What Is the Definition of Natural Balance?
According to Natural Balance magazine's vision statement, natural balance is defined as a concern for the nutrients and minerals in our foods; rejuvenating our minds, bodies and souls; being mindful of nature, and delving into ethical questions of what actions should be taken for ourselves and others. These questions include how to protect water quality without making industry impossible; preventing air, soil and water pollution; and maintaining optimum physical, mental and spiritual health. Does this Spark an idea?
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Nutrition
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There have been natural health trends in natural nutritional balance since 1894, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its first dietary recommendations for the nation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for a National Nutrition Conference in 1941, and the USDA developed Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for vitamins and minerals. The Food Pyramid was developed in the 1960s to address an increase in heart disease.
For a naturally balanced diet, eat one or fewer servings per day of fats, sugars and oils. Eat 6 to 11 servings of bread, cereal, grains and pasta. Three to 5 servings of vegetables and 2 to 4 servings of fruits provide vitamins A and C, folate and potassium as well as other minerals. Get 2 to 3 servings of meat or protein-based foods and 2 to 3 servings of milk and other dairy products.
Water Quality Protection
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Limit the amounts and types of pollutants permitted to enter our waterways so that the hydrological cycle--our contamination of waterways and the production of fresh water--will balance. In the hydrological cycle, rain fall and snow melt collect in lakes and ponds and run down mountainsides. This snowmelt and mountain runoff enters streams and creeks to form rivers, which eventually reach the ocean. Warm air evaporates standing water (which eventually returns to earth as more rain and snow), but contaminants, minerals and metals are left behind. This can cause problems in areas where most evaporation occurs, because these impurities build up.
Lobby for regulation of upstream pollution from the direct release of both treated and untreated wastewater. Thermal, chemical and biological pollutants can result in fish kills, indicating poor water quality. Thermal pollution is as damaging to a waterway's viability as any other pollutant, because the beneficial bacteria that remove ammonia and nitrites work most efficiently in a limited, ideal temperature range. U.S. water-protection regulations have existed since 1671, when the portion of Carolina colony which later became South Carolina passed a law aimed at protecting fishing from "any person (who) cause(s) to flow into or be cast into any of the creeks, streams or inland waters of this State any impurities that are poisonous to fish or destructive to their spawn, such person shall, upon conviction, be punished."
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Integrated Health
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Practice alternative forms of wellness and natural healing for a naturally balanced body. Natural News editor Mike Adams discusses the alternatives to the system of organized Western medicine: Modern medicine developed during the Renaissance and continued to be refined through the age of enlightenment and beyond, including today's reliance on nuclear, surgical and pharmacological interventions. Natural balance in health discourages the use of surgery and chemicals in favor of "...nutrition, wellness, mind-body medicine, patient education, and other natural therapies." Instead of being viewed as patients, people are considered masters of their own health.
Get accurate, up-to-date information about the effects and value of certain substances on the body to create an individualized health plan. Eat a balanced diet of whole, unprocessed foods; engage in regular physical activity of varying types and intensities. Spend time in relaxation and meditation to achieve mental and emotional balance to match your physical well-being.
Natural Balance and Early Physical Fitness Movements
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Get 30 minutes of vigorous exercise every day that includes a combination of traditional weight lifting and calisthenics plus a cardiovascular regimen. Physical fitness has become a multimillion-dollar industry. Joseph Pilates used resistance training techniques developed in the late '30s and early '40s, and Jack LaLanne employed weight lifting, isometrics and calisthenics. Neither man was very strong or healthy as a boy, but each developed fitness systems designed to increase health by strengthening the body. LaLanne, still alive as of April 10, 2009, continues to believe that a naturally balanced life includes eating whole foods, getting plenty of exercise and staying mentally active. These are the keys to his longevity.
Stretch and relax your muscles to calm your mind and maintain optimum body function. Lilias Folan was one of the earliest women's fitness gurus. Her public television program, "Lilias, Yoga and You," began in 1972. She is responsible for later refinements to yoga as a means of achieving physical, mental and spiritual balance, including Kate Potter's Namaste Yoga.
Current Fitness Movements to Maintain Natural Balance
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Alternate traditional exercise with a vigorous cardiovascular workout. Richard Simmons capitalized on the low-impact-aerobics workout video market pioneered by Jane Fonda in the 1980s. Simmons' "Sweatin' to the Oldies" modified the high-impact routines that seemed to exclude the very people who needed exercise most; he encouraged people to start slow, at their own fitness level. Simmons' routines have multiple intensities and encourage slow increases in intensity, duration and difficulty so that the morbidly overweight can work their way to a fitter self without criticism or ridicule.
Use Gilad Janklowicz' workouts to get past fitness plateaus. His extension of principles from LaLanne's and Pilates' theories allow you to sculpt your body into a muscular, fat-burning engine.
Try Denise Austin's fitness walking if you are just beginning an exercise program. Her low-intensity cardiovascular workout is intended to increase flexibility and build stamina without damaging muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones.
Billy Blanks combined tae kwon do with dance to create tae bo. Beginning in 1989, he taught classes in his garage. His clients eventually included celebrities and professional athletes. Once you establish a fitness level, add tae bo to your workout to continue busting through plateaus.
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