One size fits all.

No way. Won't work. Not going to happen!" That's how anyone who's fallen for the popular "one-size-fits-all" marketing ploy is sure to react if I say that there's a common cure for most, if not all, diseases that plague us. "We're not the same," they say. "My needs are different from your needs. What works for you probably won't work for me."

With all due respect, I beg to differ. In the four years I've spent editing a health magazine and talking directly to practicing health professionals each week on our live, call-in Vibrant Life radio program, I've come to realize that there is, in fact, a common thread running through all of our ailments. It seems that everything from cancer and heart disease to obesity and diabetes shares the same root causes. What's even more amazing, every one of these conditions responds positively to the very same methods of prevention and cure.

This special issue of Vibrant Life focuses on obesity and diabetes; the engines of a dangerous vehicle that's destroying lives and causing untold pain and suffering in every corner of the globe. What's fueling this epidemic? According to the latest research, the answer is incredibly simple: lack of exercise and eating the wrong foods. How do you stop it? According to the same research: increased exercise and eating the right foods.

Talk to any informed cardiologist or cutting-edge professional specializing in cancer treatment and you'll hear much the same story. Want to lower your cholesterol, bring down your blood pressure, or prevent any number of other serious maladies? See above.

That's not all. Our level of movement and how we nourish our bodies directly influences many of our mental disorders as well. Need to lower stress, overcome AD/HD, or control anger? Diet and exercise.

It shouldn't be surprising that, along with our collective physical and mental health declines, we're also experiencing a serious drop in our spiritual health as well. This is evident in the fact that fewer and fewer people, especially among youth, believe in "universal truth"--that there are principles of right and wrong that are the same for everyone. Belief in universal truth is essential for a healthy relationship with God.

Is it really possible that there are cheap, easy-to-find, available-to-everyone tools for creating a happy, healthy life? Does it make sense that simple remedies such as taking a brisk, 30-minute walk each day; eating unrefined, whole foods, and trusting in a forgiving God can prevent or help overcome almost every disease known to man? I believe that not only is it possible, but there are people proving it each and every day. It's true. Thanks to our Creator God, one size fits all.

Charles Mills 

EDITOR