Health, Happiness, and Longevity: Health & Spiritual Series

Preface

A large segment of people are passionately looking for health, happiness, and longevity. These intelligent and well-educated people often end up in a state of confusion to seek help. In health, nutrition, exercise or aging, as in other areas of science, we find many different views. The intelligent approach one would often choose is to follow the views presented by a qualified person, mostly a physician or a scientist. We know that a majority of the physicians are trained for diagnosis of diseases and for prescribing medicine to cure it. We certainly need well-trained physicians to treat sick people, but this disease-related training is quite an opposite of health or vitality or longevity. As far as scientists are concerned, their views are often based on individual experiments, the results of which may display disparities. As discussed further in the Introduction, scientific experiments have many positive effects and I do not want to give a wrong impression about the validity of scientific research. However, a particular set of experiments do not and perhaps cannot, take into consideration all possible complications that may set in, due to the inherently complex nature of biological systems.

The above facts have been clearly realized by most of the health conscious generation of today. The proof for which exists in worldwide popularity of holistic health approaches. Most of the holistic approaches are based on ancient experiences of the eastern world. They are good, natural and less likely to cause side effects. However, many of these need evaluation for their validity in view of western scientific knowledge. The need to incorporate the ancient knowledge of the eastern world and the scientific experimentation of the western world was one of the primary factors that motivated me for writing this book.

Before proceeding further, I must put a word of caution here. This is a health book based on preventive approach, and is not presented for the purpose of treating people with serious illnesses. If you have any kind of medical problem and are on drugs, you qualify as a patient requiring a physician's monitoring. There is a serious risk for sick people to attempt to solve medical problems without trained medical supervision. I may also mention that I have drawn information from reputable sources and have avoided ideas that are either controversial or in experimental state. However, I encourage readers to think for themselves and check the information rather than worshiping the ideas as a religion.

Maintaining health for mental and physical well-being, and delaying age-related damage to our body system involves different complex mechanisms. We can now control or partially control these mechanisms in our favor by proper health approaches. Our state of well-being or feeling good depends on the amount of energy available to us. The more energy available to our brain cells should make us feel brighter. The more energy available to all our cells should make us feel not only energetic, but also resistant to many diseases. For example, we know that people who are malnourished have a tremendously decreased resistance to diseases. In the last several years there has been an exciting development of interest in ways to help us avoid sickness, feel more energetic, and to live life to the fullest. Notable among these ways are the bioenergetics movement, transcendental meditation, group therapy, nutrition, breathing exercises, yoga and other exercise programs.

As you will realize, the main intention of this book is to utilize these programs for increasing the body's natural ability to produce more energy by following natural safe daily activities along with breathing exercises, yoga, and wholesome natural foods. These practical steps are not gimmicks but something that can be incorporated into a daily life style and stay with us for the rest of our lives. The degree of change to be felt will depend upon one's present health, as well as faith and closeness of following these habits.

If your health concerns are similar to an average person living in an affluent country such as the United States you have a fifty-fifty chance of dying of stroke or heart disease before your time. Our risk of getting arthritis, diabetes and cancer rises dramatically as we grow older. The hearing, eyesight, taste, smell, touch perceptions, all decline with age. In other words we slow down with age. This book can perhaps do something about these problems. It is intended not only to be read, but to be used actively. The real proof, of course, will lie within your own experience.

The overuse of drugs to treat everyday problems is another matter of serious concern. Drug use has become part of our daily living. In the United States alone over one billion dollars per year are spent on non-prescription drugs that are not needed. We buy drugs to help us sleep, cure our colds, and regulate our systems.  We buy vitamins, cough remedies, dandruff cures and hair growers. We buy medications for upset stomachs, diarrhea, bad breath, athlete's foot, eczema, and headache. We do not try to understand the causes of above problems so that we can avoid the overuse of drugs, which may have bad effects on our health. Even the commonly used vitamin C in large doses may have serious side-effects. Large doses of vitamin C recommended by Professor Linus Pauling (Nobel Laureate in Chemistry) to prevent or cure a cold, may affect the kidneys, or even have bad effects on unborn infants during pregnancy. So, even though, vitamin C may help cure colds, it must be taken with care.

This book reminds you that good health is a natural state of the human body; and the natural healthy activities including wholesome natural foods, help in maintaining this state-and restoring it if it is lost-in ways that are natural to the body-not with powerful drugs. For example, carotenoids and retinoids (orange and yellow plant chemicals related to vitamin A) appear to offer important cancer prevention properties during the twenty-to-thirty-year lag phase in the development of human cancer, even after exposure has occurred. Japanese epidemiologists have shown that cigarette smokers who eat green and yellow vegetables have 30 per cent less cancer, compared to appropriately matched controls who do not eat these retinoid- and carotenoid-containing vegetables. A prudent diet that is low in fats and high in fresh fruits and vegetables is desirable, as is control over disease provoking habits such as smoking, alcoholism and obesity.

In view of rising medical care costs, Ex-U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Resources (Richard Schweicker), has noted that prevention and more rational approaches to diseases and aging are mandatory. Approximately 100,000 coronary by-passes are performed yearly at an average cost of 50,000 each ($ 5 billion) and 1,000 people in U.S. alone die everyday of cancer. You see yourself that although we are making great advances in medical research and health technology and have increased an average life span, we see at the same time more people suffering from sickness. Many large hospital facilities are fully crowded with patients, and more medical insurance coverage is being purchased than ever before. I do not mean to ignore the medical achievements made in taming many of the killer diseases such as polio, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, and advances in modern surgery. However, surgery should be needed only when preventable measures fail.  For example, some of the heart operations can be avoided by putting patients on proper diet and exercise programs, as already being realized by some of the heart specialists in the United States.

It is important to note that health-related matters mentioned above, are not confined to a particular place, but to the entire world. We live in a global society within which it is possible for everyone to enjoy health, freedom, and happiness.  We are now in a position to feed the hungry of the world with wholesome food which can provide economical sources of protein to keep people healthy-even in poor nations. To achieve these goals, we must begin with recovery of the physical and mental health of every person, family and community by the establishment of the wholesome health of each individual through the preventive practices. The need for medical care and facilities would become naturally reduced, except for some cases of emergencies.

It is with some of the above holistic ideas that Health, Happiness, and Longevity has been written, taking into consideration eastern as well as western thoughts and approaches. The use of this book could vary from individual readership of all age groups to general holistic health courses. It is practical enough to be read at a very straightforward level, yet it brings together information and philosophy to attract intellectual interest. With its potential for a broad appeal, this book belongs to every health-conscious person. This book is one of the most comprehensive books on holistic health that combines eastern and western approaches. However, you may be interested in one type of health area, a little interested in a few others, and not at all interested in the remainder. For those who feel that they have other things to do with their time than studying the entire book to understand the portion of their interest, the book is designed so that one does not have to read all of it. Each chapter contains a different topic. The chapters are further divided into headings and subheadings, so that one can quickly scan the contents of a chapter for a particular interest. Moreover, the quick scan of the entire book is made possible by summarizing the main points in a concluding Chapter 9. One can read the chapters of interest in an order different from the book. However, if you do not have background in nutrition, I recommend that you read Chapters 3 and 4 first, after which you can appreciate Chapter 5 on wholesome natural diet. The use of difficult scientific terms is minimized and these are often followed by a lay term in parentheses, e.g., lactose (milk sugar).

The information contained in the book came from innumerable sources such as reputable text books as well as popular best sellers by both eastern and western authorities, scientific journals, popular magazines (e.g., Reader's Digest), newspapers, television, and above all personal research and learning experiences. Several persons have helped in putting this book together.

I could never properly thank everyone who contributed to or influenced this work, but I would like to acknowledge a few very special people. To Dr. Laura Meagher, for stimulating discussions, for reading the manuscript, for constructive criticism, and for keeping my morale high, I am most appreciative. I am thankful to Mrs. Suzzane Sidhu and Mr. Nripinder Singh for reading the manuscript. I am also thankful to Professor Dr. Jerome Miksche, NCSU for reading Chapter 6 and for his discussions on eastern philosophy, and to Professor Dr. Graeme Berlyn, Yale University with whom, I had uncountable numbers of lunch discussions about health and life attitudes. Many thanks to the Department of Food Science, NCSU and my physician friends for helpful discussions that pertain to various parts of the book. I was always impressed by the interest and thoughtful discussions of my son Ameet Dhillon, who always believed in me and the book. Many thanks to my wife Rajvinder Dhillon for being understanding and for careful typing of the manuscript. Typing help was also provided by Mrs. Linda Stewart.

The picture credit goes to Mrs. Rosemary Stannett-Royce (last half of Chapter 8 pictures), Miss Gretchen Gjelhaug (first half of Chapter 8 pictures), Master Ameet Dhillon (Chapter 7 pictures), and the photographer Mr. Mark Edwards.

Last but not the least, I am grateful to Japan Publications, Inc. for their cooperation and understanding; it just pleased me to correspond with Mr. Iwao Yoshizaki and Mr. Yoshiro Fujiwara.

Contents

Preface

Introduction

1. A Healthy Attitude Towards a Happy Life

Struggle for Happiness

Happiness Comes from Tending Your Own Garden, Not Coveting Your Neighbor's 16

A Few Suggestions for Healthy Attitudes

Caring for Your Body, a Healthy Step

Good Habits, a Healthy Step

Self-Affirmation, a Healthy Step

The Joy of Self-Eastern Philosophy

2. Full Living

A Few Western and Eastern Suggestions to Face Everyday Situations

Stress and Full Living

The Role of the Mind in Controlling Stress and Improving Life

Methods of Relaxation Based on Mental Approaches

Progressive Relaxation  /Self- Hypnosis/Mental Relaxation / Autogenic Training /Transcendental Meditation /A Simplified Method of Mind Relaxation for Sleep

3. Nutrition and Nutrients

Nutrients and Their Functions

Proteins and Essential Amino Acids /Carbohydrates /Fats /

Minerals

Calcium /Phosphorus /Sulfur /Magnesium /Sodium, Chlorine, Potassium /Iron /Fluorine /Iodine

Vitamins

Vitamin A (Retinol) /Vitamin D (Calciferol) /Vitamin E (Tocopherol) /Vitamin K (Menadione) /Vitamin B-complex / Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

Water

Some Controversial Chemicals

Cholesterol /Salt  /Sugar / Alcohol /Caffeine /Nicotine (Smoking) /Safety Tips Against Controversial Chemicals

4. Weight Control and Calories

Overweight or Obesity

What Causes Overweight

Weight and Mortality

A Calorie

Caloric Value of Foods

Determining Proper Calorie Intake

Treatment of Overweight

The Dietary Control of Weight

Fad Diets /Formula Diets /Fasting or Starvation Modification /Behavior /The Calorie-Restricted Diet Plan

Physical Activity and Weight Control

Underweight

5. The Natural Diet

What Is a Natural Diet?

Why Adopt a Natural Vegetarian Diet?

What Does Biological and Evolutionary Evidence Tell Us

About Being Vegetarians or Meat Eaters?

Nutritional Consideration of a Natural Vegetarian Diet

How Healthy Is It to be a Meateater?

A Natural Diet Can Prevent Diseases

High-fiber Food in the Natural Diet and the Role of Fiber in Health

Importance of a Natural Diet in Weight Control and Regularity

Treating an Overweight Problem by Adopting a Natural Vegetarian Diet

Vegetarian Foods for Health

Bread and Cereal Group /Protein Group

Nuts /Legumes

Fruits and Vegetable Group

VEGETABLES

Green Leafy and Flowering Vegetables / Underground (Root and Tubes) Vegetables  /Stem or Stalk Vegetables /Fruit Vegetables /Bulb Vegetables /Mushrooms

FRUIT

Milk Group

Cheese / Yogurt

Natural Diet Plan to Getting Thin and Staying Thin Feel Healthy but not Hungry

A Few Simple Rules for Eating Habits

A Thought of Caution

6. Slow Down Aging to Lead a Long and Healthy Life

Biological Markers of Aging

Decreased Lung Function /Pupil Size /Bone Loss /Sleep Variations /Major Physical Changes /0ther Markers of Aging

The Causes of Aging

Safe Practice to Slow Down Aging

Vitamin E and C /Lowering Polyunsaturated Fats in the Diet / Dieting to Slow Autoimmune Aging /Nucleic Acid Therapy /Some Common Healthy Activities to

Slow Aging

Some Interesting Prescriptions to Slow Aging

Future of Aging Research and Concluding Remarks

7. Complete Breathing for Vigor and Vitality

Importance of Vital Breathing

Part of the Body Involved in Breathing

Lungs Structure and Function /Mechanics of Breathing

Types of Breathing

1. Deep Breathing (or Low Breathing) 2. Chest Breathing (or Mid Breathing) 3. High Breathing 4. Complete Breathing or Yogic Breathing or Total Breathing

Ratio of Inhalation, Retention, and Exhalation in Complete Breathing

Breathing Exercises

Single Nostril Breathing Exercise /Alternate Breathing Exercise

Full Alternate Breathing Exercise /Abdominalor Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise / Surya Bedha Breathing Exercise

Applications of Breathing in Daily Activities

Breathing for Energy at Work /Alternate Breathing for Vitalization /Breathing and Stretching for Stimulation /Breathing and Bending /Breathing for Joggers /Breathing to Relax /Breathing to Replace Smoking /Breathing for Stress and Emotion /Breathing for Sleep

A Word of Caution

8. Walking and Yogic Exercises for Health

The Miracle of Walking

Breathing During the Walk /Starting Out the Walk /Keeping Up the Walk

Yogic Exercises for Daily Practice at Home

Warm-up

Forward Bending Exercises

Plough Pose (Halasana) /Ear-knee Pose (Kama Peedasana) / Forward Bend (Sitting) or Head-knee Pose (Paschimothan Asana)

Backward Bending Exercises

Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana) /Locust Pose (Salabhasana) / Bow Pose (Dhanurasana) /Kneeling Pose (Supta Vajrasana) / Wheel Pose (Chakrasana)

Twisting Exercise

Spinal Twist (Ardha Matsendrasana)

Balancing Exercises

Shoulder Stand (Sarvangasana) /Bridge Pose (Sethu Bandhasana) /Fish Pose (Matsyasana) /Head Stand (Sirshasana)

Yogic Exercises for Leg Joints and Feet

Frog Pose (Mandukasana) /Cow Head Pose (Gomukhasana) / Dog Pose

Meditative Positions (Sitting Postures)

Easy Pose (Sukhasana) /Adept's or Perfect Pose (Siddhasana) / Lotus Pose (Padamasana) /Ankle Lock (Swastikasana)

Yoga Exercises for Throat, Tongue and Gas in the Stomach

Lion Pose (Simhasana) /Wind Relieving Pose (Vatayasana)

Relaxation Posture (Savasana)

Eye Exercises

Gazing (Tratak) /Nasal Gaze (Nasagra) /Eye Twisting Exercises

Nasal Cleaning (Neti)

9. Concluding Remarks

Life Attitudes

Nutrition and Eating Habits

Preventive Measures and Physical Fitness

Appendix A. Natural-Vegetarian Diet Recipes

Soups /Salads and Yogurt Dishes /Salad Dressings and Chutneys /Vegetables /Grains /Beverages /Fruits and Desserts /Miscellaneous

Appendix B.Caloric Values of Popular Fast Foods and Percent of Total Calories of Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat

Appendix C. List of Manufacturers of Meat Analogues and of Stores That are Likely to Carry Their Products

Appendix D. The Metric System, and Equivalent Level Measures and Weights

Appendix E. A Guide to Approximate Storage Time for Foods

Bibliography

Index

Back to Contents

Introduction

Food, clothing, and shelter have been primary concerns of mankind for thousands of years. Over these years different cultures have developed various approaches to nutrition in several ways. When we look at eating patterns today, we can see diets that have been proven to work over centuries of experience, and diets which have been deliberately constructed over the past few years, based on fad, fancy, and oftentimes experimental evidence. Health-related scientific writings including the texts on nutrition by leading authorities such as Dr. Jean Mayer, formerly of Harvard Medical School, are informative in themselves and represent most of the information gained through laboratory experiments typical of scientific research.  As a matter of fact, scientific experiments constitute one important way to collect accurate information. I may mention that as a scientist, I myself follow the same route and do trust the data collected from such experimentation. The particular information gained through these experiments is generally accurate, and therefore, diets based on these experiments may have many positive components. However, we cannot accept them as being conclusive. Diets constructed according to a particular set of specific data do not, and perhaps cannot, take into consideration all possible side effects or complications that may set in due to the inherently complex nature of biological systems. For example, the high protein diet fad took us away from carbohydrates which, along with fiber, are actually necessary to maintain good health and proper weight.

In contrast to the western experience, we have on the other hand, eastern notions on natural diet and yogic discipline which are based on centuries of experience but have not yet been fully subjected to experimental verification. As an analogy, the power of mind realized hundreds of years ago by yoga teachers is only recently being studied through a scientific approach by authorities in the field of hypnotism such as Dr. Spiegel of Columbia University. The ways in which experimental evidences are beginning to lend scientific support to common sense habits are perhaps the most interesting studies in the area of nutrition.

My western training as a scientist combined with perceptions of natural diet and yoga arising from my Indian heritage have been instrumental in the formation of the ideas that I have tried to develop. here. The desire to explore any possible scientific bases for some common sense experiences was, in fact, the primary motivation for writing this manuscript. For example, as a young man growing up in the Punjab, India, I had heard that in the neighboring province of Rajsthan women had been using carrot seeds for a long time as a birth control measure.  Today, this phenomenon is being studied scientifically at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Although no definite relationship between the seeds and their potential as fertility-controlling agents has yet been established, it has not been clearly disproved either. The knowledge of such instances has encouraged me to try to evaluate the scientific validity of natural diets.

The recent recommendations for reduced protein consumption, combined with high carbohydrate and fiber intake to achieve and maintain proper weight and good health are really nothing new. On examining common eating attitudes practiced in earlier societies we find that these had always been a part of their natural diet. Moreover, humans have biologically evolved with a natural diet, which simply includes wholesome foods in their natural state, primarily of plant origin; these are just the kind of foods with high carbohydrate and fiber that are associated with good health by recent scientific findings.

Unlike traditional writings on nutrition, this book places a special emphasis on nutritional evaluation of natural foods and their influence on our health. For instance, while methods of weight control range from fad diets to behavior modifications, the final answer to getting thin and staying thin seems to lie only in adopting a natural diet. Widespread adoption of this approach could save the United States alone over 10 billion dollars, the sum spent annually on weight reduction efforts (G. A. Bray. 1977. Recent Advances in Obesity Research. II. Newman Publishing, London. pp. 248-265). Vast as it is, the 10 billion dollar figure does not even include the medical costs resulting from the obesity-related diseases.  Clearly, a weight problem exists in the United States, and equally clearly, much money and energy is directed towards it, often unsuccessfully. Thus there is room for a simple, straightforward approach to diet which depends on neither fads nor gimmicks, but on good common sense.

Natural diet foods can give sick people a new lease on life and save others from common diseases such as colon cancer and heart trouble. These foods can improve the vigor and vitality of those already in good health and contribute to their overall efficiency. We can go further and use the diet in prolonging life. This is treated in a separate chapter which includes the causes of aging and a safe practice of diet control to slow down the process in view of current aging theories.

This book is intended not only to provide a good understanding of nutrition and caloric values of food, and to explain explicitly the role of a natural diet in health, but also to foster a good general attitude towards healthy and happy living. Control over stress, and a healthy attitude towards everyday living are necessary prerequisites if the diet and health program is to work for you. Neither the diet nor the health program alone can be effective in prolonging life or making it healthier. Because books on either diet or health programs often fail to recognize this essential complementarity, many are unsatisfactory.

Taken in conjunction with nutrition and weight control discussed as the primary emphases of the book, simple rules to eliminate stress and a health program to energize the body are designed to help people of all ages to live longer, feel younger and lead a healthier life. In practicing the suggestions put forward in the pages of this book, the reader, it is hoped, will be able to enjoy a long disease-free life, full of health and happiness.

Back to Contents

Chapter 1

A Healthy Attitude Towards a Happy Life

Everyone, whether saint or sinner, rich or poor, learned or ignorant, strives for happiness and not for misery. In other words, there is an inborn desire to be happy. Why is it then, that despite an instinctive desire to gain pleasure, people continue to experience unhappiness?

Struggle for Happiness

One of the foremost enemies of the happy life is the loss of initiative to be happy. Happiness is not always part of life, neither is it separated from life.

Our traditional efforts to achieve happiness generally include materialistic living in search of physical comforts, seeking shelter in religious living or, in extreme cases, taking refuge in professional treatment and drugs. Professional treatment and drugs are clearly not a part of either happiness or health, but are rather associated with sickness, i.e., health and happiness certainly exist outside the sick world of medicine and drugs. The approach of materialistic and selfish living oriented towards self-gain at the cost of hurting others also never leads to happiness in the long run. Such characters usually end up burning in the fire of their own selfish world. As far as religion is concerned, I agree that it has led many people towards meaningful existence, but many others find it restrictive to the growth of a happy and healthy mind.

It may be interesting to note some of the findings about happiness, which support the above philosophy. These are concluded from a questionnaire, given to 52,000 people ranging in age from 15 to 95 (Shaver and Freedman, 1976, Psychology Today, p. 27).

Money can't buy happiness

Non-religious people are as happy as religious

Drugs, therapy, mysticism, or paranormal experiences don't bring happiness

Although many people prefer money because it provides freedom, true happiness exists in the head, not in the wallet. We must admit, of course that in the real world, people do need a certain amount of earnings, and it is easier to be happy if one is financially successful. However, the benefits of financial advantages generally do not last, and can be easily erased, for example, by overwork, stress, a bad home life, or a lack of motivation. Therefore those who use money as a vehicle towards happiness are highly unlikely to be successful. The race for money leaves some people hollow and dissatisfied. In fact, happiness has less to with what you have than with what you want.  It comes less often from absolute achievements