Balanced?

Life truly is about balance.  Balance can be gauged physically, mentally, emotionally as well as spiritually. In terms of health, most of us focus on the physical. In the physical body, balance is sometimes discussed in terms of homeostasis. The chemistry of the body maintains itself within a tight pH range.  In addition, hormones, immune cells and a whole symphony of chemicals ebb and flow in the uninterrupted dance. When out of balance, we don’t feel so well. Too much of this, not enough of that and the body has to divert attention in order to regain balance. For example, you eat something that does not agree with you (food poisoning). Let’s say your body gets exposed to more salmonella than it can readily destroy. As the salmonella bacteria incubates and multiplies in your digestive tract, there comes a point when the body says enough is enough – You’re Out Of Here! And so the channels of elimination get to work. Your body and mind experience great distress. The higher motive of the body is not comfort, but survival. In order to survive at this moment, the body must purge and eliminate a viable threat.

Not all threats to the body are as apparent. More often, we experience small incremental imbalances that do not require dramatic action, and so the body adjusts, adapts and learns to live with it. How would it be if your body was finely tuned to maintain your ideal weight (wouldn’t that be nice)? If your brain determined that you are 3 pounds overweight, it may cause severe nausea or a complete loss of appetite until you returned to that ideal weight. However, we understand that gaining weight is a survival strategy that was passed down from ancestors who knew they needed to eat when the eatin’ was good, because you were surely to experience famine at some point in the future and any extra weight would come in handy. Likewise, when sleep deprived, the body doesn’t just drop over and fall asleep in a grand narcoleptic gesture. That could be untimely at any given moment and jeopardize safety and even your survival. The body truly does have an inborn wisdom few really understand.

Much has been said about chemical imbalances as a causative factor for many health problems in the past 30 or 40 years. What hasn’t been discussed as thoroughly is what causes these imbalances and whether chemical imbalances can be prevented or corrected. I believe that a chemical imbalance is more often than not a symptom of a deeper imbalance rather than the primary causative factor. A classic example is someone who is under tremendous stress. As a result, they worry, they overindulge in junk food and sweets, they become sleep deprived and they stop exercising. Naturally the body becomes more acidic because of the worry, diet and lack of sleep. As a result, digestion is affected and the body’s chemical environment changes affecting hormones, immune cells and a myriad of other chemical processes. Given a long enough time, measurable imbalances in glands and organs such as the heart, pancreas, thyroid, adrenal and sex glands are observed. The medical approach often prescribes drugs that may alter the outward symptoms, but typically do not address the underlying causes. 

In re-establishing balance, it is important to take a multi-pronged approach. Certainly, you should review your diet, sleep, exercise program and relationships. But in addition, it is important to provide your body with the nutritional building blocks to build, support and strengthen the specific organs, glands and tissues of the body. That is where we can help. By taking fast-acting and effective herbal formulas that are specifically designed to restore the health of these organs, glands and tissues, your body can return to health and vitality. 

Blessings in Health,

Dr. Kyle Christensen

Western Botanicals, Inc.