Why Nutrition is Important

Today greater numbers of people are realizing the need for taking more responsibility for their health, and are seeking out more holistic and complementary ways to supplement conventional health care methods. The aim of all holistic health practices is to find a way to unify the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual components of our lives.

An important facet of a holistic approach to healing is to address nutritional concerns and lifestyle changes that promote health and well-being. This includes eating a good diet of healthful foods, getting the right kinds of exercise, drinking lots of high quality water, getting enough sunshine, making sure you get proper rest, using stress reduction and relaxation techniques, and other health supporting practices. 

Never before has this been more critical, as today Americans are facing a national health crisis of gigantic proportions. The facts speak for themselves, as quoted from Michael R. McCoy, Ph.D., Executive Administrator of Citizens for Health (www.citizens.org): 

• For the first time in history, our life expectancy is going DOWN which that means our children will live less healthy lives and will die younger than their parents

• 65% of Americans are overweight, up 18% since 1994

• 30% of us are obese, up from 36% since 1994

• Over 40% of us have high cholesterol

• 50% of Americans over 65 have high blood pressure, and 28.7% overall, a 3.7% increase from 1991

• Nearly 70% of people are unaware they have high blood pressure

• 5.1% of us have type-2 diabetes, up 104% from 1980 to 2004, and is an epidemic among children

• Over 100,000,000 Americans have metabolic syndrome, which is one step away from having type-2 diabetes

• 92% of Americans are deficient in one or more essential vitamins and minerals

• Americans spend $117 billion annually treating obesity-linked diseases including heart disease, diabetes, dementia, cancer, arthritis, and more

• Over $50 billion is spent annually on weight loss alone

• Of the $1.9 trillion spent on healthcare (16% of our GNP), only 2% is spent on prevention

• Medicare and Medicaid costs are expected to skyrocket, with Medicaid expenditures ballooning an estimated 8.9% a year from 2002 to 2012 and with Medicare jumping 6.7% a year as well

• Health care costs have exploded by 250% from $717 billion in 1990 to $1.9 trillion in 2004

• Despite the U.S. leading the world in terms of the amount spent per person on health care (about $5,000) we are nearly dead last (12 out of 13) when it comes to leading indicators of health

• Health insurance costs have skyrocketed by over 10% a year for the last 4 years. Since 2000, the cost of health insurance has increased 59% while wages have increased only 12% 

Not surprisingly, a report issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in January 2000 directly links many of these problems to poor nutritional factors: 

"Nutritional, or dietary, factors contribute substantially to the burden of preventable illnesses and premature deaths in the United States. Indeed, dietary factors are associated with 4 of the 10 leading causes of death: coronary heart disease (CHD), some types of cancer, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. These health conditions are estimated to cost society over $200 billion each year in medical expenses and lost productivity. Dietary factors also are associated with osteoporosis, which affects more than 25 million persons in the United States and is the major underlying cause of bone fractures in postmenopausal women and elderly persons."  Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010 (Conference Edition, in Two Volumes). Washington, DC: January 2000.

The Good News

The good news from the above is that there is a great deal of room for improvement. By addressing nutrition as part of your overall health and wellness plan, which includes preventative measures, it is possible to significantly change your health status for the better. In addition, healthier nutrition strengthens not only the physical body, but also positively influences your emotions, your thoughts, and your spirit.

Our Program

HeartPath offers a comprehensive Nutritional Therapy program where you learn about the relationship between diet, nutrients and health and wellness, and are then able to apply this knowledge to make meaningful changes in your life. The nutritional therapy program is also enhanced by the other services that are available at HeartPath, such as Counseling, Energy Healing and Classes, which provide additional healing support for other factors that may be contributing to your total health picture. 

The foundations of Nutritional Therapy are addressed which includes attention to: 

Nutritional and lifestyle guidance and support is provided – using various tools such as a functional nutritional evaluation and a nutritional assessment questionnaire – resulting in recommendations for diet and the use of appropriate supplementation to balance body chemistry. Equipped with your own unique nutritional profile, you can improve your food and lifestyle choices to optimize your health and wellbeing.

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