by Bill Haggard

Originally published in the January/February 2018 issue of Truly Alive magazine

It’s time for a re-birth!!! (Or not.) There are those that live life from a “don’t rock the boat, don’t upset the apple cart” point of view. They are committed to keeping things at status quo. They have a “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality and this is the way they’ve always lived life.

For years, I never saw a need to change from the food traditions of my family and culture. We all ate the Standard American Diet (SAD). Raised in Iowa, we had lots of dairy, Wonder bread, sugary cereals, pancakes, French toast, waffles, overcooked food, casseroles, great desserts, plenty of sodas, Kool-Aid, and ice cream.

Growing up, my awareness didn’t include a context for the potential long-term consequences of eating the way I did. (I still have many good memories associated with the food of my early life; it was my best friend). However, as I continued to age, I became tired all the time and found it hard to concentrate. I found myself more and more constipated. Little did I know I was in the process of creating the perfect storm. After college, I was working as a construction electrician, struggling with less and less energy. At 33, I experienced a complete health collapse and was unable to work for four years. (Conventional medicine couldn’t figure out what was wrong).

As I knew something wasn’t right, I persisted. They gave me a referral to a psychiatrist. That’s when I left western medicine and found a wholistic community of practitioners in Tucson, Arizona (where I lived at the time).

Change finally came. The alternative doctors listened. They said, “There are rules for health. You must make changes in what you eat and break from those family traditions. The criteria for your choices shouldn’t be that it tastes good, fills you up and/or is fast and easy. Our culture calls this food, but it’s not food unless it’s grown in good soil and loaded with nutrients. Food should be fresh, colorful, nutritious, natural and varied.”

Well, change didn’t come easy. Breaking away and challenging some of my traditions was uncomfortable. If our current lifestyle around food is not serving us, we must make changes that will. I’m not talking about a New Year’s Resolution kind of food change; I’m talking about being mindful of our choices at all times, using common sense (and questioning everything).

No one wants to be an invalid or end up in a hospital or nursing home. What we do today is important to our tomorrows. Our choices matter. If it isn’t natural, alive, full of life-giving, sustaining nutrients, then it doesn’t belong in or on your body. Your choices will feed and nourish you or they will clutter and congest; robbing you of energy and aging you before your time. The change is worth the effort. Be different; do what’s good for you.

All About Health Colon Therapy Center is my business. I didn’t however, choose this profession…it chose me! If it weren’t for colon therapy, I would have been dead by age 40 based on the level of toxicity my body had been carrying. Lifestyle, work environments and Agent Orange exposure all contributed to my state of ill health. I am healthier now at age 69 than I was at 33. The dietary changes I made followed spiritual changes. The book Fit for Life written by The Diamonds started me on a healthy food journey. This book suggested other methods of detoxification that led to juicing, herbal cleansing, chiropractic, acupuncture, cranial sacral work and more. Nowadays, there’s a plethora of information available to support you in your journey. I continue to learn new ways to improve and reclaim health in this body and teach it to others. www.allabouthealthinc.com