At the same time 3 in 5 adults ages 20–74 are overweight. One in four Americans is considered obese. Almost 40 percent engage in no physical activity during leisure time, and women are more sedentary than men. One in 10
Americans ages 45–54, 1 in 5 of those 55–64 years, 1 in 4 of those 65–74 years, and 1 in 3 of those 75 years and over, report being in fair or poor health. The same report noted that Americans spent $1.3 trillion on healthcare in 2000, or 13.2 percent of the gross domestic product, far more than any other nation. A third of the health-care dollar was spent on hospital care, about 1⁄5
on physicians, and almost 1⁄10 on prescription drugs. The cost of prescription A Healthy Spirit Lives in a Healthy Body @ 21
drugs increased 15 percent a year from 1995 to 2000—faster than any other category of spending.4
Healthy People 20105—the nation’s health agenda for the first decade of the twenty-first century—indicates that differences in life expectancy between populations suggest a substantial need and opportunity for improvement: “At least 18 countries with a population of 1 million or more have life expectancies greater than the United States for both men and women.”
“Chapter Goal 1: Increase Quality and Years of Healthy Life” states,
“However, quality of life reflects a general sense of happiness and satisfaction with our lives and environment. General quality of life, including health, recreation, culture, rights, values, beliefs, aspirations, and the conditions that support a life containing these elements.”6 We can only hope that the nation’s health agenda for the first 10 years of the twenty-first century will work. But what will happen if it does not work? Keep yourself updated!
A
suburb of the Russian tsar’s huge empire, former Bessarabia, now Moldova, holds many warm memories of my childhood and my
home. I remember the hilly countryside with its sunny vineyards, fields with blossoming herbs and flowers, and big, sometimes giant, walnut trees everywhere. A golden and unforgettable time of my happy childhood was spent in our beautiful home there.
Our big house on a hill was built of thick beech logs. It was cool in summer and warm in the winter. It was filled with love and kindness, our family often including grandparents from my mother’s and father’s sides; folk wisdom; and the aroma of grapes, walnuts, herbs, and wildflowers. Within our home in the country was a most magical place—the basement. Grandma’s and Grandpa’s homemade libations and elixirs shared that space. There Grandpa stored wooden barrels filled with his homemade crystal-clear white and rosé wines and lined shelf upon shelf with old-fashioned European glass bottles containing liquors and cognacs that he carefully prepared each fall. In another part of the basement Grandma fil ed her beautiful and simple European glass bottles with her homemade natural medicine recipes; tinctures of herbs, berries or fruits; and aromatic oils. On special racks in autumn she would hang handmade “necklaces” strung with dried fruits and herbs, or Vitachella with nuts, which we cal ed “grape sausage.” Her secret recipe for 22 ^ Mama’s Home Remedies
Vitachel a included cooked grape juice with special spices and, of course, walnuts. From November to May we enjoyed these dainty tidbits ful of a variety of natural ingredients and vitamins. My sister and I were al owed to go anytime to the basement, which we cal ed our “Sweet Fairyland,” to tear down and eat a grape “necklace.”
Another room of the basement was stocked with herbs. Some were suspended from the ceiling; others were carefully wrapped and packed in parchment. Near this herbarium was Grandma’s and Mama’s laboratory where they prepared their miraculous natural medicines for our family, for our friends and neighbors, and for Mama’s patients.
Grandma and Mama never sold their natural medicines. They were oldfashioned women. They shared a strong belief that if the medicines were sold, they would lose their ability to heal. Instead they felt they must offer them mercifully and free of charge to those who needed them. This mission of mercy helped many people overcome their illnesses. Because we grew up in a society without mass-produced and heavily marketed antibiotics and drugs, we, as the ancient Greeks, developed a strong, natural foundation in our bodies to be healthy human beings.
Once upon a time there lived an old man in the
sunny Valley of Roses. Long ago he planted a
big vineyard, which brought him a rich bounty year after
year. The vineyard was his passion, and so he decided to
build a beautiful big house right in the center of it.
Over time the house became entwined in grapevines. He believed that grapes and their vines would defend his hearth from evil people, from dust, and from the harmful effects of a hot, dry summer. He also believed that his mighty grapevines would clean and refresh the air. Overall his grapevines, he believed, would make his life peaceful and healthy. Grapes and vines are symbols of well-being, friendship, and attachment. Like the pineapple, they are a symbol of welcome. When the old man’s grapevines blossomed in June, he would drop to his knees, press his nose into the lush grape-laden vines, and breathe in their delicate aroma. A Healthy Spirit Lives in a Healthy Body @
