Living a healthy life at 56
FROM THE HEART By Gina Lopez
(The Philippine Star) Updated February 02, 2010 12:00 AM
Over the past few days, I have come to realize that at the age of 56 I am actually much healthier and happier than when I was 18! Oh, my bone density tests could be better and I am working on that; but overall, I just feel soooo much better. I am on to a recipe that is working — and which I aim to keep up to the time I will graciously bid this world goodbye.
Diet
I keep away from overly fatty foods like pork, deep-fried stuff or dishes swimming in oil. It just doesn’t feel healthy. Keeping the body alkaline is the rule of thumb. But hey — I do enjoy cheese, especially goat cheese... but overall I try to eat really healthy. I have even come across ice cream made from coconut milk — and no sugar but agarve syrup called Coconut Bliss. You can get it at Healthy Options. You must try the coffee and cappuccino flavor. Heavenly is the word and it’s wonderfully healthy! Even my candy is healthy. I have bags of Citrus Vitamin C candy (also from Healthy Options) that I keep in the car and at home, since I do have a sweet tooth. I keep away from white sugar (whenever possible) and white flour. I love the French Village Bread in Santis, and I have a preference for rye over wheat. Oh — you have to try these cinnamon donuts (also at Healthy Options): gluten free, dairy free and very yummy! I didn’t even tell Rommy Sia that I was going to promote his products — but yes, I often do rack up a bill there. I make it a point to read the ingredients of everything I buy — trying my level best to keep away from chemicals. It just does not make sense to wantonly and irresponsibly load your system with junk.
I detox at least once a year — which means just taking supplements or juice to rid the body of accumulated toxins. I sit in an infrared sauna with color therapy at least once a week. It detoxes and energizes. If I go to the esteros, then I go right after; I do not mind going to gunky places, but I do not want to get sick. And some of these creeks are horribly bad.
Vitamins
I take lots and lots of vitamin C, ordinarily 3,000 mgs. When I go to the esteros I double that — and if I am feeling under the weather, I go up to 8,000 mgs. I also take calcium, vitamin D and zinc. My doctor friend says that zinc is essential if my body is to absorb all these vitamins I am taking.
Medicine
I don’t like taking pharmaceuticals. When my children or I get sick I have it worked out to a T and it hasn’t failed me yet. Even my household staff follows the same regimen. On the first sign of discomfort, I take echinacea (an herb medicine): four tablets on an empty stomach and in between meals at least twice a day. I take heavy doses of garlic: either three cloves of garlic with the meal, or garlic supplements. What also works is Kyoli — this is a mushroom and garlic supplement to be taken after the meal. What also helps are the nanotechnology sprays I get from Dr. Chat Austria (call 724-3242). One is for chemicals and the other is for bacteria. The sprays are amazing. They can take the place of chelation (treatment to remove heavy metals from the body), and they can even be sprayed topically. Over the holidays my tooth started throbbing and the dentist said that I should have a root canal. So I sprayed it every three hours on my aching tooth, gargled with healing salt crystals and warm water. I did the whole bit with echinacea and vitamin C — and in two days my tooth is now completely well. It works.
When my children can’t breathe, I boil onions and let them inhale the steam. I don’t like the smell, but it does clear the head and nasal passages.Bees Machine
I have this machine by Serafin Oriwella. It won the gold medal at a United Nations event. The machine transmits positive ions. What Serafin says is that disease is due to an imbalance of ions in the body — so whatever the problem is, applying the machine to the body addresses the imbalance. In October of last year, the father of my kids’ friend — his name is Sona — had a severe case of gallstones. He was in pain and was bedridden. So he came to my home and I asked a therapist from Dr. Oriwella’s clinic to come. The next day, Sona was up and about — enough to make the trip with us to India! When my children are not well, I apply the machine together with my arsenal of health things — and the results speak for themselves. When the son of Reach — the technical head of Kapit Bisig — was reeling from abdominal pain, the doctors at St. Luke’s and Medical City couldn’t figure out the problem. So he came to the house, and the therapist of Dr. Oriwella applied the machine. In half an hour, the child was well. It works. (Dr. Oriwella’s cell number is 0917-9181245.)
Healing Crystals
This is salt that has been exposed to 196-centigrade temperatures for 94 hours by Dr. Rey Viloria. He is the doctor at our resettlement site in Caluan. It’s very inexpensive and it works. I brush my teeth with it to keep the bacteria out. When I had a cough that wasn’t going away, I decided to gargle with the salt twice a day — and in three days the cough went away. Amazing. When my teeth were giving me trouble, I applied salt and the pain went away. When Sona’s teeth were hurting he did the same thing and the pain went away. So now, I carry salt with me in my bag. I use it for everything. Even eating. It is purified and energized salt and beats the Celtic Salt from France I used to buy from the health food stores — and it’s just a few hundred pesos. (Dr. Rey’s number is 0908-7328777.)
Exercise
I do yoga exercises daily, but this is more to keep me peaceful and prepare me for meditation. Then I work out two to three times a week. Weight-bearing exercises are good for the bones. I have a yoga teacher who comes twice a week. But over the past week I have stumbled across what is called a Cellexerciser — which is a rebounder or a mini trampoline, but built much better. Sturdier. Safer for the body. This has been superb! The instructions said start with one minute — but I got bored, so I went right up to 10 minutes and it was wonderful! I watched the DVD that went with it. The inventor David Hall has well-developed abs, biceps, is attractively lean — and he did this all with just 10 minutes a day! Then I read the book — full of testimonials from people who have slimmed hips, thighs, improved their eyesight — addressed health problems with just 10 minutes a day! So I have been doing 10 to 15 minutes for the past 10 days, and the results are amazing!
I already have a lot of energy — but this boosted my energy level up even further. I also sleep better. I had a tingling sensation in my left arm, which has been greatly reduced. In short I am experiencing a wonderful sense of well-being, which came after only the first session! Contact Rica Villalon, 0917-8397839. She can deliver it to your house. Or look up Cellexerciser on the net to give you a clearer understanding. What got me attracted to it is the “only 10 minutes a day”!
Sleep
The quality of one’s sleep is vital. There have been days when I am on a high the whole day — but by the time evening comes around, I am so tired I sleep tired. Then I wake up tired. So what has worked for me is soaking in a hot bath at the end of a stressful day — topping that with a cold shower and not watching TV or working on the computer before I sleep. I meditate and relax each part of my body, thus going into a deep, peaceful space — and waking up much more refreshed even if I haven’t slept for many hours.
Protect Yourself From Your Phone
I have a gadget that I put in the back of my BlackBerry called IProtect. I also have phone shields given to me by a German friend. Mary Tan sells these cell protectors. (Her cell number is 0917-8737188.) And I have the phone shields. Bottom line is that our cellular phones transmit harmful radioactive frequencies. I can’t imagine life without my BlackBerry. But there is a need to “protect” oneself from the downsides.
Nature
This is really important. Every time I go out of town I feel like I get an injection of well-being. It’s being away from pollution. It’s feeling land energies that are healing and peaceful. We are so blessed to be in this country, where nature and healing abound. This is what I tell the people I relocate to Caluan from Estero de Paco: I point to the mountains, I point to the blue sky, I raise my hands and feel the wind, and say, “You are all so very, very blessed!” If you don’t have time to go out of town, there is the La Mesa Watershed. My brother Ernie, who is an Iron Man, says it has the best biking routes in the country. And we now have a new pool at the La Mesa Eco Park where you can do laps if you are after exercise more than recreation.
Meditation
Of all the things I do for health, this takes the supreme cake. What is happening to me is that I attend retreats twice a year — and then I meditate every morning, for a minimum of an hour. Regularly practicing to feel the energies of the Divine leads me to feel this when I work, and truly nothing can give greater joy than to feel God working through you, or to feel one’s angels around. Because what happens through meditation is a concomitant awareness of the beauty in other people as well.
Work
Getting involved in something that brings joy is a key to health. We spend much of our lives at the workplace. If one is happy, then that happy energy flows through one’s system and carries healing energies. It’s like being in love. When one is in love, one feels really healthy — because those “kilig” energies coursing through one’s system give one a natural high. It’s good to be enthused with what one does. Contributing to the web of life and love in a productive way is the way to live a life steeped in blessings.
Keep Positive, Be Humble, Make A Commitment To Inner Growth
We won’t live forever. By making a commitment to our own growth, by having the courage to see oneself and the bravery to evolve, we continue to raise the level of our existence. We don’t only leave this world more in tune with our higher selves but we will have made a positive impact in the reality that we have lived in.
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