The Seven Rules of Natural Health

I am terrible about remembering lines from films, which is a particular pain when being surrounded by people who seems to have note books on their laps when they watch movies, just to be able to fling out the best one liners when put on the spot...

Praise the lord for IMDB, in Reality Bites there is a great exchange between Winona Ryder's and Ben Stiller's characters -

Lelaina Pierce: Are you religious?
Michael Grates: Um, uh, I guess uh, I guess I'm, uh a non-practicing Jew.
Lelaina Pierce: Hey, I'm a non-practicing virgin.

Anyways, I am coming up to 13 years as a non-practicing Adventist, and it is funny, because I have come to accept that there is such a thing (and by a weak logical extension non-practicing virgins exists too...).

I don't have much of a personal belief system (although it has been suggested I am a neo-pagan reform Jew), but I strongly believe that people should be encouraged to believe exactly what they believe, and respected for it too...

I know a good many, what I would consider, intelligent Adventists that I admire on a personal level and respect a lot. I don't necessarily understand (nor do I really think it is any of my business) how they arrived at remaining in their faith, as my personal position on most of Adventist articles of faith is that of dumbfoundedness. However, whether I like it or not (I happen to not really be too bothered...) there is Adventism in my bones and my family history, that's just the way it is.

I happened to come across the following, very clever "Seven Rules of Natural Health" on one of my random dippings in the world wide web. This stuff is so sensible it hurts. It has been toned down for marketing purposes since I came a cross it last which is probably a very good thing (now, add more than a very generous measure of open mindedness and tolerance and you might have yourself a very good belief system indeed).

If the rest of the collateral is somewhere in the region of reliable, male Adventists have an 8.9-year longer average life expectancy than does the general population, while female members have a 7.5-year longer average life expectancy. Adventists have a lower incidence of breast, prostate, pancreatic, bladder, and ovarian cancer than does the general population.

Rule 1. Pure air.
Get outside every day, rain or shine, for fresh air. Learn to breathe deeply to take oxygen way into your body. Incorporate this step into your daily life: walk instead of driving to the store or go for a walk with a friend instead of meeting for coffee. Keep your bedroom windows open.

Rule 2. Sunlight.
Exposing your face to sunlight for just 15 minutes will give you more than your daily requirement of 400 units of Vitamin D. Vitamin D ensures straight and strong bones with the proper proportions of calcium and phosphorus.

Rule 3. Temperance. Don't indulge in any one thing. Temperance, or balance, is a main theme of simplicity: eat in moderation, exercise in moderation, and rest in moderation. Remember the rule: moderation in what is good for you and abstinence from the things that are not good.

Rule 4. Rest.
Your body and mind need rest in order to function. Get plenty of rest each night and take at least one day a week to devote to restful pursuits. If you don't have rest built into your life with religion, do it without religion. Everybody needs a break from all kinds of work, paid and unpaid. This is the day for families to go hiking or to relax around the house.
Your digestive system also needs to rest. Your system needs about five hours to digest food completely. In between meals you can drink all the water and herbal tea you want.

Rule 5. Exercise.
Exercising in fresh air takes poisons and wastes out of the body. Fresh air from exercising fills cells with oxygen. Stretch outside every morning and find an enjoyable form of exercise that fits naturally in your day, such as bicycling or walking to work, meeting a friend for a regular walk or run, and so on.

Rule 6. Water.
Water is free or inexpensive, so use it liberally. Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water between meals to help purge your system. Drink the water 30 minutes to 1 hour before or 1 hour after meals to prevent dilution of stomach acids, which help proper digestion.
Use water not only to keep your body clean, but as a tonic as well. Do this by taking a regular, warm shower and then, at the end, turning up the cold water. This wakes up your cells and keeps them functioning.

Rule 7. Nutrition.
We are only as healthy as what we put into our bodies. According to current medical information, most of the degenerative diseases that plague modern America: heart problems, high blood pressure, certain cancers, and stroke are primarily the result of improper diet. All cells and tissues in our bodies are formed by the food we eat. The best way to take care of our bodies is also the simplest and most inexpensive: Eat food the way it comes out of the ground, with nothing added and nothing removed. These foods are grains, fruits, seeds, legumes, nuts, and vegetables. Eat a variety of these food groups every week. Eat two servings of raw vegetable salad and two more servings of raw or cooked green or yellow vegetables daily. Eat cooked beans or peas three times a week, sweet potatoes or squash twice weekly, and a member of the cabbage family (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale) three times a week. Try to make breakfast your heaviest meal, your midday meal the second heaviest, and supper the lightest.