ABC of Health

The abc of health are nutrition, hydration, and rest. These are the three foundational stones for a good metabolic, physiological, and immunological condition of the human body. Following these basics, you should not fear any infectious and metabolic disease as the abc of health is supported by historical evidence. Since the dawn of mankind, human beings have had to fight for survival, and this means they have had to strive to procure their high quality nourishment rich in calories, the water source (river, creek, etc), and rest.

Nutrition

As a creature that walked about and ran all day long, primitive men greatly appreciated food with the highest amount of calories. They needed it for his developing brain and muscles, and this highly valued food was saturated fat. And where he found fat, he also found the richest sources of vitamin B12, B6, B1, zinc, vitamin A (retinol), iron, and the twelve essential amino acids. These sources were red meat, the bone it was attached to, and the liver of the animal they hunted; long bones holds the nutritious marrow inside, while the liver is the richest source of vitamin B12 and A. Vitamin B12, A, and zinc not only are essential for the development of the brain fasciculi, but they are also vital for a strong immune system.

Historical records have shown us that whenever famine strikes, there are outbreaks of infectious diseases, which sometimes become pandemic. And famine usually strikes during armed conflicts. During the Hundred Years War in Europe, there were outbreaks of smallpox and the bubonic plague, known as the Black Death. When the German Sixth Army got trapped in Stalingrad, the troops began suffering from starvation. It was then when infectious diseases broke out, even diseases which were supposed to attack only children or they were not supposed to suffer from because they had been vaccinated against, such as measles, chickenpox and smallpox respectively! aside from the flu, cold, and scurvy. When you suffer from kwashiorkor (lack of proteins), the Pandora's Box of infectious diseases break out.

Hydration

When you are not well hydrated you feel fatigue as the main symptom, but if you are severely dehydrated you suffer from headache, confusion, mental disorder, and even seizures. Secretion of digestive glands is also severely reduced as the blood thickens, becoming viscous. When you are severely dehydrated, there is disruption of renal function. Since your blood circulation has been altered, your immune system is also affected. Thus, it is a vital must to drink enough water, especially in Summer and in tropical countries. Hydration must be accompanied by salts consumption because your body needs electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium).

Rest

To be able to rest, you must be calm. You do not have to worry about anything in order to be able to relax. And this means the absence of adrenaline/cortisol, which is usually generated under anxiety, stress, fear, and sadness (depression). Too much cortisol is inflammatory and weakens the immune system as it hinders the lymphocyte B function of identifying and marking the pathogenic viruses and bacteria. Adrenaline can be likened to a thick fog that blocks your vision when you are driving along a road and you become confused. Thus, cortisol excess confuses the immune system and, along with high sugar and insulin levels, it can cause autoimmune disorders.

To get rid of stress and anxiety, the best medicine is human contact, to feel the skin of another human being, someone you know and love. A hug, a caress and a kiss is the best medicine to make you relax and calm. Human contact (from a mother, a father, a wife, a husband, a girl/boy friend, a sister, a brother) is essential to have a good rest and be able to sleep tight at night. This is something elite psychopathic billionaires and politicians will never understand as they want you isolated, apart from one another, as mass media gives you the daily heavy dose of fear and anxiety, just because they want you to be afraid; they want you to be sick...

By Carlos B. Camacho, physical anthropologist.