Stage One of Dis-Ease

Have you ever heard about the 7 stages of dis-ease?

“First of all, dis-ease never sneaks up on people. It takes a long time and a great deal of neglect and abuse of the body for disease to finally occur.  From the first stage of disease to the seventh many years may pass.  At any stage you can stop the dis-ease process and simultaneously end all the aches pains, and ill health which were the body’s warning signs that changes needed to be made or the situation would deteriorate further.

During any of the first six stages, if the cause of the problem is removed, pain stops, the disease process stops, and health returns. If drugs are employed to quell the discomfort (the usual course of action), the cause remains unchecked, the disease process continues (even though the drugs may mask the pain, giving the false impression that the situation is improving), and then eventually the final stage inevitably occurs.” – – summarized from Fit for Life – Harvey Diamond

This month we thought it would be interesting to talk about the first stage – Enervation.

In the dictionary, enervation simply means to lose nervous energy and feel sapped of energy.  From the Latin enervare (e-, out of + nervare from nervus, nerve) = out of nerve.

Insufficient energy hampers the body’s ability to carry out necessary daily functions.  In other words, Enervation is a stage where the body is either not generating enough energy for the tasks it must perform or the tasks the body must perform are more than the body can cope with.  We as humans, need 2 types of energy – chemical and vital. 

Chemical refers to the body’s production of energy through chemical reactions.  The prefered source of our energy is ‘glucose’ which the body produces from a process called the ‘krebs/glycolysis cycle’ with or without the presence of oxygen – using fats, proteins or carbohydrates; however starches are always the body’s the preferred source.

Vital energy comes from living foods, sunshine, fresh air and pure clean water.  This is the energy that our body’s require in terms of ‘input’. 

We can also contribute to enervation when we ‘output’ too much energy – ‘burning the candle at both ends’ is a good example.  In other words, when we work too hard (aka stress).  On a side note, stress can be physical, mental or emotional – such as when we are ill, pull a muscle, suffer from pain or allergies, think or worry too much, rush around or when we lose a loved one.  Other energy ‘outputs’ in the body include moving, thinking, digesting, metabolizing or eliminating.  To be honest, these are the areas we often think little about when it comes to our health.  The ‘output’ area that tends to enervate first is elimination.  This is due to the fact that the body is always ‘cleaning up internally’.  It is a 24/7 cycle.  When our elimination channels and functions are overworked, they begin to enervate -lose steam and become less efficient.  When it becomes less efficient, wastes and toxins accumulate.  Also since energy is restored when you sleep, another warning sign that you are becoming enervated is that you’ll become tired, sluggish, require naps during the day and/or more sleep during the night.  It becomes a vicious cycle when you do not sleep well.

To summarize, when we don’t take in enough high quality vital energy and when we use up too much vital energy, we begin creating problems for ourselves.  To improve this stage we need to look at and address our dietary habits, environmental pollution, stress and other lifestyle areas.  Unfortunately for many of us, we’re not ready, willing or able to look at those areas…yet (but we’re here for you when you’re ready)!

Some of the symptoms of enervation include overall weakness, unhappiness, appetite loss, constipation and other intestinal problems, allergies, and reduced energy or strength.  This leads to the second stage of dis-ease which you’ll have to wait for next month to hear about.

PS – Did you know that wheat and dairy can contribute to enervation?

Upcoming Events
Halton Eco Festival – April 14th Glen Abbey Recreation Centre, Oakville
Mississauga Home Show – April 20-22 Hershey Centre, Mississauga
“Hungry for Change” movie night – date and time TBD, contact us if interested!

 

Have a great month,

Christine & John