Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
Odds and Ends for the New Year
A New Year has begun. This is a time when many people make resolutions to begin doing things differently, to make improvements in their lives. Unfortunately, by now reality has caught up with many who have resolved to make changes. They have learned that changes are not as easily made as are resolutions. Too many people, when they find out that “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak,” totally give up on all resolutions as soon as one is broken, rather than renewing their determination and starting over.
If a person is trying to break an old habit and start a new, more desirable one, it may be possible to do so by willpower and determination. However, if one is trying to rid himself of an addiction, it is usually very difficult to do through willpower and determination alone, unless the motivation is very strong.
An ancient precept is “know thyself.” This applies to each one of us as we work to develop a plan for our own health. We need to learn to think for ourselves. We can seek counsel and information from others, but take our own stands. Science and medical knowledge are far from complete regardless of what some would like us to believe.
Our health is in our own hands and minds. We are responsible for finding our own paths and our own truths. What is true for one might not be for another. What makes me healthy might not have the same effect for you because your metabolism is different. Those who hand over their health to another often do so based on a catchy marketing line, relentless advertising, or what is more convenient. Don’t buy the conventional wisdom without a healthy dose of skepticism. General George S. Patton is reported to have said, “If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody is not thinking.”
Recently I read an article on health that contained the phrase, “George McDaniel says…” I would like to inform you, for the record, that I am not an authority. I do a lot of reading. I have personally tried a lot of things and have found some that work well for me. I am not through reading or experimenting. I still have a lot to learn, and probably a lot I think is truth needs to be discarded. I most likely have more sources of health information than most of you who read this. When I find something I think might be helpful to you, I share it with you. You are responsible for the use you make of it. Please don’t quote from what I write and say: “George McDaniel says…” I am not an authority. You should be the authority for your own self.
Vitamin D in the News: If you have persistent, undi- agnosed pain in your muscles, joints, and bones, vitamin D might be the answer. In late 2003, Mayo Clinic researchers discovered that 93 percent of 150 individuals between the ages of ten and 65 who visited an inner city clinic with complaints of chronic nonspecific pain had vitamin D deficiency.
The researchers wrote: “All patients with persistent, nonspecific musculoskeletal pain are at high risk for the consequences of unrecognized and untreated severe vitamin D deficiency. This risk extends to those considered at low risk for vitamin D deficiency: non-elderly, non-housebound, or non-immigrant persons of either sex.”
If any of these symptoms sound familiar: chronic muscle, bone, and joint pain, and the cause is unknown, you could get your vitamin D level checked, or just try a safe amount of vitamin D, as much as 2,000 to 3,000 units daily. If this is the problem, you should experience dramatic pain relief in a few weeks. If you do not experience pain relief from trying this remedy, then there is probably another problem other than vitamin D deficiency.
The best vitamin D for the body is that obtained by exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. However, if you are deficient, and live in the north, in winter, you will need to take a supplement until you can build up your own stores through exposure to the sun.
I don’t know yet what will be in next month’s article, but between now and then I will probably come across something interesting and beneficial. So, until then, here is to better health for us all in the coming year.
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(George McDaniel is my father-in-law, and has been a registered nurse for many years, which, along with much research, has taught him many useful health principles. Editor)
