Let’s understand, our health IS our wealth!!!

by Latifa Saliba
(Bteghrin, Northern Metn, Lebanon)

Since I was a child, nature dominates my lives. I used to go after school, with some classmates, to neighboring wilds … gathering flowers and contemplating the fascinating beauty of nature. My grand pa was a farmer and our rural house surrounded by vineyards, vegetables and an assortment of fruit trees.

In 1968, I engaged in the scout movement and my attachment to the splendid nature continued to grow up. We used to spend summer vacations in camping and hiking activities. I believed in nature to the way Jean-Jacques Rousseau*. I always have the dream to keep a simple and natural life in a safe environment, thus to have a rustic traditional house on a top mountain or rural area near a river surrounded by green yields, forest trees, wild plants & flowers full of fragrances and colors... a model ecological farm !!!

In 1977, I started my professional activities apart from nature, and become unable to communicate with the magical wonderful nature. Consequently, the bad impact on my health appeared within few months and the doctor told me: “You have allergy in all your 5 senses. You shouldn’t stay where fitted carpets (moquette) and dust are…” Also, the office lightening and its closed environment made me tern and white pale after several years - my responsibilities and long working schedule affected / interrupted my relationship with the mother nature / and deprived me from being exposed to recommended sun lights regularly. On the other hand, in addition to my passion in psychology, I began to enjoy reading about everything healthy & natural, therapeutic & well balanced nutrition, health & beauty, hygiene and skin care, about lifestyle and well-being, about biodiversity, homeopathy, macrobiotics, vitamins & supplements, pain-relief/management, healing & placebo golden tips/habits, diseases and different schools of medicine, and much more about environmental preservation & safety conditions.

In 1987, a vertical change occurred in my lifestyle due to the change in job occupation. So, I came back to nature with daily walk, short camps and other outdoor activities. Furthermore, my tendency to the gardening’s practice came out one year ago and I initiated vegetables cultivation in small quantities for the family consumption. I started to pay attention to all kind of plants and their characteristics and to admire the green world differently.
In fact, we are what we eat. So, why don’t we improve our quality of life by relief poor diet, pollution and stress effects? And why … our body to struggle against diseases…

Let’s make our health the wealth!!! Let’s be preventive… and spread the word.