With today’s medical “advancements”, you would think that the Amish would be far less healthy than the average American, right? After all, they do not use the modern medicine that the rest of us use. Well, a group of Ohio State University cancer researchers thought the same thing. However, they were WRONG! Cancer rates among the Amish were much lower. Why?
“One of the things we can learn from the Amish is that they don’t typically smoke or use tobacco products,” Westman said. “They have limited sexual partners and monogamous relationships, so they don’t have some of the cancers that are related to sexual promiscuity.”
So, stop drinking and smoking, and stop sleeping around! There is more though. Those lifestyle decisions impact many types of cancer. What about skin cancer though? After all, we are told that we need to load up on sunscreen. You know, cover our bodies in loads of chemicals and let them bake into our skin. Once again, the Amish win. Even though they spend much of their days outside in the sun, and they are not covered in sunscreen.
“They are typically covered and dress to work in the sun the way that is recommended by wearing wide-brimmed hats and generally wearing long sleeves to protect their arms,” Westman said.
So let me get this straight. The Amish dress appropriately for the weather, don’t drink, don’t smoke, and they don’t sleep around. That is the secret to living healthy? I’m a little confused as to why that seems like news to anyone? As a society, we are full of bad habits that negatively impact our health. There must be a disconnect somewhere. Why is it that the Amish simply take care of themselves, while we treat our bodies like that are invincible, and then use harmful medications that often have horrible side effects, and think they are OK? Is it because the FDA, a group basically owned by the pharmaceutical companies, tells us that it is OK. I will save my thoughts about the FDA for another article.
Anyways, how can YOU start to live Amish healthy? Chances are that not many of us are ready to give up our lives and go become Amish. We can definitely take a lesson or 2 away from them though.
- Start eating healthier. The Amish eat healthy, organic foods. You can too!
- Start being active. The Amish do physical labor. No, you probably won’t go quitting your job to start building barns and working on a farm. Chances are that you can add some physical activity to your days though. Beachbody on Demand is a great place to start! Stream workouts with your phone, computer or smart TV ( Like the TCL 32S3800 32-Inch 720p Roku Smart LED TV (2015 Model)
- DON’T SMOKE! Enough said!
- Limit your alcohol. Personally, I don’t drink. With the number of people that are killed every year by drunk drivers, it amazes me that alcohol is even legal, but again, that is a post for another day. Limit your alcohol intake. Your body will thank you!
- Don’t sleep around! It is one of the sad misnomers that a man ( I use the term loosely), is someone that sleeps with a lot of women. A man is someone who finds a woman that he loves, and is loyal to her. Sleeping around shows a lack of manhood.
Your health is not based on a 30 day diet. Your health is based on a combination of your lifestyle decisions. We only get one chance at this life, and one body to live it in. Our bodies are supposed to be treated like temples, and instead we treat them like garbage cans. Make the decision, make the changes, change your life!
