The Lazy Way to Perfect Health

I don’t trust modern medicine. And I don’t trust its principle sponsor and beneficiary – the pharmaceutical industry. The underlying approach of modern medicine is treating symptoms and I think that approach is knuckleheaded in the extreme. In most cases, the prescribed pills don’t cure anything. They merely trade one undesirable symptom for a raft of undesirable side effects. The concepts of prevention, strengthening the immune system, and nutrition are virtually ignored by the medical establishment. The closest they come to the concept of prevention is “early detection.”

If you analyze the situation, most diseases are self-inflicted, brought on through bad habits, substance abuse, poor diet, inappropriate behavior, stupid choices, and the like.

Then, of course, there is stress-related disease (which is also self-inflicted) and it has reached epidemic proportions. Folks subject themselves to ungodly levels of health-debilitating stress by slaving away at pointless jobs, in order to earn money to pay for medical care which tries to mask those job-induced symptoms with expensive drugs that cure nothing. To fuel the vicious cycle, these wage slaves work for the same corporations that unconscionably poison our air, water, soil, food, and psyche, making all of us weaker and sicker.

The real kicker is that modern medicine is the third leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease and cancer, and that evaluation comes from the Center of Disease Control. The number of people that die from getting improper treatment from modern medicine is equivalent to two 747s filled with people crashing every three days and killing everyone on board.

I bring all this up because my worrywart of a wife just dragged me to yet another medical screening test. Even though I initially objected, I ended up surrendering to her desire. Some battles are not worth fighting.

In any case, here are the results of the various tests I’ve been subjected to. To put the results in context, I will be 60 years old in March. I am 6 feet tall and weigh 162 pounds.

Blood pressure: 135 over 80.

Heart rate: 56 beats per minute

Cholesterol: 176 mg/dL (apparently less than 200 is desirable and between 200 and 239 is borderline high.)

Triglycerides: 108 mg/dL (above 150 is undesirable)

HDL: 55 mg/dL (lower than 40 is associated with risk)

LDL: 99 (above 131-159 is borderline high)

PSA: 0.7 ng/mL (below 2.5 indicates a low risk for prostate cancer)

Stroke Screening: Normal blood flow with no plaque buildup

Abdominal aortic aneurysms: None

Despite all that, my wife still wants to torture me with a colonoscopy. Of course, I don’t want to do it for several reasons. I don’t like the high price (between $2000 and $3000). I don’t like the idea of being sedated. And I especially don’t relish the thought of having a camera inserted twixt my hind quarters. I suppose I will be glad if they find anything untoward, but I don’t think they will find anything, with the possible exception of a piece of zucchini that evaded the pre-test laxative.

So what is my health regimen?

I am a vegetarian. No meat, chicken, fish or eggs. I do eat dairy. All my food is organically grown and fresh. Most of my food is cooked although I do like a salad every now and then. Heaviest meal is lunch. That’s because the digestion is strongest at midday. The evening meal is generally light when digestion isn’t as energetic.

I do a juice fast every Thursday and a gentle herbal laxative at the end of every month.

No smoking, alcohol, caffeine, or drugs (prescribed, non-prescribed, or recreational).

I practice yoga positions for about 10 minutes each day. I adore swimming and log about 1000 yards daily in a most luxurious way, meaning no strain or heavy breathing.

Of course, there is golf which I will play at the drop of a hat and under just about any environmental, atmospheric, or climatic condition.

I avoid work at all costs. If I am forced to work due to some rent in the space-time continuum, I immediately turn that work into play. Mercifully, those episodes are few and far between and last only a few minutes.

Above all, I love to meditate. I do Transcendental Meditation. I love the way it washes away all stress and leaves me feeling peaceful, clear, rested, and happy all day.

So the Lazy Way to Perfect Health can be summarized as follows – early to bed (before 10 PM), eat sensibly, shun poison, enjoy your exercise, meditate regularly, laugh, play some more, meditate some more, and above all, AVOID WORK. And, needless to say, stay away from doctors.

www.lazyway.net

Comments

[pgibbons]

Fred,

I'm interested in adding meditation to my daily schedule. I have some books/DVD's on Zen-type meditation. Do you know what the differences are between zen/buddhist meditation and TM?

Also, have you seen this article that shows "Meditation can boost your gray matter" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10031664/

[Fred]

I've been doing TM for 38 years so I've been exposed to many other meditation techniques over the years.

Generally speaking every other meditation is either a technique of concentration (trying to control the mind) or a technique of contemplation (exploring the meaning of thoughts or concepts). Zen meditations typically fall in the first category.

TM is neither control nor comtemplation. I like TM because it is so completely easy to do, in fact it is effortless, yet the results in terms of settling the mind and experiencing one's silent unbounded consciousness is sublimely fantastic. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

One obstacle may be the course fee to learn TM but from what I have received in terms of benefits (mentally, emotionally, perceptionally, health-wise, financially, spiritually, and in every other positive way), the value has been priceless and well worth the negligible cost.

[Rachel]

I used to think along the same lines. I do not reach for pain killers, over the counter stuff and the like. Though it's easy for me to be righteous - I do not have aches and pains, not even headaches. I have not caught the flu in eight years ( I wash my hands often enough I suppose).

Anyway, I was at the doctor for the first time in many years the other day. Things have changed in the past say, 10 years or so in America. There were posters campaigning for eating one's own traditional foods (this was a clinic for Native Americans). There were pamphlets for meditation, yoga and the like. There was information for parenting classes.

I felt sheepish about confessing to my doctor (a white, midwestern type) that I had gone on that Stanley Burroughs juice cleanse recently on not more than intuition.

He shrugged and said it was probably a good thing, that it sounded fine (I expected him to unload his ego). We talked and he also said it sounds like I have a food allergy - probably dairy - and to consider an elimination diet.

The whole visit could have been with a naturopath if you ask me. I left without a prescription.

Bottom line is, despite appearances, things aren't getting worse, they're improving for everyone - the same thrust it always has been.

[Nerio]

Join the gang, Fred. Even my wife makes me do the same.

[Archana]

It is encouraging to hear that you follow a strict regimen for your health. I have attended courses on Vipassana meditation but havnt yet been able to set myself into a routine with it. Your site is great and helpful.

Peter, I dont know if you have heard of Vipassana meditation. There are regular 10 day courses held all over the world (has many centers in America) which are offered free. You can go to http://www.dhamma.org and gather all the info you need.

Have a nice day!

[steve]

Fred, I have your lazy way book and it's awesome, and you emailed me back about TM after I read about that in the book.

(incidentally, on the public access channel here in los angeles tonight, David Lynch is going to be a guest, talking about TM )

Anyway, wow, distractions aisde, I wanted to ask you what are good resources to start me off with being vegetarian.

- Is there a particular recipe book or website that you'd recommend?

- Aren't you concerned with not getting enough B12 that you ordinarily get from meat ?

Thanks for maintaining this excellent blog
Steve

[Fred]

Thanks for the generous review of my book. I am delighted you liked it.

Re: becoming a vegetarian
I guess the first thing you must determine is why you are considering becoming a vegetarian. Is the reason health, or spiritual, or aesthetic, or philosophical, or any combination of the above?

Finding the right foods that are best for you to eat (and not to eat) is a lifetime endeavor. I don't have any books I'd recommend other than my wife's cook book which she is in the process of writing. Until she is finished writing, my advice would be to cruise a bookstore and pick out a book that gives you a good feeling.

To answer your B12 question, I consume dairy products, which my wife tells me, contains B12. If you are considering a vegan diet (no dairy at all) then you may want to take a vegetarian B12 supplement.

My wife just chimed in. Here is her advice in a nutshell: eat a VARIETY of WHOLE foods including whole grains, FRESH fruits and vegetables, and minimal processed food, if any. (My wife made me capitalize those three words.) She just handed me a book she says is a great reference -- Vegetarian: The greatest ever vegetarian cookbook. (Publisher is Hermes House and consultant editor is Nicola Graimes.) She also suggested you subscribe to Vegetarian Times.

Of course, organic is best. You don't need to ingest environmental toxins.

P.S. Bon appetit!

[steve]

Thanks a lot. Good advice. The reason is for health mostly (but also to remove some guilt when I see those documentaries about over-crowded chickens who get their beaks cruely cut off). I'll check out that book

[michael]

do you not feel it is the lazy man's lazy way to fitness? most people have to work and find it very hard to fit in such routines as yoga into their daily lives, however i still admire the determination you have to be healthy, i would imagine the urge to feel healthy increases with age, i am 17 and i used to do sport very day but since i started college these sessions have become few and far between, i am proud however to have never of smoked or done drugs and only drink for on the odd party everynow and again. i try to eat as healthily as possible by trying to meet the general guidelines e.g 5 portions of fruit and veg
i am at the moment finding it extremely hard to put on weight however and it is affecting my confidence by a great amount, i currently weigh 8'10 and i am 5'10 in height, do you have any advice or tips on how to gain weight affectively?

thankyou

[Fred]

I am not sure how much you weigh as there seems to be a typo. If, however, you only weigh 110 pounds at your current height, then there may be something amiss. I am not qualified to be giving specific medical advice. In your case, I would recommend you see an Ayur Vedic physician who could diagnose any imbalance you might have and offer corrective solutions. If you email me off-line and tell me where you live, I may be able to point you in a good direction. At first blush it may be that you are eating too much fiber and not enough unctuous food like nuts and avocados. But more importantly, if there is an imbalance, correcting it when you are young will save you from a bunch of problems when you get older. Good luck.

[Francisco Gonzalez Velasco]

Hello Fred,

Francisco from Spain here.

I recently (last week) bought your excellent book, it reaffirms my own feeling that good/bad luck and coincidences are the Nature's compasses to say us when we are on/off course.

It also reminded me about the importance of using the tools at hand: I learnt subconscious techniques 15 years ago using Jose Silva system with great results and some time later I stopped using it.

And the most important is the paradoxical universe where we do live where even the best ideas and projects can be ruined when too much (any?) effort is employed to get or improve results.

Recently I've just awaken with the crazy idea to fast on webcam 24 hours/day to increase general awareness about fasting. Inmediatly I was taken by the idea and everything flowed easily even when I didn't have the resources to accomplish it.

Local TV and radio station were attracted to the idea and an interview was broadcasted three times before the fast started.

But then I pushed really to get the idea known and I found myself in front of the computer at 3 AM promoting it, so I ended tired and sick of doing that and after nine days fasting I finished it with no more than 20 people suscribing to my mail list (most of them already sold to the fasting idea instead of people unexposed to this kind of health "tool".

So again the eternal truth is "don't push the river"

Cheers and go ahead with the good path!

Francisco

[Emily]

Well i want t learn how to commit suicide painless and easily like taking a tablet!!

[rate my wife]

i always looking an easy way. lol. this is so good.

[joyce madoo-marajh]

hi fred,
your advice is very rewarding and i will like to have one of your books and recipies for enjoying the best of health. please assist me since i have problems sleeping and i want to gain some weight. thanks in anticipation for a favourable response. keep up the good work. Gods richly blessings.
bye joyce

[joyce madoo-marajh]

Hi Fred. Thanks for the privilege to be posted on your programme. I wish more people would be exposed to your educational programme so they can live more healthier lives.

Your ardent viewer Joyce