a set of 18 biomarkers that “tracked the function of organs such as the liver and kidneys, the immune and metabolism systems and dental health, among other measures.”

“Participants who showed accelerated aging in the biomarker tests also performed worse on other tests typically given to elderly people to gauge aging,” tests such as balance, coordination, grip strength, and cognitive abilities.

I give talks on aging. What I advocate is consistent with this research. But what I advocate is much more basic. It’s this:

·        The state of your health depends on the state of your functioning cells.
·        The body’s cells are constantly being damaged and the body is constantly repairing, replenishing, or replacing the damaged cells.
·        If your body is functioning optimally, your body will repair, replenish, or replace all malfunctioning cells.
·        Biological aging begins when the repair rate can no longer keep pace with the damage rate. 
·        Biological aging progresses as the percentage of malfunctioning cells gets larger.

To delay aging, our job is to reduce the rate of cellular damage and support the rate of cellular repair.

My talks are about what you can do to reduce the damage and to support the repair.

Diet, exercise, and lifestyle are critical. So are nutritional supplements.

Nutritional supplements can be highly effective in helping the body both reduce the rate of damage and support the repair rate. They are especially important as we get older, when the body’s ability to repair itself is in decline.

But I digress into topics that take hours to cover.

Here are a couple blogs that may interest you:

·        What is aging?
·        What causes aging?

A broad-spectrum physical fitness program

Physical fitness is one of the key ingredients of natural health. And it’s more than strength and stamina. It also involves flexibility and balance.

This fall, our church will be hosting a low impact fitness program led by our friend, Wanda Pearson. She calls the program 7.0 Fitness. Her program embodies all four, and more.

Balancing exercises

Matthew 12:33 says that a tree is known by its fruit. You must have a healthy tree to bear good fruit. An unhealthy tree bears poor fruit. This program strives to help people bear good fruit.

The human body is one of God’s marvelous creations. It is designed to operate continuously, every second of every day, for over 100 years. It is designed to heal itself. When we consume harmful foods or beverages, it will flush out the toxins.

The body will adapt to the conditions that we expose it to. If we demand strength, it will build strong muscles and bones. If we demand flexibility, it will develop flexible joints. If we demand stamina, it will develop endurance. If we don’t demand any of these, it will become soft, inflexible, and feeble… and aches and pains will set in.

Stretching Exercise

Individual goals of the fitness program are:

·        Improve muscle tone
·        Increase strength
·        Increase joint flexibility and range of motion
·        Improve balance

It is a low-impact program for people of all ages, including those with special needs, chronic illness, limited strength or mobility, and those recovering from surgery. No running. No heavy weights. No pushing the body to its limits.

More balance exercises

The program emphasizes:

• Repetitive exercises with light weights that gradually build strength. 
• Stretching that increases joint flexibility and range of motion and improves balance.
• Breathing exercises that deliver life-giving oxygen to the core of our bodies.
•  Keeping the body slightly alkaline, the ideal condition for the body’s cells.

The program is rounded out with prayer and scripture, wellness education, and fellowship.

Dottie and I have been active in this program for six months. Dottie, who can easily go into a migraine, claims that the neck stretching exercises have eased her neck and shoulder stress. Personally, I have much better flexibility and muscle tone.

To find out more about this program, send an e-mail to Earl@EarlLynnKemper.com.

Insomnia--another tip

My wife’s insomnia seems to be persistent. She’s used both Spirulina and Stem-Kine, separately and together, as recommended in a previous blog. Until recently, they have been effective. But the insomnia has returned, in spite of taking both. 

One of our team members, Shonye Talor, who owns RenewU4Life, a natural health studio here in Houston, suggested that Dottie take Protivity an hour before bedtime. Protivity is RBC’s amino acid supplement. Shonye claimed that it would help and it did!

Protivity is a LARGE tablet, and the label recommends taking five tablets a day.

Dottie tried one tablet the first night and she slept better. So she gradually increased the amount until she takes the labeled amount. She now sleeps soundly and throughout the night. Thank you, Shonye!

Dottie still takes the Spirulina and Stem-Kine at bedtime in addition to the Protivity.

But the size of the Protivity tablet is a problem for her, so I now pulverize the Protivity in a blender. I do about a third of a bottle at a time, because the Protivity turns into a very fine powder. (Covering the lid of the blender with a dish towel traps any powder that escapes around the lid.)  A little less than a tablespoonful is equivalent to five tablets.

Dottie mixes the powder in water. It dissolves slowly and much stirring is needed.

As a side note, I have added Protivity tablets to smoothies. They blend in easily and have hardly any effect on the taste. It’s a great way to include free-form amino acids in your diet.