I listened to a presentation this week and heard the following statement several times – “What you measure you can control!”. It got me to thinking about what I measure. There are some obvious things, but my focus for measurement is on health and wellness. What do you measure to determine the state of your health? It should be easy, simple and cheap.
Most of us look at our weight more often than we should. Is weight a good indicator of health? Not really! You can be thin and sick or overweight and healthy. What about the diabetics? They measure blood sugar. Yes, because they must. It could be life-threatening if they don’t. But, what else is really measured?
You might measure the number of times you went to the gym. You might keep track of the number of minutes jogging (or with some other sport). Exercise is required for great health and longevity, but is it representative of health? I think, partially.
Some people count calories. It might seem healthy; but, you need nutritional balance for good health. Nutritional balance with caloric restriction is improves longevity and reduces the risk of age-related diseases. Some people avoid certain types of foods by choice – vegans, paleo, etc. It is much more difficult to obtain all the nutritional balance from plants alone.
Some people measure their blood pressure. This is a good measurement of cardiac health, but it doesn’t guarantee strong cardiovascular wellness. With a plethora of things to measure, what makes the most sense?
Almost every disease begins at the cellular level with chronic low-level inflammation. Counter the inflammation and you halt the initiation of disease. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals which cause cellular inflammation. Most antioxidants are fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables make your body alkaline. Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats make your body acidic.
Oxygen kills bacteria, viruses, and fungi on contact. Alkalinity promotes more dissolved oxygen than acidity. Measure pH and you get an excellent measure of the alkalinity of your body. This one measurement, I believe, is a strong indicator of great health. It is cheap. It is easy. I can be done as often as you want.
pH paper can be obtained at health food stores. It can be used to measure the alkalinity of your urine or saliva. I use pH paper to measure my saliva before going to bed and again when I awaken. When I am eating properly, I consistently see reading above 7.4 when I go to bed and above 7.0 when I rise. During the day, my pH can rise to 7.8 or higher.
I know my alkaline body is responding well to the foods I chose to eat and adding deep breathing exercises infuses more oxygen into my organs and tissues. It might be something for you to consider. What you measure you can control!