Ten Simple Signposts to Great Health
The NewStart+2 lifestyle has been proven to be the most advantageous way to good health more than any other tested way. The beauty of these Ten Simple Signposts is they give you clear direction on your journey to good health. When followed, the path to your goal will be laid out in a simple manner, yet is often totally different than what you may have been used to.
However, the journey on this particular path is loaded with lots of benefits: increased energy, brighter outlook, clearer mind, hope for the future, and a positive attitude. The clearer mind part is what I enjoy, thereby making a connection with the Lord better, which is my major goal. I want to be able to clearly hear His voice and sense his presence in my life. I have found that I cannot do that with a cloudy mind.
God tells us through John, “Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” 3 John 2 He wants us to be disease free and live a full and vibrant life. He has given us the guidelines to do just that. Exodus 15:26 informs us: “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord that healeth thee.”
The old adage: “Junky food makes a junky mind” definitely holds true in this day and age. We are a fast food nation, living a fast lifestyle, a ‘gimme quick/gimme now’ mentality that has spiraled us down the firepole to the basement of waning health, increased preventable diseases, and out of control medical costs that has bankrupted our country. It is now to the point of insanity that we can even begin to think that we can continue to live the same traditional lifestyle we’ve been living and get better results.
What is a definition of insanity? “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Rates of obesity are skyrocketing; childhood obesity is off the charts creating the first generation of kids who will not outlive their parents at this current trend. The amount of dollars spent in medical care for what most deem as preventable illnesses is now in the trillions! It’s way out of control! What can be done? Can anything turn it all around? Have we gone too far? Is there hope? The Bible says in Proverbs 26:2 “As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.”
Maybe not for this dying world; but there is hope for you, the reader who is reading this article right now. You don’t have to be sick! You don’t have to ‘get’ cancer or diabetes or heart disease just because your parents had it. It’s NOT hereditary as much as it is ‘traditional’. Is it possible that you are what you are and have what you have because you eat what you eat and live how you live? Is it because you have followed the ways taught you by your parents, your school, your friends . . . your traditions . . . ?
Friend, there is hope for you with some minor changes in your diet and lifestyle. There are Ten Simple Signposts that can change your life, starting today. They are simple and easy, but most difficult to implement into a patterned lifestyle that’s been habitual in the traditions of our heritage and culture. You can make a difference in your life, but you must make the choices. Here’s the path to follow from inspired counsel:
1. Nutrition – Genesis 1:29 – God’s Original Diet plan for mankind; Daniel 1
a. Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator. These foods, prepared in as simple and natural a manner as possible, are the most healthful and nourishing. They impart a strength, a power of endurance, and a vigor of intellect, that are not afforded by a more complex and stimulating diet.” MH pg 212
2. Exercise – Genesis 2:15
a. It’s been proven from research today that just 30 minutes of brisk walking a day will improve and maintain a healthier body.
b. The second best exercise is swimming. It gets the whole body moving, creating resistance and muscle strengthening.
c. Wanna know what is the best way to prevent Osteoporosis? Weight bearing exercises – walking in conjunction with a plant based diet, having no animal products is most effective in bone strengthening.
3. Water – John 4:11-15
a. “Drinking 8-10 glasses of pure water daily will refresh the body, energize the system, cleanse the blood, help reduce certain joint pains, and prevent and reduce headaches and blood pressure, quicken the ability of the mind to think more clearly, and so much more.
b. The value of this simple beverage is highly underrated, often overlooked, and yet much needed for our health.
c. But just as we need water on the inside, we need water on the outside also. A tepid bath in the evening before retiring is most relaxing and effective for good sleep. The body should be washed daily to cleanse the pores so the skin can breathe and eliminate toxins.
4. Sunshine – Matthew 5:45
a. According to health studies, just 15 minutes of sun rays a day on a small portion of the body
will afford the blood what is needed to produce the Vitamin D required for good health. With our sedentary lifestyle and secluded workplaces out of the sun, the average level of Vitamin D is substantially lower than required to prevent or reduce common diseases.
b. Studies have shown that most people with common diseases, as well as major diseases have reduced levels of Vitamin D.
c. Just 30 minutes in the sun on a blue sky day in certain latitudes can produce as much as 20,000 iu of Vitamin D in the body.
5. Temperance – Galatians 5:22,23; 2 Peter 1:5-7, 1 Corinthians 9:25; Daniel 1
a. “Temperance puts wood on the fire, meal in the barrel, flour in the tub, money in the purse, credit in the country, contentment in the house, clothes on the back, and vigor in the body.” Benjamin Franklin
b. Ellen White observes: “ The Christian will be temperate in all things,–in eating, in drinking, in dress, and in every phase of life. “Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.” 1 Cor. 9:25. We have no right to indulge in anything that will result in a condition of mind that hinders the Spirit of God from impressing us with the sense of our duty.”Counsels on Health, 432.
6. Air – Genesis 2:7 – The breath of Life
7. Rest – Genesis 2:2,3; Exodus 20:8-11; Hebrews 4:1-11
a. Rest is basically a change of pace from the routine.
b. For those who are active during the day, rest would be some down time to sit and relax.
c. For those who are sedentary during the day, rest would be some up time, to walk, run, exercise and get the blood circulating.
d. At any rate, the rest we all get before midnight is worth double the rest after midnight, so an earlier bedtime and earlier rising time lends much to improve health.
8. Trust in God – Psalms 18:2; Psalms 37:3,5; Psalms 91:2
a. Who else is there to really trust? The foundation of this whole journey of health is the Author and Creator of the same. With God all things are possible”, but without Him, man can do nothing” Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27.
b. So what makes us think that we can obtain the health we so desperately desire when we depend on man and not God? Since He created us, wouldn’t you think that He would have the guidelines to take care of our body?
c. The manufacturer of an expensive automobile has a manual to give specific guidelines to keep the car running to its best efficiency and last for many years. We are warned not to put gasoline into a diesel tank.
d. The same with God as He created us (Genesis 1:26; 2:7) and paid a very high price for us after we sinned against Him. He redeemed us to Himself, (Revelation 5:9; Isaiah 43:1, 44:22) 1 Corinthians 6:20 states: “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
e. And with all this good news, how are we to respond? Romans 12:1,2 tells it so simply: “I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service of worship. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may be prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
9. Attitude of Gratitude – Psa 105:1
a. With a good positive attitude we can make improved changes to our bodies easier. When we are focused on Jesus we realize that “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1Co 10:31) This tends to change our whole outlook when we internalize this thought thus making changes for our good much easier to implement.
10. Benevolence – Luke 6:38
a. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
b. As we have received such beautiful and healthful truths, it is our duty to share them with others. John 15:11 says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
c. Praise the Lord, He wants to bless us. As I put all my trust in Him and do what He has asked because of what He’s done for me and because of my appreciation for His spectacular gifts, He will “Restore unto me the joy of His salvation; and uphold me with His free spirit.” (Psalms 51:12)
d. What will you do with what God has given to you? How will you share His blessings with others?
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