by Hyla Cass, M.D.
Natural Highs
Editor’s Note:
Natural Highs, by totalhealth editor Hyla Cass, M.D., and Patrick Holford,
the United Kingdom’s leading nutritionist, presents a breakthrough
program of natural supplements and techniques that mimic brain
chemicals to help you stay happy, relaxed and naturally high. Their
remarkable research shows how to formulate the perfect “brain food” to
improve how we think and feel, resulting in a greater sense of connections
and joy in everyday life. Natural Highs is a must addition to your total
health library. We thank Dr. Cass for presenting the following overview
of this landmark work.
“Natural” can mean a lot of
things these days.
Coffee, alcohol, nicotine, marijuana and even
cocaine are all provided by Mother Nature
but they are not on our recommended list.
By natural we mean substances that are both
legal and good for you. Such substances work
with your body’s design, not against it. Used
correctly they can balance and increase health
and energy rather than deplete it.
“Feel good” substances permeate our culture.
In an average week Americans drink 3.4
billion cups of coffee, 1 billion cups of tea, 4.5
billion sugared and/or caffeinated soft drinks,
2.3 billion alcoholic drinks, smoke 8.25
billion cigarettes and consume 845,726,369
pounds (or about 420,000 tons) of sugar and
20 million pounds of chocolate. On top of
this we take 20 million antidepressants, puff
our way through 25 million joints and pop
one million tabs of Ecstacy.
All that popping, pouring and puffing
would not be so popular unless it worked. In
fact, these substances can boost our energy,
relieve our anxiety, help us recover from a
hard day’s work and escape our less than perfect
reality. Unfortunately these highs evaporate
all too quickly, leaving us to cope with a
nasty aftermath of mood swings, emotional
depletion, physical exhaustion and even
addiction.
Imagine living in a world where you feel
happy, alert and energetic more often than
not—a place where feeling “high” and at one
with the world is the norm, where getting
high is healthy and nonaddictive. Does this
sound like science fiction? As we will see, it
can be as simple as child’s play, where it all
begins.
Pass any playground full of five- or sixyear-
olds and you are immediately struck by
the bubbling energy that radiates from this
running, laughing, shouting sea of children.
They embrace the world and interact with it
in a way that many of us have forgotten. We
seldom find a young child who is the least bit
shy about singing, dancing or drawing in
front of others. But how many of us would
even contemplate doing the same?
Spontaneous and positive, children are
naturally high. They will go out of their way
to enhance this, too, by swinging on swings
or spinning in circles until they collapse.
Even their crying and angry outbursts are an
essential part of this spontaneity. As we
approach adolescence, however, we become
“socialized” and lose some of this seemingly
innate capacity for fun and pleasure.
As adults, we adopt repetitive and rote
behaviors; we surrender and become numb
to life. We forget to smell the flowers (sensory
awareness), appreciate our loved ones (an
open heart) and forget the excitement of
finding new ways of doing things (mental
flexibility). But are these losses inevitable? Is
it possible for us to experience the reopened,
spontaneous and energetic joy we once had?
In Natural Highs we discuss how we can once
again embrace this more childlike state. One
vital key to sustaining mood, energy and
connection is to be aware, present and open
to new ideas, behaviors and perceptions.
In the book you will discover everything
you need to experience a natural, childlike
high. We include a range of techniques and
nutrients designed to promote sensory
awareness and mental flexibility, as well as to
restore and maintain your energy level. You
will then be able to find your own perfect
combination of diet, nutrients and activities
for staying naturally high, including:
- Hangover-free alternatives to relaxing with a beer, martini or a glass of wine.
- Natural, nonaddictive ways to get the same energy kick that you get from coffee, tea or tobacco.
- Safe, natural and effective alternatives to Prozac and Valium with no side effects.
- Natural nutrients to help take you to higher states of awareness and connection without the side effects of drugs.
- Nourishing foods that can replenish and restore your brain, depleted by stress or excessive drug and alcohol use.
- Natural substances that help you escape addictions, including some that you may not even realize you have.
You will quickly see that natural highs can
be healthy, nonaddictive and as easy as taking a quick trip to the supermarket, drugstore or
health food store.
Altering Mind, Mood and Energy
At this point you may be questioning whether it
is even natural to feel this good all the time. It
certainly is not the norm in our culture. And in
fact, evidence suggests that depression and anxiety
may offer evolutionary advantages. Our
ancestors knew that maintaining an edge and
keeping a vigilant eye out for enemies had great
survival value. Being too blissed-out might
make you some predator’s dinner. Despite the
absence of this ongoing threat, many of us still
are on edge, anxious and/or depressed. If this
sounds like you, the good news is that there are
natural, mind-altering supplements and techniques
that can help you to break your patterns
and create new and happier responses to life’s
inevitable changes, disappointments and surprises.
How Naturally High Are You?
We believe it is possible to be high—firing on all
cylinders, inspired, enthusiastic, happy, calm
and alert—much of the time. Our Natural High
Program shows you how to sustain the right
biochemical, physical and psychological conditions.
There are four steps to being naturally
high:
- Achieve optimum brain nutrition. A good diet and the right supplements provide you with the necessary building blocks for brain cells and neurotransmitters which are the mood, mind and memory molecules. You will also be able to balance your blood sugar, which acts as brain and body fuel. This helps you to break your dependency on substances that interfere with normal brain chemistry and deplete your energy.
- Keep yourself “fine-tuned” with natural highs. The reality of day-to-day life is that you will likely become stressed out or otherwise unbalanced. You will learn how to use natural substances to help bring yourself back into balance.
- Think positively. Chemistry isn’t the whole story when it comes to natural highs. It is also about how we think. Ironically, while fear and anxiety seem to come easily, we often have to work harder to achieve happiness. Fortunately you can replace negative patterns with a more positive and uplifting frame of mind.
- Adopt a naturally high lifestyle. There are many ways to improve how you feel, specific lifestyle changes in the form of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual exercises.
The Natural High Program is designed to make
it easy for you to make and maintain the stepby-
step changes in your life that will allow you
to be naturally and consistently high.
Each of us is unique—an amalgam of genetic
inheritance and a lifetime of experience. We
may have inherited certain tendencies, for example,
toward depression or anxiety. These tendencies,
together with what we have learned in
childhood and indulged in as adults, have programmed
our body chemistry. This in turn
affects our behavior. We may find ourselves, for
instance, with a nonstop need for stimulation or
a seemingly built-in inability to relax.
The good news is that none of this is set in
stone. You can change.
Before you leap head first into the mass of
information in the book, Natural High
Questionnaires are provided which will help you
to develop your personal natural high strategy.
How The Book Is Organized
Part One consists of three chapters, starting with
the Natural High Questionnaires. The questionnaires
will help you assess your own current
needs, habits and patterns and to develop your
own strategy for shifting to natural highs.
For example: How Stressed Are You?
This questionnaire will help you recognize some
of the signs and see where you fit in the stress
continuum. Mark “yes” if the question applies
more than half of the time. Score one point for
each “yes” answer.
- Do you have difficulty relaxing?
- Do you often feel irritable?
- Do you worry about the little events of the day and find that you are unable to shut off your mind?
- Do you smoke or drink excessively (especially by other people’s standards)?
- Are you competitive and aggressive?
- Do you find it hard to relate to people?
- Do you find yourself impatient with others?
- Do you eat quickly?
- Do you take on too much?
- Do you have difficulty delegating?
- Do you have aching limbs, tense muscles or recurrent headaches?
- Do you have a dry mouth and sweaty palms?
- Do you feel a lack of interest in sex?
- Do you have problems sleeping?
Scoring
1 to 5: Like most of us, you could use some practical
ideas on how to calm down when challenges
arise or you want to reach states of even deeper
peace. If so, read on for some inspiring ideas.
6 to 10: You are quite stressed. Pay attention
to these warning signs. This is the only body you
have. Treat it well. You will see how to do this in
the following pages.
11 to 14: You are very stressed. Clean up your
act before there are serious consequences.
Other questionnaires in the book include:
Energy Check, Mood Check, Memory Check
and Connection Check.
We then introduce you to the basics of brain
function. You will learn about neurotransmitters,
the brain’s “communication chemicals” that
are capable of stimulating and relaxing you,
lifting your mood and sharpening your mind.
You will find out why some substances knock
your chemistry out of balance, while others are
good for you. We then give you the Natural
High Basics, a core regimen of food and supplements
that create the best internal environment
for sustaining mood and energy. You will learn
how to support your brain and body chemistry
for maximum energy and balance.
Part Two is the heart of the book. It deals with
the issues and substances that probably attracted
readers to the book in the first place: Stress
Busters, Energizers, Mood Enhancers, Mind and
Memory Boosters and Making the Connection.
Each chapter presents its information in the
following sequence:
How you would prefer to feel and how you
might be feeling now.
What goes on in your body and brain chemistry
when you feel this way.
The upsides and downsides of conventional
substances that we use, such as alcohol and tranquilizers.
The natural alternatives that can produce the
desired result without the downsides. We learn
why they work, the research on their benefits
and how to use them.
Finally, there is a straightforward action
plan—clear and simple steps to achieve a natural
high.
Part Three suggests other ways to achieve your
natural high. You will see how breathing, meditation,
exercise and sleep can raise mood and
energy. We also look at positive thinking, sex
and the life-enhancing uses of light, color, music
and aromatherapy.
Part Four offers top tips on natural ways to chill
out, boost your energy, lift your mood, enhance
your mind and get connected. There is also an A
to Z listing of the substances you can take to
achieve a natural high.
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