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Thinking of the health topic for the March 2011
issue of Seattle magazine, I was preparing
to write an article about healthy food or the next hottest popular fruit or
vegetable or about how much we need
adequate sleep and exercise. Instead I decided to share with readers a secret
of health and longevity I have learned
from some of my most healthy and
happy patients.
The healthiest and happiest people
I meet in my practice at Water’s Edge
Clinic are living in a state of LOVE and JOY. I call them the “Bundle-of-Love”
patients.
From my experience treating these
patients, they do not get ill as often
as the unhappy and the stressed out people who live and work around them.
Even if they come down with an illness
(some of them beat one or two cancers
in the past) the course and resolution
of their illness is much easier and faster.
The Bundle-of-Love patients are able to
make it to their late 70s, 80s and 90’s with strong health that provides them
with opportunities to be active mentally
and physically. Many of them enjoy the freedom to travel and they always take
time to learn new things. They make
me smile with respect and amazement listening to the stories of their trips to
the San Juan Islands or BC, Europe,
and beyond. They tell stories of learning
to use Excel, learning
to use a new phone, learning to play a
musical instrument, learning new dance moves in their Salsa class, working on
parts for space ships and satellites, or
creating beautiful new gardens.
The Bundles-of-Love patients are not
wasting their precious time looking or
waiting for Love. “I simply generate a
new dose of Love every day” said one
of my Bundle-of Love patients. They
use any aspect of their life to express
their Love. They freely give love to their
partners; they are gentle and caring.
They love their children and adore their
grandkids. They love to look good and
they love to shop for happy looking
colors and creative designs. They love
great food and love to cook. They are
happy to share their knowledge and experience
with anyone who is interested
to learn. They love listening to beautiful
music. “Listening to beautiful music
makes me feel more love,” said one of
my Bundle-of-Love patients.
One can ask a question about these
unusually loving and healthy people;
did they have an easy life? Are we talking
about trust-fund children that never
had to work hard to earn a living? On
the contrary; most of my happy Bundle-of-Love patients worked extremely hard
for most of their adult life and some
of them choose to continue working.
What a surprise; they Love their work
and they love their hobbies! Many of
them experienced growing up during
the Great Depression and lived through
several wars.
I was debating
with myself about what is the most
important factor that plays such a major
role in health and longevity? Is it the
blessing of healthy genetics that made
these Bundle-of-Love patients live longer
and happier? Is it their lifestyle and
diet choices; is it their hormone replacement
regimen or it is their continued
physical activity that plays such a great
role in their vitality? The answer is YES to
all of the above. But I truly believe that
once we help them with these essentials,
the most important medicine that
keeps their health strong and keeps
them vital is…Love. All of us, in order to
stay healthy as long as possible, need
to Generate a New Dose of Love every day.
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