Dr. James L. Chestnut - World Renowned Wellness Expert

On Thursday night of last my chiropractic clinic sponsored a speaker by the name of Dr. James L. Chestnut. One of the local partners studied in Canada with him so they knew each other well. He gave a presentation called "Genetics, Lifestyle and Health: Why We Are Sick and How We Can Get Well and Stay Well". Topics discussed included stress, aging, longevity, vitality, happiness, self-esteem, wellness, increased energy and improved quality of life. His talk completely debunked genetics as the field of science that could lead to identifying causes of diseases. Put simply, we don't eat the food that our bodies are designed to eat and we don't exercise enough.

One of his first realisations was that humans are animals. Biologically we're no different. Our bodies behave in the same manner to poor diet and exercise regimes. The level of toxicity of our environment is also matter for concern. The human diet has changed dramatically over the last century and not all of it for good.

Everything that he said made sense. Billions of dollars have been spent cracking the code of the human genome, some 25000 genes in the human body. Apparently only two genes have changed in the last 40000 years so we can't blame our genes for making us prone to cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc. There are adaptations that you can pass on to family members but your genes aren't changed - was a response to a question from the audience regarding Parkinsons disease but I didn't quite understand the explanation as it went a little in-depth. Everything we do can affect our gene expression and that of future generations but not change our genes.

At one stage he related to a story regarding a family in the US who had their dog taken away because they fed it (a very unhealthy diet of) chips and cola. Dr Chestnut was disappointed that the children weren't removed as well.

The body has three levels of health. Homeostasis is perfect health, then comes healing, growth and repair (pretty self-explanatory) followed by fight or flight. Your aim would be homeostasis as that doesn't place any additional stress on the body and allows it to perform to its optimum.

Dr Chestnut discussed Stress and Chronic Illness, Genetics vs Lifestyle/Environment, The Aging Process, Toxicity and Deficiency and Lifestyle Choices and Chronic Health. He mentioned that the human body can turn anything into carbohydrates therefore carb diets were not wise to be followed. Sugar itself is a major cause of cancer as our bodies aren't designed to handle it.

Five Pillars of Chronic Illness
- Stress hormones
- Insulin resistance
- Chronic Inflammation
- Decreased sex hormone-binding globulin
- Decreased immunity

Drugs and surgery may be helpful but they never fix the problem. It was mentioned that there is a law in the United States whereby a company can never undertake any action that may cause it to lose money. Therefore, it is illegal for any company representative to inform you that their product doesn't do anything for you, or is harmful to you, and that you should try something else as it will deprive the company of profits. The pharmaceutical companies have no interest in healing people as they make money by keeping people dependent on using drugs. One study was conducted with people suffering depression. The people on anti-depressants did not respond as well as people that went walking to combat the condition. Those people that walked and took anti-depressants finished somewhere in the middle, not in the best condition.

"If it's got a label on it it's not ready."

The final stage of the lecture was where he asked everyone who wished to, to get out a pen and paper. I had been taking notes the whole time and was shocked when more than half of the people present did so at this point. These people were here to learn!

Dr Chestnut's Rules of Getting Started

- Start by adding sufficiency NOT removing toxicity.
- Fresh fibre first. At each meal eat raw fruit or vegetables. You can still eat some "suicidal" food but just supplement it with healthy food at the same time.
- Incorporate activity into you work, family and social lives. Meet friends for walks or activities not coffee shop visits (places of suicide).
- Always shop full. Less chance of buying junk food and you can't eat it if you don't have it.
- Always judge your choices based on how you feel AFTER the choice, not before or during.

It was a truly inspiring lecture. The next morning I went to have my cereal for breakfast and there was no milk even though my missus had called me from the shop and asked how much milk she should buy. So, I had peanut paste (suicide food) on toast. I felt guilty and just a little betrayed. My attitude towards healthy food has shifted a great deal.