"Dear friend, I am praying that all is well with you and that your body is as healthy as I know your soul is" (3 John 2, Taylor)*
It is interesting that nearly 2,000 years ago the apostle John was as interested in the health of his friend Gaius' body as in that of his soul. The same principle holds true today. Health is some thing we all covet irrespective of age, race, color, creed, gender, or profession.
Nationwide health education has made us aware that we as individuals can do much to protect our health—that we are to a large degree custodians of our health. It has been estimated that about 60 per cent of the illnesses that befall us could be avoided if we lived as we should. Our bodies are so efficient and adaptable, and because the "motor" continues to run, we often neglect making repairs until permanent damage is done. Our years of happiness and usefulness can be extended by careful living and moderation in our work, eating habits, and all activities.
One area in which this can be accomplished is to heed the American Cancer Society's Seven Danger Signals for alerting the public to signs and symptoms that might mean cancer. They are—
1. Unusual bleeding or discharge.
2. A lump or thickening in the breast or elsewhere.
3. A sore that does not heal.
4. Change in bowel or bladder habits.
5. Hoarseness or cough.
6. Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing.
7. Change in a wart or mole. If any of these signals last longer than two weeks, we should consult a physician.
There are two films every woman should see: Time and Two Women, by Prof. Joe E. Meigs, and Breast Self-examination, by Dr. Emerson Day. These films are short, each about eighteen minutes viewing time. They are available at no charge through the American Cancer Society in most localities. Telephone the society and they will send the films and someone with a screen and projector to show them. This service is available to any club or group of women.
The importance of yearly physical examinations, including a pelvic examination and Pap test of the cervix, a chest X-ray, a proctosigmoidoscopic examination, and treatment of any abnormality cannot be stressed too strongly. Make this, as I do, your birthday present to yourself each year. Through our churches, auxiliary chapters, radio and television, service clubs, local newspapers, and, not the least, in talking over the fence to our neighbor, we should motivate others to have an annual physical.
An illustration of the value of these programs is evident in the following figures from the California State Board of Health:
Death Rate From Cancer of the Cervix in California
| (Per 10,000 women in California) | |
| 1950 | 10.7 |
| 1960 | 8.8 |
| 1970 | 5.4 |
Another area of particular concern to women today is the matter of overweight. It has been estimated that one out of every five Americans is overweight. In our teaching of nutrition, we rightfully stress the types of food we should eat, but too little is said to emphasize the amount we should eat. Few people are overweight because of glandular imbalances; most overweight is due to over eating.
In the opinion of Weldon J. Walker, M.D., "Overeating is the most serious form of malnutrition in the United States today. Weight control is one of the most fruitful ways of improving health and prolonging life. Insurance studies have long indicated that thin individuals live much longer than those who are overweight; also, that weight reduction prolongs the life of overweight persons. Adult-onset diabetes occurs almost exclusively in overweight individuals. Weight should decrease rather than increase with aging, since muscle mass is greater at age 25 years than at age 60 years. High blood pressure and death from cardiovascular disease is more common in heavy than in thin persons.
"The health benefits of undereating," according to Dr. Walker, "are readily demonstrated in the laboratory. The duration of vigorous life can be extended 10 to 20 per cent in rats and mice by simply feeding less of the same diet their well-nourished litter mates receive. Overnutrition results from eating more calories than are burned up during the activities of life. Unbalanced crash diets have no place in rational weight control, since lifelong eating habits should be established to maintain ideal weight." 1
Overweight women suffer more cancer of the endometrium (the lining of the uterus). Obesity is a hazard in pregnancy, to both the mother and the child. The over weight person is a poor surgical risk because of a tendency to disorders o,f the heart and the blood vessels.
The remedy for overweight is not reducing pills or fad diets, but changed eating habits. If we form proper eating habits while we are reducing, and continue these habits after we have attained the desired weight, they will become second nature to us. It is well to remember that our need for calories decreases about 7.5 percent for each ten years after we are 25. 2
Much has been said in literature and in the Bible regarding overweight. Solomon in his wisdom said, "Blessed art thou, O land, when thy . . . princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!" (Eccl. 10:17). Drunkenness here could be interpreted as intemperance or gluttony.
Even Chaucer knew that over eating is a curse:
"O gluttony, full of cursedness,
O cause first of our confusion,
O original of our damnation." 3
One minister in Sweden suggested that we should pray, "Give us this day power not to overeat," instead of, "Give us this day our daily bread."
We Seventh-day Adventists rightfully denounce smoking and drinking, forgetting that intemperance in eating is just as dangerous to our health. "When are you going to stop smoking?" one overweight minister asked a smoker. "When you stop over eating," was the reply.
The best advice to the obese person is "think yourself thin by exercising your will power, strengthened by the grace of God." 4
The admonition in the Testimonies (volume 2, page 373) denouncing eating between meals (nibbling) has been pretty much relegated to the wastepaper basket by many of us.
One more area is necessary to mention in this article. In our endeavor to stay healthy we must not forget that "a merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones" (Prov. 17:22). To be happy seems to be natural for some people, but most of us have to cultivate the habit of happiness. Note that happiness is a habit. King David must have had the "blues" when he wrote: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?" (Ps. 42:11). He answered his own question by saying, "Hope thou in Cod: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God."
The remedy for morning blues is found in Psalm 118:24: "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." The day is ours to choose what we want to make of it. It's up to us to control our thoughts. This decision has to be made continuously throughout the day.
We are told, "We need to be ware of self-pity." 5 It is easy to fall into this habit. The best cure for unhappiness is to count our blessings. This is more effective than tranquilizers and sleeping pills.
In summary, in order to enjoy life, health, and happiness, remember these points:
You are the custodian of your health.
Watch for the danger signals.
Periodic health examinations pay.
The longer the belt line the shorter the life line.
Avoid the second helping even if the taste buds crave it.
Desserts are unnecessary. Nibbling is a cardinal sin. Don't be a food pusher. Happiness is a habit that must be cultivated.
FOOTNOTES
1. Personal statement made to author upon request by Weldon I. Walker, M.D., Col. (MC) United States Army Ret., presently head of Cardio- Pulmonary Laboratory, White Memorial Medical Center, and clinical professor of medicine, Loma Linda University.
2. Norman jolliffe, "Some Basic Considerations of Obesity as a Public Health Problem," Am. I. Pub. Health 43:989-992, August, 1953.
3. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Pardoner's Tale, p. 170.
4. Leo Van Dolson, "Losing With Leo," The Ministry, March, 1973, p. 47.
5. Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 476.
