Health Is a Choice — Learn How to Choose It

Review by Daniel Sosnoski

Editorial-in-Chief, Chiropractic Economics magazine

Author: Raymond Francis, MSc (with Kester Cotton)

Forward by Harvey Diamond (coauthor of Fit for Life)

Summary: A chemist and graduate of MIT, Raymond Francis, has rethought the way we conceive of illness and disease. Instead of seeing sickness on a large-scale, systemic framework, Francis proposes that we turn our attention to the basic workings of our bodies’ cells at the individual level. If our cells obtain proper nutrition and are protected from contact with toxins, they will be free to operate at their full, healthy potential. Written for the layperson, this is a highly accessible book that can guide the reader toward making healthier decisions and experiencing better, natural health. In the author’s own words: “Almost all disease can be prevented or reversed. As a result, health is a choice and no one has to be sick.”

---------------------------------

As an introduction to this text, the author Raymond Francis, describes a long, difficult illness he experienced over the course of nearly a decade. Traditional medical doctors were at a loss to explain his condition, which appeared to be an immunological, allergenic-type disorder.

Furthermore, the prescriptions and treatments he was offered seemed to only exacerbate his illness. Finally, so sick that he could hardly rise from bed anymore, he began to study the research published by other self-healed individuals in a search for clues, and he turned to his own formal training as a chemist.

As a nation, we are showing signs of acute reactions to the ubiquity of unhealthy — even toxic — lifestyles, as evidenced by the explosion in the rates of obesity, diabetes, allergies, and asthma. Cancer is a constant dread for every American. But these concerns are not shared by certain other cultures around the globe. Some populations enjoy extremely good health well into old age. Francis looked to them for additional clues to solve his personal health crisis.

The result of Francis’s research led him to posit that most disease results from cellular malfunction. Further, all disease is simply a manifestation of abnormally functioning cells. The root causes of cellular disorder is either a deficiency in nutrition or assault by toxins, or both. In addition, he indentifies six routes to cellular wellness (or damage):

• Nutrition
• Toxin
• Psychological
• Physical
• Genetic
• Medical

According to Francis’s hypothesis, depending on how cells are being caused to malfunction, and by what route the interference is occurring, various different kinds of illness can result. Traditional medicine focuses on treating the symptoms of illness, however they manifest. It is only by eliminating the root causes that create cellular disorder and abnormal function that sickness can be treated and the patient restored to good health.

Health, as most people define it, is the absence of disease. In the paradigm proposed by Never Be Sick Again, health is actually the state of the body working in its optimum condition. When the body is at peak condition, illness and disease can’t gain a foothold. Diagnosable, chronic

diseases affect people who are already “sick” and thus vulnerable to serious maladies.

We should then see that the body is a self-healing, self-correcting organism. This principle underlies chiropractic philosophy. There are no contradictions between how Francis views health and its attainment and the holistic view of wellness as practiced by chiropractic.

How, then, are we to apply these insights into action we can take to promote our own well-being? According to the author, caring for our bodies’ cells is a matter of making correct choices as we proceed about our daily lives.

Most obviously, optimal choices in nutrition are critical. It’s important to seek out natural, unprocessed, and organic food selections whenever possible. Reducing intake of sodium, sugar, and processed foods is well within the parameters of our daily decision-making.

Next, it’s imperative that we avoid toxins and exposure to chemicals when we can reasonably do so. Cells can be strengthened with omega-3 fatty acid supplements, and we can reduce our exposure to free radicals with a good diet and increase our supply of antioxidants through supplements.

Another way to nurture the cells of the body is to give them positive mental support. People who are happy, laugh often, and comfortable with themselves and their lives tend to get sick less often than those who are pessimistic and dour. Reducing anxiety and stress is a key to good health because the body’s “fight or flight” reaction creates an unhealthy internal environment if sustained over a long period.

The physical mechanism of health demands regular physical activity. To keep your cells active and strongly absorbing nutrients and purging waste, a regular program of activity is essential. What’s more, exercise helps to combat unwanted weight gain, while it also strengthens muscles, tendons, the heart, and the cardiovascular system.

Sleeping well, breathing right, and avoiding harsh environments all fall into the category of the physical pathway to cellular health. By making good choices, we can reduce our exposure to electromagnetic radiation, microwaves, and similar hazards.

The ideas forwarded by Francis rarely stray from sound logic and common sense. Indeed, much of the content of Never Be Sick Again is echoed by other experts on wellness, and reflected in the content of medical journals.

As the author describes how he himself lives a lifestyle of good choices, proper nutrition, and chemical avoidance, it becomes clear that doing so need not be expensive or troublesome. By adopting a perspective on life that values cellular health, all other decisions are clarified in terms whether they support or detract from that goal.

This text should be of substantial interest to chiropractors and their patients. The decision to choose a natural, life-affirming path that leads to physical and mental wellness is the key step. Never Be Sick Again offers a roadmap to success on that journey.

Paperback: 300 pages

Publisher: HCI (September 1, 2002)

ISBN-10: 1558749543

Available through Beyondhealth.com.

Daniel Sosnoski is the editor of Chiropractic Economics. He can be reached at 904-567-1539, dsosnoski@chiroeco.com, or through www.ChiroEco.com.