Invest in Your ‘First Wealth’

“The first wealth is health.”

That’s a profound proclamation by essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, a man who was brimming with all kinds of excellent wisdom. Here, Emerson reminds us that even if we’ve managed to achieve a good measure of monetary wealth, that wealth cannot, and should not, replace the first goal of actual physical health.

As you likely know, in my newsletter advisory services, I am primarily concerned with delivering the tactics and strategies for improving your monetary wealth. But this is The Deep Woods, a publication that casts a wider net on issues germane to our lives, and there is perhaps no more important issue to contend with — especially as we begin to feel our age — than the issue of our health and wellness.

Now, I’ve long been a fitness fanatic, and my weapon of choice to help maintain and achieve physical health is a specific type of exercise protocol known as High Intensity Training, or H.I.T. This type of training is both brief and brutal, but it’s also wildly effective in stimulating muscular growth and positive physiological adaptations. Yet, having a great workout regimen in place is only part of the equation.

The other part of the health and wellness equation is making sure nutritional needs are being met, and by that, I mean making sure our bodies are getting what they need on a cellular level in order to thrive.

Fortunately, thanks to progress in scientific testing and nutritional analysis, we have sophisticated tools available to us at a relatively moderate cost (about $800) that can tell us all about our cellular health, and that can help us shore up any glaring deficiencies in our nutrient profiles.

I recently underwent a battery of these tests provided by a company called SpectraCell Laboratories, and the results were quite revealing.

The first test is known as a Telomere Test. A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome. Telomeres basically function to protect the ends of chromosomes from becoming frayed or tangled.

Each time a cell divides, the telomeres become slightly shorter. Eventually, they become so short that the cell can no longer divide successfully, and the cell dies. So, the theory here is that the longer your telomeres are, the “younger” your cells are, and hence the younger you are.

The graphic here is my actual Telomere Test results, which measures the length of my telomeres and then plots that metric against the average length of telomeres in the SpectraCell database that’s been collected over the past decade.

Here you can see my telomere length came in at 8.89. Now, at age 58, my telomeres are extremely long. In fact, they are in the top 93% for my age group. Another way of seeing this data is that my telomere length is at the average telomere length of people in their early 20s!

So, the good news is now I know why I look and feel so young. I jest, of course, but the real good news is that barring some tragedy, there’s a good chance I will be writing The Deep Woods for many more years to come — telomeres permitting, of course.

The next set of tests were more detailed, regarding my specific lipid profiles, vascular inflammation markers, metabolic syndrome traits and immune function scores.

On these important fronts, I am happy to report my scores were solidly in the “No Functional Deficiencies” group. There was, however, some specific areas of deficiency with respect to macronutrients. For example, I was borderline deficient in alpha lipoic acid, folate and manganese. Knowing about these deficiencies allowed me to address them by beginning an enhanced supplementation protocol that included higher levels of each of these nutrients that I now take in addition to my usual intake of multivitamins, amino acids and minerals.

This is an example of a what I call, “investing in your first wealth,” because for a little bit of time and a little bit of expense, I have a much greater knowledge of my cellular health. And as a result of that knowledge, I am now taking the proper action steps to maximize my physical health.

If you are concerned with your “first wealth,” then I highly recommend you check out the SpectraCell Laboratories cellular diagnostic tests. The way I did it is by going through one of SpectraCell’s providers, a man who also happens to be a good friend, Dr. David Allan.

Listeners to my podcast, Way of the Renaissance Man, might recall my Season Three episode with Dr. Allan. Here we shared thoughts on how to eliminate muscle, nerve and joint pain caused by repetitive use injuries, and how to build good physical habits that can prevent these injuries from recurring. Now, Dr. Allan and SpectraCell have helped me look within the cellular level, literally into “The Deep Woods,” to help enhance my physical well-being.

If you want to do the same for yourself and get a deeper look into your telomeres and your cellular profiles, then I highly recommend you contact Dr. David Allan for a consultation.

Finally, I want to say that I have no monetary relationship with Dr. Allan or SpectraCell. I am just a fan of the insights they provide, as these insights have helped me enhance my “first wealth.”

If you want to do the same, then there is no better place to start.

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Adopt the Patience of Nature

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Getting healthy, losing weight, growing your money, learning a new skill… just about any long-term goal you pursue requires time, effort and patience. Remember the classic Motown tune, “You Can’t Hurry Love”? Well, just like you can’t hurry love, you can’t hurry results. So, if you want to make changes, approach them as Emerson recommends, and adopt the patience of nature.

Wisdom about money, investing and life can be found anywhere. If you have a good quote that you’d like me to share with your fellow readers, send it to me, along with any comments, questions and suggestions you have about my newsletters, seminars or anything else. Click here to ask Jim.

In the name of the best within us,

Jim Woods