Ill health is the accumulation of all the wrong things you have done to your health over the years. For someone who is very ill, it may seem difficult, almost impossible, to restore natural health and get well again.

To restore natural health, you need a vision of good health and wholeness. Repair and recovery from ill health starts at the fundamental body-mind level, instead of just focusing on the disease area itself. Modern medicine's disease symptomatic treatment usually comes with a hefty price: undesirable and long-lasting side effects. Such treatment is desirable only in emergencies or life-threatening situations. To restore natural health, the preferred treatment is natural healing, with long-term side benefits to rejuvenate both the body and the mind.

Understandably, ill health may make you forget to take care of your body, and thus allowing your body's functions to further deteriorate. Ill health is no more than imbalances accumulated over years of abuse and neglect. Therefore, the first step to restore natural health is to stop health-destructive habits, thereby placing your body in its original natural state of balance. To restore natural health, you need this first step because once you realize how little it takes to feel well again, you will not want to be sick again. According to Lao Tzu, an ancient Chinese philosopher, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step"; so, take your first step, and one step at a time, to restore natural health.

Natural health is more than just an absence of illness: it is how you attune yourself to Nature's natural laws of balance, expressed by your body's inner healing intelligence, which allows your body to repair and heal itself. You may start from any level of imbalance, but as long as you proceed on the road of balance, you will eventually arrive at the level of balance of body, mind, and behavior. Attaining that overall harmony, your body's inner healing intelligence is capable of correcting any physiological imbalance, which is the cause of illness.

Therefore, to restore natural health, stop creating imbalances to your body and mind. For example, do not readily reach out for any over-the-counter drug or even prescription medication to treat your illness. Remember, disease symptomatic treatment does little to eliminate the cause of ill health; at best, it can only delay disease progression. Also, stop ingesting toxins into your body, such as through smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, or eating processed foods.

To restore natural health, focus on your digestive health, which plays a pivotal role in recovery and rejuvenation. Change your eating habits: eating only when you are hungry, and eating the right foods. Good digestive health is natural health.

To sustain repair and recovery, it is important to detoxify your body regularly through fasting, herbs, such as dandelion, licorice, and milk thistle, and vegetables, such as beets and broccoli. Toxins from the environment and the consumption of contemporary foods are a source of imbalance, and they need to be eliminated.

Finally, to restore natural health, you need to consider health in your daily routine to reinforce discipline in your diet and lifestyle, as well as to prevent any relapse. Your daily patterns will contribute to the physiological rhythms that are harmonious with the rhythms of Nature, such as regular exercise, going to bed and getting up early.

Health is the greatest asset of your life. Do not squander it recklessly. Natural health can be restored through natural means of balance and harmony.

For more information on the wisdom of healthy living, go to Stephen Lau's website:The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Stephen Lau is a writer and researcher with books and websites on health, Chinese healing, eating disorders, golf, and money matters. Visit his most recent website: Are You Healthy?