by Ann Cue, MA, MH

COMMON SENSE FACT #1: OUR HEALTH IS CONSTANTLY CHALLENGED. Is it possible to improve, or even maintain, good health in today's polluted and fast-paced world? Consider the odds: the air we breathe, the water we drink and bathe in, even the food we eat to sustain health- all frequently contribute to our health problems. Add to this our personal genetic weaknesses, constantly mutating strains of pathogenic bacteria, and the stress of daily living. It's no wonder that our physical, mental, and emotional well-being is seriously challenged; that getting through the day often substitutes for quality of life and fullness of joy.

COMMON SENSE FACT #2: MEDICAL CARE HAS ITS LIMITATIONS. Can it get better? For many people, the only course of action open is to wait until things become bad enough to see the doctor, get a diagnosis, and hope for the quick fix. But all too soon it turns out that the quick fix comes with a long-term high price tag: inevitably, all medical solutions deal mainly with symptoms; all medications have side effects; and all means of suppressing, stimulating, or substituting for natural body processes only create further weakness and imbalance. As many can appreciate, medical assistance is great for short-term, emergency relief, but not likely to restore or improve basic health.

COMMON SENSE FACT #3: WE CAN CHOOSE PERSONAL HEALTH IMPROVEMENT. Is there anything we can do for ourselves? Is it possible to take personal responsibility for health improvement before, during, and after consulting the health professional? Can we be trusted to make good decisions regarding our own health future? The answer is a resounding YES: because our bodies are designed with an innate ability to adjust and readjust, to cleanse and repair, to rebuild and restore a large measure of lost health. At some level, most of us still believe in this process. At some level, we suspect that remissions and "miracles" occur because the body "knows" how to make it happen. At some level, we all want to be involved in our own health care.

COMMON SENSE FACT #4: LIVING HEALTHY REQUIRES ATTENTION TO MANY FACTORS. But taking action to improve our own health can be an overwhelming challenge. The holistic health movement has made us realize how great our needs really are. We know that fresh air, pure water, and sunshine are basic health requirements, but we often have to settle for less-than-perfect variations of nature's "big three." Because we understand how thoughts and emotions relate to health, we also know that we must take positive action in these areas. We even have some understanding of how color, sound, and fragrance can affect us. And, of course, we are all too aware of the need for physical activity and good nutrition.

COMMON SENSE FACT #5: NUTRITIONAL APPROACHES TO HEALTH IMPROVEMENT OFTEN LEAD NOWHERE. So where do we start? It is highly probable that, of all the things we could be doing for ourselves, eating better is both the most necessary and the least understood. On the one hand, we identify with the common-sense maxim, "You are what you eat." On the other hand, we are faced with conflicting and confusing instructions about what to eat. Perhaps we even succeeded in maintaining low-fat, low-sodium, sugarless, high-complex-carbohydrate, vegetarian, or other healthy restrictions to our diets, only to find out, sooner or later, that the efforts were not worth the returns. And although eating healthy has probably been on our list of New Year's resolutions more than once, we may have become discouraged by less-than-spectacular results. Disappointed, we begin to doubt our will-power and the source of our information. Are we hopelessly addicted to poor food choices? Or could it be that modern nutritional science has failed to identify what it takes to mobilize the daily self-healing process and to support optimum good health? We are left with many questions. If nutrition is so important (and it is), why doesn't it work better? Has Mother Nature let us down?

COMMON SENSE FACT #6: GOOD FOOD IS HARD TO FIND. Before we throw up our hands in despair, it is helpful to understand what happens to "good food" from nature's table. Nutrient robbery begins with the hybridizing of plants and chemical fertilization of the soil (in the name of profit); accelerates with harvesting and storage procedures (in the name of profit); and reaches outrageous levels when food is refined and processed, whether in the factory, the restaurant, or the home kitchen. Degraded, "dead" food is no food at all, for the purpose of replenishing the life-force. Add to these insults chemical "enhancements," pesticides, artificial colors and flavors, preservatives-and a great deal of "dead food" becomes positively deadly! Then, if all this is not bad enough, poor food combinations and absence of essential digestive "helpers" (HCL, digestive enzymes, and friendly intestinal bacteria, to name a few) can continue the "robbery" process even after the correct "food" is off the plate and in our bellies. Reflecting upon all of this, it seems astonishing that we manage to get enough nutrients to keep ourselves alive!

COMMON SENSE FACT #7: ADDING HERBS TO YOUR HEALTH PLAN REQUIRES CARE AND CAUTION. So how can we keep our bodies adequately nourished to both recover and sustain the best health possible? One approach getting a lot of attention these days is the use of herbs. There is historical precedent here, and the modern revival of herbs as health aids is enjoying great popularity, complete with testimonials, publicity, and a proliferation of competing products. But most consumers are not well educated in the selection and use of these highly specialized and unfamiliar plant substances, and may find the herbal approach to better health even more frustrating than trying to eat a good diet of familiar foods. In fact, it is easy to end up with questionable results, even subtle "side-effects," wasting both time and money. Herbal products are not hard to find; but selecting and using them wisely is a challenge.