So You Lost Your Health Insurance

[Guest guest]

So You Lost Your Health Insurance

By Schenck, LAc

May 29, 2009 - 2:20:41 PM

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(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Millions of Americans are feeling the stress of losing

their jobs and as a result, their health insurance. But what if I told you that

losing your health insurance could actually be a blessing in disguise? What if I

told you that there is an opportunity in that loss…an opportunity for growth,

and perhaps, with a bit of determination on your part, to reach and maintain

your highest health potential?

When I was in high school in the `70s I developed an eating disorder (anorexia

nervosa that flipped into bulimia) that lasted 10 years. Sure, I had insurance.

But it was the pre- Carpenter era, so no doctors or counselors had a

clue---which made my insurance worthless! Nowadays they might prescribe a

serotonin reuptake inhibitor, but I am so glad those didn't exist back then.

Drugs do not get to the root of the problem and often have side effects nearly

as bad, if not worse, than the illness.

Convinced I had to heal myself, I took eight university classes in psychology

searching for a cure. But nothing worked till I moved to Mexico and got away

from all the processed trigger foods. I also started taking super foods like bee

pollen and brewer's yeast, and… suddenly the eating disorder, which had been a

10-year hell for me, simply vanished! 10 years of praying and seeking a cure for

my mind by reading psychology and self help books ended. I got well only after

healing the body, not the mind.

I then knew the importance of nutrition as the principle key to health. Through

the years I experimented with health modalities, even got a master's degree in

Chinese medicine and did acupuncture for a while. But I noticed herbs were even

more effective than needles. The conviction grew that what a person puts into

his or her mouth has the greatest effect of all.

When I discovered the cleansing and rejuvenating power of a raw food diet, my

health soared! I was free from hepatitis C, PMS that had me depressed three

weeks of the month, athlete's foot, brain fog, herpes, even jet lag! I devoured

every book on the raw food diet and came across a multitude of

testimonials—people healing from disease without drugs or surgery.

Boutenko, for example, was healed of arrhythmia and her husband of

hyperthyroidism. Their son was cured of juvenile diabetes and their daughter of

asthma. After just a few months on the diet, they were all going on extended

hikes, bursting with energy!

Reverend Malkmus healed himself of colon cancer… Klein defeated

colitis…Roe Gallo conquered a highly allergic sensitivity to the 20th century

chemicals…Lou Corona healed from a head tumor…Dr. Lorraine Day reversed breast

cancer… Stokes lost 159 pounds… no longer sleepwalks. The list

goes on and on.

" But what about accidents? " you might be protesting. Yes, you might want to get

a very high deductible insurance in case of accidents. But consider this: I know

of people who even used raw foods as a main part of healing from accidents. Take

Aajonous Vonderplanitz, for example. Four MDs told him that his son, injured

from a car accident, would be brain dead for life. But using raw foods, Aajonous

got his son to come out of the coma with a full recovery of his brain and

muscles. His son went on to graduate from a university. (Aajonous details the

entire story in his book We Want to Live.)

Then there is Dr. Joe Dispenza (who appears in the films What the Bleep Do We

Know? and What If? and tells his story in his book Evolve Your Brain). Joe was

injured in a car accident and was diagnosed with " multiple compression fractures

of the thoracic spine with the T-8 vertebra more than 60% collapsed. " The

doctors recommended Harrington rod surgery, but Joe was haunted by all the

patients he had seen that had had this surgery. They never really healed, never

regained their spinal flexibility, and many lived the rest of their lives

addicted to pain medications. Filled with the conviction of the body's innate

power to heal itself, he rejected surgery and used raw foods plus visualization

to heal himself.

Finally, there is my husband who injured his back from lifting weights at the

gym. He was diagnosed with a herniated disc, and told he needed surgery. But he

continued with a raw diet, getting lots of rest, and his MRI a year and a half

later showed a complete healing!

Researchers are starting to learn that what you eat impacts your health more

than anything, even genetics. What you eat feeds your genes toward health or

degeneration. A friend of mine who eats a 100% raw diet says her friends are

horrified when they find out she doesn't have health insurance. She replies, " My

health insurance is what I put into my mouth. "

Even if you don't want to eat a largely raw diet, switching to whole foods goes

a long way. (Don't eat anything from a box, can, bag, or jar.) Get more alkaline

by eating more greens (salads, green smoothies, wheat grass juice, chlorella,

spirulina, blue-green algae). Avoid the worst culprits (wheat, dairy, table

salt, sugar, transfats, monosodium glutamate, aspartame).

Also learn to use supplements instead of drugs. When I had hepatitis C, I took

several pills of milk thistle three times a day. When I went back for a test,

the MD was astonished to find that my liver enzymes were to be envied! My sister

was hooked on a prescription drug and when she lost her insurance, if she didn't

keep buying it (spending $200 a month!) she couldn't sleep at all. When I got

her a month's supply of tryptophane and told her to gradually reduce the drug

while taking this supplement, she was finally able to wean herself off the

costly meds.

There are other lifestyle factors besides diet that can make a huge difference

in one's health. One of the most important things is to get rid of the toxins in

your environment. Get an air purifier and toss the moldy rugs or mattress

(especially if you have asthma). Use natural, nontoxic cleaning supplies,

makeup, tampons, personal care products, etc.

Exercise is another investment in your health. Vary it so you cover flexibility

to prevent injuries and keep the spine youthful (yoga, stretching), endurance

and cardiovascular health (walking, running, etc.), as well as strength-building

(lifting weights, pushups, etc).

Other factors of health include adequate sleep and rest; supporting

relationships; positive thinking; pure air and water; and adequate sunshine

during the day so you can absorb Vitamin D.

The truth is that even if you have health insurance, the copayments can bankrupt

you if you get a major disease such as cancer and you decide to go the

conventional route. (This topic was brought up in the movie Sicko.) And even if

you have 100% health insurance, the tendency is to not be proactive in your

health. People who have that attitude wait till they get sick, and then expect

some pills or surgery to heal them, and then wonder why they never feel good

again. Many of these people end up spending a small fortune on alternative

therapies that their health insurance didn't cover (after they realize the

conventional route didn't really heal them) because they truly want to regain

their health.

People tend to leave all of the responsibility for their health to their health

insurance. I have come across people who accept jobs they hate simply because

they want the health insurance. In San Diego, many teachers are turning down a

very generous golden handshake because they don't want to lose their health

insurance.

People are selling their souls for their health insurance because they don't

realize that if they change their lifestyle, they can be in near complete

control of their health! What is really needed is not universal health

insurance, but universal health education.

Take responsibility for your health. You may find, after a year or two (as I

have), that you go to the doctor only for the annual checkup to confirm that you

are on the right path. You may find (as I have) that you have restored the

vigor, energy and radiant health you had decades ago. You may find (as I have)

that when you are in control of your health, having no health insurance suddenly

doesn't seem relevant.

Schenck, LAc, is a raw food coach, lecturer, and author of The Live Food

Factor, The Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Diet for Body, Mind, Spirit &

Planet, known as the encyclopedia of the raw food diet. Go to LiveFoodFactor

SpecialOffer to get a some free bonuses with her book.