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A great variety of illnesses affect the human race today. There are so many viruses, bacteria, cancers and a whole host of other diseases in this world. Many of these diseases afflict us because we lack the ability to follow the way God intended for us to live whilst in our mortal bodies. We are plagued with sickness and weakened by many ailments because our lifestyles are not right. Many diseases arise today because of the way we “choose” to live (Lifestyle illnesses). I say “choose” because we are in control of what we do to our bodies. Lifestyle diseases have been used to encompass diseases like diabetes (inability to control the level of sugar within the blood ), high blood pressure, atherosclerosis (the vessels that carry blood are made narrower and less elastic with laying down of fats within their walls), stroke (death of a part of or half of the brain causing paralysis of the body) and heart attack (death of the heart muscles from blockage of the blood that nourishes the heart). High blood pressure, stroke and heart attack are all related to atherosclerosis. This simply means that atherosclerosis leads to hypertension, stroke and heart attack.

However, lifestyle diseases are not limited to the ones I have mentioned. Lifestyle diseases if you recall from my earlier statement, are caused by the way in which we look after our bodies. So a smoker dying from lung cancer is a lifestyle disease just as much as an alcoholic dying from liver cirrhosis (scarring of the liver with loss of normal liver function) . Appendicitis (inflamed appendix) results from a diet low in dietary fibre and is a lifestyle disease. Cancer of the colon (the large intestines) results also from a low fibre diet in combination with a high protein diet. One may say, genes are involved but these have all been modified over many generations by “poor choices” made by our forefathers. Furthermore, HIV/AIDS can also be seen as a lifestyle illness that spreads out to impact the lives of innocent people.

The root cause therefore of all lifestyle illnesses is “lust”. Having an uncontrolled or unhealthy desire for something. This may be done in ignorance as is the case of children brought up in homes with fast food diets or may be against sound knowledge, as is the case with most of us, having known the truth but choosing not to follow it. We know what is wrong but choose to do it because we find it hard to control our desires.

There are in essence six (6) pillars of health; Diet, Hydration, Rest, Exercise, Hygiene and Habits.

A diet rich in vegetables and fruit and with minimal amounts of animal protein is ideal. Pure vegetarian diets are even better but eggs and milk may be required to counter nutritional deficiency of vitamin B12.

Drinking at least 1.5 to 2.0 litres of

water a day is also important as water helps in maintaining a normal pH in the blood. Having an internal environment inside your body that is too acidic or basic will lead to illness and affect the normal functioning of your body’s cells.

Rest is also important and having at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep is beneficial for the body. Your mind can rest and process new information that you have learned and store memories away as well. Furthermore, your damaged cells can have time to repair themselves and even grow, especially in the case of children and adolescents.

Exercise should include mental (spiritual) and physical. Mental exercise requires the use of your intellectual capacities and since your mind is essentially spirit, bible study and contemplation of the scriptures is exercise enough to keep the brain sharp and active. Physical exercise profits little in the scheme of eternity but should not be omitted from your life. Simple walks or gardening or doing chores outdoors is sufficient. The car and technology (such as the television and personal computers) have made people less active.

Last but not the least is hygiene. Personal and environmental hygiene are important in keeping you free from disease causing bacteria. The simplest of these is hand-washing and is also the main way by which the majority of diseases are transmitted. Habits includes bad habits such as cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, drug use, betelnut chewing, watching too much television or even spending too much time at work or worrying.

Having said all of that, it is important to remember that the root cause of lifestyle diseases is lust. Therefore to solve or remedy these diseases, lust must be either controlled or removed totally. It is of course impossible to control lust. It must be removed. Many people fail their diabetic and hypertensive treatments not because they are unwilling to take their medication but because they are unwilling to give up what they lust after. Whether it is cigarettes or alcohol or fast foods or sugary foods, the lust for these things if given up can avert or help alleviate these illnesses. One’s lust for inactivity and the television set will also have to be given up. It would be unwise to think that something wrong could ever be done in moderation or be controlled. It must be given up completely!