http://doctorkem.com - The 10 Pillars of a Healthy Lifestyle is what I teach my clients. Through my seminars, Harley Street practice and website I am helping people reverse chronic illnesses such as diabetes 2, hypertension, arthritis etc Visit my website to find out more

2. Disclaimer: “The information provided in this document is not intended to replace
consultation with a physician. Please see your doctor without delay if you have any
symptoms that you are unsure of. Do not stop taking any prescribed medication or start
any lifestyle changes without your own doctor's supervision. This document is for your
information only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition”
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3. Use this overview as a checklist to see where you may be weak. If you are experiencing disease or
ill health of any kind, then go see a doctor that can help you strengthen them.
These articles serve as guides and are not intended to replace consultation with your physician if
you develop any symptoms. 'Symptoms' are your body's way of drawing attention to the fact
you've got a weak pillar, so don't ignore them.
Seek to find out what's wrong from the root cause, then fix things from there.
This is an overview of what used to be the 8 Pillars of A Healthy Life. I had
to expand them to 10 because 2 topics are so important they deserve to
be stand-alone pillars: Vitamin D and Gut Health. Disease results when
one or more of these pillars is weak.
The first and the 10th pillars of a healthy life are foundational ones upon
which the 8 in the middle are built.
10 Pillars Of A Healthy Lifestyle

4. Pillar 1 - Mindset

5. Healthy Mindset : Healthy
'Thought-style' (TM)
Thinking Differently - More Than
Just "Positive Thinking", it's
"Balanced Thinking"

6. This includes Stress management, Self Awareness, Self Confidence/esteem, Thought Control, Beliefs,
Attitude and everything to do with what goes on between your ears.
This Pillar is foundational and deals with why you do what you do - what inspires or motivates you to
act the way you do, to eat/drink the things you eat/drink, to say the things you do, to relate to others
the way you do.
Everything in this key pillar, is 100% under your control: it's your power centre, and is the one thing
you can do something about.
You can't do anything about the way others (choose to) behave, you can't do anything about the
weather or the crisis in the middle east, you can't do anything about your past - but you CAN do
something about the way you see these things, the way you perceive or interpret things, the way you
(choose to) think about, believe about, talk about, respond to or act about, these things. That's a lot of
power right there, between your ears.
Pillar One is about helping you see/perceive/interpret things in a way that empowers you to be an
overcomer rather than a victim, to be proactive rather than reactive.
This is one pillar you must get right, and are likely to continue working on for the rest of your life, as
there's always room for improvement.

7. When things go wrong with this pillar,
you feel any of the following:
• Stressed out
• Overwhelmed
• Guilty
• Frustrated
• Depressed or Anxious
• Panicky
• Low self image/low self esteem
• Lack of self confidence
• Prone to self-destructive behaviour like
smoking, emotional eating, drinking to
excess ('drowning your sorrows in a
bottle'), promiscuity, body mutilation,
under-eating, etc

8. The interesting thing about all those 'symptoms' of a faulty Pillar One is that each one of
them is largely under your control!
The way you (choose to) think , turns on the switch for certain chemicals in your body which
then go on to make you feel a certain way or other.
This is why drugs which turn off those chemicals work in certain conditions such as
depression.
A smarter approach than this band-aid approach, however, is to go back to the roots and
find out what thinking patterns led to the chemicals being switched on, and change things
from that level (permanent solution), thus negating the need for drugs (additional
chemicals) which provide a temporary solution.
The drugs sometimes have a place though, in an urgent or emergency situation, but it's a
temporary place to keep things going while the lifestyle (including thinking pattern) changes
kick in.

9. The paragraphs below use 'stress' as an example to illustrate your potential power as found
in Pillar One.
Stress is a response to an event. For the most part, this response is under your control - you
can choose your response to an event such as when someone says or does something to
you: you have the POWER to CHOOSE your how you respond to them. You can let them get
you upset or anxious or depressed, or you can choose not to give them such power over you,
you can choose to not let it bother you, etc. More on this later.
Other times you can't choose your response but your body does respond to something it
considers to be a stressful event (for instance sleep deprivation is stress to the body...with
detrimental effects, etc)
In either case, 'stress' causes you to release certain hormones which have been called 'stress
hormones' like cortisol (see below).
Stress chronic, prolonged, stress that is, is a very common cause of physical illness today.
This is largely due to the fact that it leads to release of certain hormones in the body - your
fight or flight hormones, especially Cortisol. If cortisol is released in the little bursts it was
designed to be released in, it's helpful and beneficial. However if its release is sustained...
then it becomes harmful, leading to all sorts of diseases.

10. Learning how to deal with existing stress will greatly
improve your overall health. Even better is learning
how to OVERCOME it altogether and keep it from
becoming chronic.
Changing the way you think about life, yourself and the
world, to an empowering way of thinking, causes you
to release chemicals that promote and restore health.
It's no coincidence that optimistic people are generally
healthier than pessimists.
Note that this empowering way of thinking is what is known as "Balanced Thinking" and is a
smart combination of both positive AND negative thinking. More on this later, but read this
article to understand the benefits of 'negative thinking' and its contribution to a healthy
mindset.
So essentially the first pillar is mainly about what goes on between your ears: Your
mindset, because your mindset determines your behaviour.
Speaking of behaviour, here are the rest of the pillars.

11. Pillar 2 – Optimal Hydration

12. • You must drink enough water for your
body size, each day, in order to function
optimally. It's not one size fits all.
• Dehydration causes many symptoms such
as headaches, body and joint pain, heart
burn, etc. Don't treat these symptoms
with drugs - treat them with water! If
you're well hydrated (see below) and
you've still got the symptoms then go see
a Doctor.
Read this series of articles on WATER for
more.
• Drink (33ml x your body weight in kg) of
water each day. More if you exercise or
drink anything that dehydrates you eg
caffeine-containing drinks, alcohol, etc.

13. Pillar 3 – Optimal Nutrition
& Dentition

14. • You must eat the right types of healthy
carbohydrates, healthy fats, healthy
proteins, in a proportion that depends on
your 'metabolic type'. No one 'diet' fits all.
• Adequate nutrition shall be your
medicine, as Hippocrates wisely said all
those years ago. Nutritional medicine is
true Preventive Medicine.
• You must also take high quality,
comprehensive, complete, bioavailable
and balanced nutritional supplements
daily, to provide optimal levels of
vitamins, minerals, antioxidants for your
cells.
• According to 2 reviews published in the
Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA) in June 2002, "...it
appears prudent for all adults to take
nutritional supplements.“ So start eating a
healthy balanced diet, PLUS take high
quality nutritional supplements daily.
• Be aware that Nutrition also includes what
you put on your skin, since it all gets
absorbed same as what you eat - and ends
up in your blood stream; in fact because it
doesn't go through the liver for detox
when it's from the skin, you are likely to
get more of a substance in your blood
from your skin, so pay close attention to
the ingredients of your skin products, and
avoid known toxins such as 'parabens'
when you can.

15. Oral health is a crucial part of
your overall health.
Poor dental health has been
linked to a whole host of health
problems including heart disease.
Remember to get your teeth
checked regularly by a dentist to
be sure it's in optimal shape.
Get rid of any mercury amalgams
in your mouth as the slow release
of mercury into your system is
toxic to your body.
Dentition: Oral Health
Also, ideally choose a fluoride-free toothpaste as there are concerns about its effects on the
body in general. Read this article for more: FLUORIDE.

16. Pillar 4 – Gut Health
“All diseases begin in the gut” said Hippocrates, ‘Father of Modern Medicine’ many years ago.
He was onto something, which seems to have been lost along the way in medical education such that
not many doctors today are aware of the vital part your gut plays in your overall health.

17. • Irritable bowel syndrome
• Atopic dermatitis
• Allergic rhinitis
• Some autoimmune diseases
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• Coeliac disease
• Constipation
• ADHD... and so many more symptoms.
An unhealthy gut manifests in a wide variety of
ways such as:
Not too surprising when you realise that your gut
originates from similar tissues as your brain
(which is why it’s often referred to as your
second brain.)
When it comes to gut health, there are 2 aspects
of it that you need to watch for:
a) Gut Flora: Your gut contains about 100 trillion
bacteria – more than 10 times the number of
cells in your entire body.
85% are probiotics – healthy bacteria, which
are responsible for 75-80% of your
immunity. They feed on fibre (‘pre-biotics’)
which is one reason why veggies are good
for you!
Various modern day habits (such as
antibiotic consumption, diets high in
processed carbohydrates, low in fibre, stress,
etc) lead to disruption of the balance
between good bacteria (probiotics) and bad
bacteria, and lead to all sorts of health
problems.
b) Gut Lining/Membrane: In health this
serves as a barrier to keep foreign
substances from entering the body.
It is able to selectively allow helpful
nutrients to pass through this barrier, but
when unhealthy, it loses its ability to do this
and toxic substances pass through the
barrier into the body, wreaking such havoc
as certain autoimmune disorder.

18. Pillar 5 – Sunshine/Vitamin D

19. It is now known to do more than just give you strong bones and teeth: it affects the functioning
of most every cell in your body, and boosts your immunity, therefore a host of illnesses occur
when your Vitamin D levels are lower than normal.
Certainly if you feel ‘tired all the time’, get your doctor to add this to the other blood tests they’re
doing to see if low levels are contributing to your symptoms.
Pregnant women also MUST have their Vitamin D levels checked as low levels have not only
been associated with hypertension in pregnancy, but are also known to lead to deficiency in the
baby, with sometimes serious health consequences for the baby.
You must ensure you have optimal levels of Vitamin D (ask your doctor to test for ‘serum (25, OH)
Vitamin D’ levels.
If insufficient, you need to be taking 2000IU of high quality vitamin D3 (colecalciferol) daily; or
if deficient, you need to start off taking 10000IU of Vitamin D3 daily, then go have your blood
levels tested again after a month on the supplements to make sure your level’s improving.)
Read more about this vital nutrient (also is a hormone) : VITAMIN D.

20. Pillar 6 – Exercise

21. If you are strapped for time, you could achieve an equally or more effective workout, by
practising High Intensity Interval Training (where you work out at your fastest possible rate for a
minute, then slow down for 2 minutes, and repeat the cycle up to 8 times – or you maintain your
speed of movement but increase the intensity or resistance you’re working against)…or you could
invest in ‘Acceleration Training’ with a vibration plate: with this piece of equipment you can achieve in
10 minutes what you’d normally achieve in a 45 minute workout…
Whatever you choose to do, start today, don’t delay. Discipline will bridge the gap between your
dreams and their realisation so get that butt moving!
You must maintain correct posture at all times as well.
To get you started on regular exercise, here’s my 12-Week-Jumpstart-To-Exercise post.
You must exercise regularly – the human body was not
designed to be sedentary but to be active.
Any good exercise program must include aerobics,
strength training and flexibility exercise, done in correct
form and posture.
At least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least 3 times a
week, strength training with weights for at least 20
minutes every other day, stretching for flexibility daily.

22. Pillar 7 – Optimal Oxygenation

23. You must breathe well enough to
ensure your cells have enough oxygen
for you to function optimally. Many
other benefits of being well
oxygenated exist including stress
management, blood pressure control,
some cases of pain management, etc.
Ways to ensure you get adequate
oxygen include regular exercise (see
above), specific deep breathing
exercises and laughter.
Now you know why laughter is like
medicine! So find reasons to laugh
each day.
Adequate oxygenation also aids elimination of carbon dioxide from the lungs.
Speaking of elimination, that’s the next one in our list of the 10 pillars.

24. Pillar 8 – Optimal Elimination

25. Optimal elimination is crucial to your health.
Disease occurs when any of your elimination
pathways is clogged up or blocked.
Your elimination organs are shown in the
diagram on the right hand side.
Keeping your elimination functioning optimally
regularly is the ideal state of things, as opposed
to waiting for things to go wrong then seek to do
irrigations and other such things to relieve the
acute problem. Always think in terms of keeping
the organs healthy from the root so that they
never have cause to complain by causing you
symptoms.
There will be more articles on specific
elimination channels, but here’s one to get you
started: LYMPHATICS.

26. Pillar 9 – Adequate Rest

27. You must get enough sleep each night.
You must also set aside one day each week to do nothing but rest your body and soul.
It is a phenomenally refreshing and recharging ‘discipline’ to engage in, and no wonder it’s one
of the Ten Commandments – direct from the One who created the human body and knows
what it needs to function optimally!
A lot of your body’s restorative and growth processes take place while you sleep. Certain
hormones are released at night while you sleep, to aid in the said processes.
Just as a point of interest, inadequate sleep has been linked with weight gain among other
health risks…
Experts’ seem to agree that 6-7 hours of sleep minimum per night, are enough for most adults.
Go with what your body asks of you.
Read more on ‘Sleep’ over here: SLEEP.

28. Pillar 10 – Support: Receive support,
Give support, Social Health

29. Studies show that being part of a support system helps you maintain a good habit. Studies
also show that people in a stable relationship are generally healthier than those who are not.
People who are isolated have a higher incidence of mental illness than those who are not.
Also, a strong support system is invaluable in the event that you receive devastating news from
the doctor – you don’t need sympathy in such an event, you need encouragement and
empowerment, which the right type of support group can give you, and which you can give to
your friends in their time of need.
‘Support’ could be in form of a spouse/partner, friends, coaching group, Personal coach, etc.
You must be plugged into a proactively support system if you are to establish, build and
maintain strong Pillars for your Healthy Life. Isolation is bad for your health! You’ve got to
have at least someone you can confide in and offload/share your burdens with.
‘No man is an island’ may be cliché, but it’s true. We were not created to be loners. We were
created to be social beings, and we thrive best in a socially healthy environment.
And disease (either mental or physical) ALWAYS results when we go against the way Nature
designed us to function, as a general principle…

30. You should also seek out ways to be a
source of support to others. Give of
your time, talents, money, to those in
need.
This is a powerful therapeutic habit.
Certainly does wonders for you if you
suffer from depression: it’s hard to
feel depressed if you’re focused on
others and what you can do for
them…(this mindset ties in with the
first pillar, however the taking action
bit of it is under Pillar 10.).
Seek ways to be of value to others and
value will be returned to you, not
necessarily from the ones you are
giving to, either : it’s an undeniable
and irrefutable spiritual law.

31. If you find yourself feeling unwell, go through the above 10 pillars of a healthy life and
honestly ask yourself where you’ve gone wrong.
If one or more Pillars is weak, disease WILL result.
So if this is you then seek help from your doctor or from a doctor who can help you strengthen
your weak pillar using a Healthy Lifestyle.
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