There have been several requests for more information about a recent article concerning stress, diet, the onset of deadly diseases and prevent-

ive health care. The following may shed additional light upon this timely topic. For further discussion, I invite my readers to email me at the add-
ress below, or visit me next Thursday at The Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce’s, Connections ’98, Casperkill Country Club.
By and large, two of the most prominent issues in our society that produce stress are health and finances. To the extent that the former is problematic, our finances become encumbered with the ever skyrocketing costs of remediation. It is within these contexts that constant worry is produced, sleep is lost, gastrointestinal symptoms such as ulcers arise and tempers are lost—sometimes tearing at the very fabric of a family.
Today, there is a growing trend toward health consciousness. Sometimes that “consciousness” merely produces the stressful responses above, but increasingly more often, it is leading people to make useful choices within the paradigm of preventive health.
Traditionally, our national diet has not been conducive to making healthy choices—dry food breakfasts, microwave lunches, take-out dinners, foods grown on depleted soil, imported fruits and vegetables laden with chemicals. In short, there is a wealth of research suggesting
a relationship between nutritional deficiencies and the major causes of death: Heart disease, cancer and stroke. And that the prevention of these diseases is possible with proper nutrition.
So why have people consistently sought unhealthy choices? Frequently, as an attempt to quell the sources of their anxiety—time limitations, work pressures, family disputes. But recently, large numbers of people have come to realize that you can make yourself feel better physically and emotionally while opening the arteries of your heart and backing yourself off the risk of various forms of cancer as well. This “realization” is part of what has been called a “paradigm shift.”
A paradigm is a map or perception of some event. A paradigm shift is an alteration in that perception leading to dramatic changes in some aspect of one’s life. When a number of trends converge upon society in such a way that society collectively has a paradigm shift, significant opportunity for beneficial change results.
Perhaps the most salient of these trends is the evolution in thinking of seventy-six million people born between 1946 and 1964, commonly known as the “Baby Boomers.” This group is more powerful today than ever before, because for the first time in their history they are all approaching middle-age and thus, have become focused upon similar goals: Looking and feeling better, living longer and having more time freedom. And purchasing healthy products and foods; engaging in exercise, and reducing work-related stresses while attempting to increase finances, have become their choices to expedite those goals.
Dr. Dean Ornish, president of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in California, believes that people can do much to back themselves off the risk of heart disease and cancer. In Asian countries, where diets are composed primarily of vegetables, heart disease is almost as rare as malaria is here in America! He strongly states that if we implement what we know about diet and lifestyle, we can prevent 95% of the cases of heart disease that occur in this country. By and large, these changes include altering our diets to include more fiber and antioxidants, increasing our levels of aerobic activity, and reducing work-related stressors.
As a wealth of research has associated the lack of dietary fiber and antioxidants with high incidents of heart disease, cancer and other life-threatening diseases, it has similarly been shown that increasing daily fiber intake to 25-30 grams per day places one in a health envelope that significantly reduces the risk of such diseases—up to forty-one percent for heart disease and strokes! As a result, “Boomers” have increasingly sought foods and food supplements that are life enhancing.
A related trend converging with increased intake of fiber and whole food antioxidants is cardiovascular exercise. The growth of health clubs in the past decade has been challenged by the burgeoning home exercise equipment business. In either case, the focus is upon losing weight, to look and feel better and live longer. When combining exercise with consuming a healthier diet, it is not uncommon to hear people talk about their cholesterol. Ten years ago, few people by comparison understood cholesterol and it’s relationship to normal body metabolism. Today, it is not only more widely understood, but most people know their own cholesterol levels! And they are taking the initiative to lower those levels.
There is yet another major trend that is converging. A long time ago, Baby Boomers were taught that if they work hard, achieve mastery both in school subjects and some skill, they will succeed in life. While that held true for a long time, the pressures of society today have given rise to concepts like job obsolescence, downsizing, managed care all of which have seriously impacted financial stability. As a result, we have entered an era of increased home-based businesses. Facilitated by revolutionary changes in communication (faxes, internet, overnight mail), the most lucrative business opportunities, according to a recent MoneyMagazine article, will occur in and reflect the growing preventive health trend.