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Bulletin, Progressive, Record, Reporter Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011 9B
Religion's effects on health
R
C-FORCE
HEALTH AND FITNESS
CHUCK NORRIS
info@creators.com
Last week, I began answer-
ing a reader's question on the
role of religion in health by
documenting many university
and medical journal studies
that showed positive links be-
tween faith and healing. I con-
cluded by saying that I can't
answer why faith and prayer
heal some and not others, but
we do know they heal many.
And we also must keep in
mind that faith and prayer
don't replace the medical com-
munity; they complement it.
They work in conjunction
with one another. God heals
through modern medicine and
prayer, and we should seek
both when we need it. To
avoid either is to ignore one of
the greatest resources that
God has given us to empower
and heal us.
In fact, the American Can-
cer Society acknowledges the
potential power of faith and
prayer but offers a stern warn-
ing for those who would ex-
clude the medical community
from their health and healing.
I think we need to heed the
caution: "One review pub-
lished in 1998 looked at 172
cases of deaths among chil-
dren treated by faith healing
instead of conventional meth-
ods. These researchers esti-
mated that if conventional
treatment had been given, the
survival rate for most of these
children would have been
more than 90 percent: with the
remainder of the children also
having a good chance of sur-
vival. A more recent study
found that more than 200 chil-
dren had died of treatable ill-
nesses in the United States
over the past 30 years because
their parents relied on spiritu-
al healing rather than conven-
tional medical treatment."
Again, the key is utilizing
both modern medicine and
faith. And sometimes they
both are bottled up nicely in
one agency, group or person,
as it was in a nurse who
played a pivotal role in my 90-
year-old mother's healing
from a life-threatening disease
when she was only 8 years old
and torn away from her par-
ents and siblings. She spent
two very long years in Okla-
homa City Children's Hospi-
tal, 120 miles from her home.
In her new autobiography,
"Acts of Kindness" (available
only through my official web-
site, chucknorris.com), she ex-
plains the power of that heal-
ing agent this way:
"What I had was scrofula,
which is essentially tuberculo-
sis of the bones and lymphatic
glands, especially common in
children. Even more specifi-
cally, scrofula is a tuberculo-
sis infection of the skin and
especially the neck. In my
case, it led to huge ulcerations
there.
"I was skin and bones and
could barely walk when I left
for the hospital. I had
rheumatic fever and was near-
er to death than ever. I re-
member Mama and Papa
hugging me so tightly when I
left. We all cried.
"My mother later shared
that it tore my parents' hearts
out to let me go, but they had
no other alternative, especial-
ly if I were to have any chance
of survival.
"He knew this young coun-
try girl needed her Mama
then, so He delivered me the
next best thing: A middle-aged
nurse's aide was the salve in
my soul's heartache. She be-
came my surrogate mother.
"She proved to me what I be-
lieved even at a young age:
that God is impartial. He loves
everyone and we should, too.
And she loved me like I was
her own.
"For two years, she loved
me unconditionally in ways
that made me feel that every-
thing was going to be OK,
even though everyone doubt-
ed I was going to live. She be-
lieved and prayed for my heal-
ing, and she was committed to
be there for me. She even re-
placed a wooden chair in my
hospital room with her rock-
er. At night, I would cuddle up
in her lap, just as I did with
Mama back home. She was so
gentle and so sweet all the
time.
"We would talk about Jesus,
how much He loved me and
how I was going to be well. As
she tenderly rocked me, she
would sing spirituals with the
most beautiful angelic voice
I'd ever heard, until I drifted
off to sleep."
I'll let you read the rest of
my mother's story in her
book, but let it suffice to say
that she lived, because she's
now 90 years old! She's been
healed many times like that
through her life.
I'll say it again: It's great to
see today a newly founded
openness and resurgence of
the marriage of spiritual and
medical resources, ~ tradition
that goes back far before my
mother's childhood to the very
foundations of history and re-
ligion.
For example, the Scriptures
say, "(Faith) will bring health
to your body and nourishment
to your bones." They also say
that "the body is a temple"
and that "physical training is
of some value." The Apostle
Paul and "his dear friend and
physician" Luke teamed up to
help people, which I believe
demonstrated God's endorse-
ment of faith and medical
healing agents. Even Jesus,
whose birth we celebrate at
this time of year, said, "Man
shall not live by bread alone,
but by every Word that pro-
ceeds from the mouth of God."
It's no coincidence that 800
years before Jesus was born,
the Old Testament explained
about him and his mission,
and he repeated that message
at the beginning of his min-
istry: "God has sent me to
bind up the brokenhearted, to
proclaim freedom for the cap-
tives and release from dark-
ness for the prisoners ... to
comfort all who mourn, and
provide for those who grieve."
Your well-being is just one
more reason to celebrate the
reason for the season.
Write to Chuck Norris (info@
creators.corn) with questions about
health and fitness.
Copyright 2011 Chuck Norris
Distributed by creators.corn
Be sure to savor life with all your senses
HERE'S TO
YOUR. HEALTH
AURA WHITTAKER
If you're like most people,
you pass up the sights,
sounds, feelings, scents and
tastes you come in contact
with each day. You don't stop
to listen to the birds singing in
the morning as you rush to
~!~ You x~n~, notice the
leav'es Changiffg until they are
falling off the trees. Our lives
provide ample opportunity to
experience a sensual feast
each and every day, yet we
still crave stimulation from
other sources. One explana-
tion could be that our senses
are under constant assault,
and ff we let everything in, we
end up tuning out important
things. From mind-numbing
TV surfing, checking email
multiple times a day and the
constant buzz of cell phones,
we don't have a chance in de-
fending ourselves.
A whiff of a sugar cookie
can transport you back to
grandma's kitchen because
scents mainline to the limbic
system, which processes emo-
tion and memory. Your sense
of smell can be dulled primari-
ly by smoke (including sec-
ond- and third-hand smoke),
poor eating habits, harsh
cleaning products and certain
illnesses such as sinus infec.
tions. As with any other mus-
cle in your body, if you don't
use it regularly, you will lose
the ability to use it over time.
According to Alan Hirsch,
M.D., neurological director of
the Smell and Taste Treat-
ment and Research Founda-
tion in Chicago, "ff you sniff
things regularly, you can de-
velop receptors for those
odors and improve your sense
of smell." Deficiencies in zinc
and B vitamins (especially
B12, thiamine and folate) can
impair smell so taking a mul-
tivitamin can help, too.
Our sense of hearing can be
clever enough to eavesdrop
and listen to the person speak-
ing directly to you, all while
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music blares from speakers all
around you. The biggest of-
fender in hearing loss is high-
decibel noise, which can lead
to tinnitus (ringing in the
ears) and possible permanent
damage. In one Columbia Uni-
versity study, researchers
found teenage girls who used
personal listening devices,
such as iPods, were signifi-
cantly more likely to experi-
ence high-frequency hearing
loss and tinnitus later in life.
Age and genetics may also af-
fect hearing loss, but noise
alone may cause or accelerate
the problem. To sharpen your
hearing, turn off anything
that produces sound, sit quiet-
ly or meditate for at least 10
minutes a day.
Certain vitamins can help
prevent noise-induced hearing
loss, including magnesium
and vitamins A, C and E. If
you're having trouble follow-
ing conversation with friends,
see an otolaryngologist to
check for hearing loss.
Instinctively, you may al-
ready know your sense of
taste depends on your sense of
smell-- up to 90 percent in
fact. Evolutionarily, our acute
sense of taste has kept us safe
from eating poisonous foods.
Your ability to taste is most af-
fected by a loss of olfactory
abilities, since the two are so
connected, but other, usually
temporary causes include oral
infections such as gingivitis,
thrush and herpes, and some
medications such as antibi-
otics, antidepressants and an-
tihistamines. Do your best to
practice stellar oral hygiene to
help prevent gum infections,
which can alter your sense of
taste. In addition, since zinc
deficiency can impair taste,
take a multivitamin to safe-
guard your buds. Check with
your doctor if you have trou-
ble distinguishing between
sweet, salty, bitter and sour
flavors.
Human touch can be thera-
peutic, calming and pain re-
ducing. Conditions involving
nerve damage such as dia-
betes, carpal tunnel and multi-
ple sclerosis can dull your
sense of touch dramatically.
Also, the number and sensitiv-
ity of sensory receptors that
detect pressure tend to decline
with age, usually occurring
first in the feet, which can af-
fect stability and balance. Try
to indulge in as many tactile
activities as possible -- things
like playing a musical instru-
ment, cooking and knitting.
Also, make an effort to use
your fingers and bare feet to
touch objects with varying
textures and pay attention to
their distinctive qualities.
Avoiding sun exposure can
help as well, because the
mechanoreceptors in the skin
that detect touch can be dam-
aged by ultraviolet rays.
Agreat
to connect...
The 2012-2013
Plumas County
Visitors Guide
This colorful publication, produced in
partnership with the Plumas County Visitors Bureau,
is the area's premiere guide to picturesque Plumas
County. Over 85,000 copies are printed annually and
distributed at more than 400 locations throughout
the Feather River Country and outlying areas.
The Plumas Visitors Bureau and local chambers
of commerce mail thousands of these guides
to inquiries throughout the country and
distribute them at various sport and
rdcreation shows they attend.
And, as an added value, the
entire publication is on our
web page at plumasnews.com
Your Only Local Complete Guide To
Feather River Country and surrounding areas:
Lodging and Camping
National Forests
Parks
Wilderness Areas
Wildlife Watching
Train Spotting
Golf
Hiking
Winter Activities
Cross Country Skiing
Road Biking
Boating
Fishing
Hunting
Plumas County History
Museums
Wildflowers
Scenic Highways
2011-2012 Events Calendar
County Data
Weddings
Honeymoons
Dining
Kids Stuff
State Parks
River Rafting
Snowboarding
Swimming
Bird Watching Downhill Skiing
Antiques Snowmobiling
Gold Panning Horseback Riding
Fall Color Tours Mountain Biking
, :ising Dea
Your 1( per represent~
REIIORII
BUlLeTIn] :-. ..........
Sherri, Kay, Bill Val
Your local newspaper representative is looking forward to working with you!
258-3115 832-4646
Cheri, Val Rachael, Michael