Download Health: The Physical Paradigm

Health:
The Physical Paradigm
Richard A. Swenson, MD
April 8, 2005
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Neutrinos
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Mt. Everest
There are many things that are
true that we don’t know about.
Life here is not the final reality
When God turns off His TV …
Now we see through a glass darkly, but
then we shall see face to face. Now I
know in part, but then I shall know
even as I also am known.
1 Corinthians 13:12
THE HUMAN BODY
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The pinnacle of God's creation
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Made in His image (Genesis 1 & 5)
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Created a little lower than the angels;
crowned with glory and honor (Ps 8; Heb 2)
Fearfully & wonderfully made (Ps 139)
Atoms
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1028
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90 % turn over every yr
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100 % turn over every five yrs
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A trillion atoms every millionth of a sec
By the sweat of your brow you will eat
your food until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken; for dust
you are and to dust you will return.
Genesis 3:19
 Where did the atoms go?
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We leak, physically and metaphysically
Subatomic Particles
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Proton, neutron, electron
200 subatomic particles
Xi
Superstrings
Infinite in the subatomic direction?
Cells
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100 trillion cells
Each cell has a trillion atoms
We turn over a trillion cells a day
For by Him all things were created:
things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether
thrones or powers or rulers or
authorities: all things were created
by Him and for Him. He is before
all things and in Him all things hold
together. Colossians 1:16-7
On a cellular level,
I really am quite busy.
Heart & Vessels
Beats 2 ½ billion times in lifetime
 Sixty thousand miles of blood vessels
 Capillaries diameter of RBC
 Capillary wall 3000 x more delicate
than toilet tissue
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RBCs
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Make 2-10 million every second
Circle earth four times
Lungs & Oxygen
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Every breath contains 150 million
molecules breathed by Jesus
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Daniel spoke of the God who holds in
His hand your breath.
The Eye
 brightness
conditions can vary by
factor of ten billion
 “. . . it would take a minimum of 100
years of Cray time to simulate what
takes place in your eye many times
every second.”
The Ear
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A million moving parts
Range of sound intensity can vary by
a factor of one trillion
 The sensitivity of the hearing
mechanism >> energy of the sound
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Brain, Nervous System
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pounds
 The most complex & orderly arrangement of
matter in the universe.
Isaac Asimov
 10-100 billion neurons
 100,000 miles
Brain, Nervous System
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capacity 25 million books
book shelf 500 miles long
ten thousand trillion computations/sec
Brain, Nervous System
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Thinking, intuition, language, learning,
memory, sleep, consciousness
The brain & humility
3 lbs. sitting in Judgment??
The Genome & DNA
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The Human Genome
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20-25,000 genes
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Three billion base pairs
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From one cell DNA is 6 feet long
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All our DNA would fit inside ice cube
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If stretched out ~ 100 billion miles
The Genome & DNA
Initial single cell DNA weighs .2 of a
millionth of a millionth of an ounce.
 The initial single cell DNA from every
human alive today would weigh
1/1000th oz. (0.03 grams)
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PROGRESS
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How Progress helps health
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How Progress harms health
How Progress helps health
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Abundant supply of safe, inexpensive
food
Efficient food distribution system
Public health: flush toilets,
immunizations, prenatal care, etc.
Education, affluence
How Progress harms health
Sleep
 Nutrition
 Exercise
[Note: Every trend line of progress is
in the opposite direction of health in
these three categories]
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PHYSICAL ENERGY
Sleep
1. Value Sleep
2. Develop Healthy Sleep Patterns
DEVELOP HEALTHY SLEEP PATTERNS
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Retire and arise at a similar time each day
Have a quiet room and a good mattress
If you suffer from cold feet, prewarm the sheets
Don't engage in disturbing conversations before
bedtime
Give yourself time to unwind from the day
Limit the intake of caffeine in the evening, and if
necessary, in the afternoon as well
If you are a clock watcher, turn the clock toward the
wall
Keep a notebook or tape recorder at bedside
PHYSICAL ENERGY
Sleep
3. Don’t Catastrophize Insomnia
Don’t Catastrophize Insomnia
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Don't stay in bed awake
Get up, sit in a comfortable chair, lie on the couch
Read
Write a letter
Have a light snack; Drink some milk
Take a walk
Soak in the bathtub
Play relaxing music
Watch television
DON'T worry
PHYSICAL ENERGY
4. Take a Nap
PHYSICAL ENERGY
Nutrition
1-2. Decrease Intake of Calories
PHYSICAL ENERGY
Nutrition
3.
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Replace Processed Snacks with Fruit
Garden or Buy Direct
Drink a Lot of Water
McStay at Home
PHYSICAL ENERGY
Exercise
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Exercise for the Heart
Exercise for the Muscles
Exercise for Flexibility
Exercise for the Mind and Spirit
Bike or Walk
How Progress harms health
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Sleep
Nutrition
Exercise
Every trend line of progress is in the
opposite direction of health in
these three categories
Not true in biblical times
What is needed to make this work?
 Intentionality
 Habit
development (habit disorder)
 Simplification
 Structure, community
 Motivation (positive better than negative)
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guilt, condescension
 Accountability
 Confidence
($1,000 wager)
Do you not know that your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in
you, whom you have received from
God? You are not your own; you were
bought at a price. Therefore honor
God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Therefore, I urge you, in view of
God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as
living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to
God—this is your spiritual act of
worship.
Romans 12:1-2
How Beautiful
Twila Paris, Cry for the Desert
How beautiful the hands that served
The wine and the bread
and the sons of the earth
How beautiful the feet that walked
The long dusty roads and the hill to the cross
How beautiful, how beautiful
How beautiful is the body of Christ
How beautiful the heart that bled
That took all my sin and bore it instead
How beautiful the tender eyes
That choose to forgive and never despise
How beautiful . . .
And as He laid down his life
We offer this sacrifice
That we will live just as He died
Willing to pay the price
How beautiful the radiant bride
Who waits for her Groom
With His light in her eyes
How beautiful when humble hearts give
The fruit of pure lives so that others may live
How beautiful . . .
How beautiful the feet that bring
The sound of good news and the love of the King
How beautiful the hands that serve
The wine and the bread and the sons of the earth
How beautiful, how beautiful
How beautiful is the body of Christ