The Best Day Is Today: 5 Paths to Better Health — with Arthur & Danette Toole

Everyone's favorite day to start is tomorrow. Arthur and Danette Toole are asking you to start today.

In this special episode — recorded live from a wellness class Arthur and Danette taught — they share the simple, faith-centered framework that changed their own health. You'll hear why "you are the sum of your last ten years of choices" isn't a guilt trip but an invitation, how Danette got off her blood pressure medication, and the five small paths anyone can start walking right now.

You'll also hear the BRAIN framework for making confident decisions at the doctor's office, and the story of how a plant-based oil in Grenada became MegRelief. No pills required. Just one small, honest step — starting today.

In This Episode

• The mindset shift: your health today is largely the result of the choices you've made — which means you have the power to change your tomorrow
• The 3 things that come before any health change: Decide → Know Your Why → Start Now
• Why "honor God with your body" is a stronger why than chasing your 20-year-old self (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)
• Redefining health: skinny isn't the same as healthy, and yesterday's best isn't today's standard
• The Five Paths to Better Health: Move More · Sleep More · Hydrate Well · Eat Better · Stress Less
• Danette's rule for goals that actually stick: small, actionable, attainable, practical
• The BRAIN framework for talking to your doctor about any medication or treatment
• Free and low-cost ways to check your health in Montgomery County
• The Grenada story behind MegRelief

The BRAIN Framework (as promised in the class)

A simple set of questions to bring to any doctor's visit when a medication or treatment is recommended:

• B — Benefit: What are the benefits of this option?
• R — Risk: What are the risks or side effects?
• A — Alternatives: Are there other options available?
• I — Intuition: What is the Holy Spirit telling you? (Your discernment is part of your health team.)
• N — Nothing: What happens if I do nothing?

The Five Paths — Quick Reference

1. Move More — a sedentary day does more damage than you realize. Start with a walk around the block or one flight of stairs.
2. Sleep More — there's healing in sleep. Under five hours a night and your body can't restore itself; it can even show up as pain. Add 30 minutes at a time.
3. Hydrate Well — nothing replaces water. Aim toward half your body weight in ounces. Need flavor? Add real fruit, lemon, cucumber, or coconut water — not artificial sweeteners.
4. Eat Better — eat food, not food products. Shop the outer aisles. Aim for 80/20.
5. Stress Less — practice joyfulness. If you can't change the circumstance, change how you think about it. "A joyful heart is good medicine." (Proverbs 17:22)

Resources Mentioned

• Quest Labs — low-cost A1C testing
• Adventist HealthCare Rehab — free 15-minute injury screenings with a physical therapist
• Holy Cross Health Senior Fit — low-cost/free exercise therapy with a doctor's referral
• Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 · Proverbs 17:22

Get in Touch / Next Step
Pick ONE small change from the Five Paths and start it today. Then talk to your doctor before beginning any new diet or exercise routine.

New to MegRelief? It's the plant-based pain relief cream and spray Arthur and Danette created after that trip to Grenada — relief without the pills. [Link]

🎧 Always consult your doctor before starting any new treatment.

NOTE:
Acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol — is the #1 cause of acute liver failure in the United States, responsible for roughly half of all cases. And here's the part most people miss: nearly half of those are unintentional — regular folks overusing everyday pain and cold products that quietly contain it. A product marketed as safe, and most people never knew the risk.

Source: Larson et al., Hepatology (2005); U.S. Acute Liver Failure Study Group.

For us on our socials to learn more:
Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | MegRelief

Pain Relief University is proudly presented by MegRelief – the ultimate all-natural pain solution. Say goodbye to pills and chemicals; MegRelief offers pure relief through natural and organic ingredients. With just one spray, soak, or massage, you can experience quick and effective pain relief. 

Transcript

The Best Day Is Today

Building a Healthier Tomorrow Through the Choices We Make Now  ·  with Arthur & Danette Toole

Arthur:  All right, good people. What we want to talk about today is how the best day for a healthier tomorrow is always today. Back when I was in the military — I served for some time, part of it as an infantry officer — a senior officer came to me and said, “Where you are right now is the result of the last ten years’ worth of choices.” At the time, I thought he just meant professionally, because I was transitioning from lieutenant to captain and we’d talk about my career. But as the decades passed, I realized he wasn’t only talking about my career — he was talking about every area of my life. And that includes our health. We are, in large part, the sum total of the decisions we’ve made about our health over the last ten years.

Danette:  That actually brings me to a time about ten years ago, when I threw my back out carrying my five-year-old son. At the time I thought it was because he was getting too big for me to carry. But later I realized it was really the culmination of ten years of very infrequent activity and poor diet. A little after that, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and had to start taking medication. My body ached all the time. To treat it, I started going to a chiropractor and tried a plethora of treatments. But I decided I had to make a change that day. What I did immediately was seek out help from a very dear friend of ours who is also a physical therapist, to get a plan to start moving and eating better. That one action catapulted my next ten years of healthy movement and working to be a healthier me. Eventually, about five years ago, I got off my blood pressure medication, and I move with far more ease than before. And while I wouldn’t pick up my now fifteen-year-old son, I can definitely lift a five-year-old with no problem at all.

Arthur:  And that’s what we want to talk to you about — simple things we can do and implement now that can change the trajectory of your life. Now, when I make the statement that “you are today the summation of the last ten years of your choices,” sometimes that can be triggering. Some people think, “It’s my fault.” That’s not what we’re saying. Sometimes it’s genetic. Sometimes it’s an unexpected life experience — a major car accident can affect your body forever. Sometimes it’s surgery; when you have surgery, your body typically doesn’t go one hundred percent back to normal. But there is a component that’s lifestyle-driven.

And I don’t want you to look at that as a bad thing — I want you to look at it as a good thing. If part of where your health is today is based on your lifestyle choices, then you have the power to positively impact your health with those same choices. What we’re going to talk about may not be common, but it’s what’s normal and healthy for you. So pay attention, take some notes, decide what you want to implement — and if you need anything, we’re here.

The sermon this past Sunday was on point for this message. We have the freedom to choose things that lead to better health outcomes. Whether we choose to do healthy things or not, we have that freedom — but there are consequences on both sides. If we abuse the freedom, the consequences show up. This is the year of discovery, so this is the best opportunity to discover the best health for ourselves. We don’t want you to wait to find out.

So what’s the first thing you have to do? The first thing is the heart of it: decide. If you can do step one, everything else is easier. Decide today whether where you are, health-wise, is where you want to be. If it’s not, then all you have to say is, “I choose to do things differently.” And it doesn’t have to be major. Don’t be like me — sitting at a desk for ten years and then deciding to run a marathon in three weeks. Please don’t do that. There are small things you can do now that lead to better health outcomes, and we’ll talk about them.

The next part is your why. Once you decide you truly want something different, you have to put a why behind it. For me, post-military, I was always trying to get back to that military shape. It sounded good and it was motivating — but motivation dwindles. New Year’s resolutions dwindle. You need a why strong enough to carry you when the motivation fades. And it will fade. The moment you decide you want to be healthier, distractions will come to try to prevent it.

So the why is what undergirds you and keeps you moving forward. The best why we’ve found is to honor God with your body — just like we honor God with our finances, our time, and our talents. So don’t try to get your twenty-, thirty-, forty-, fifty-, or sixty-year-old body back. Instead, treat your body as an offering to God, as an act of worship. Now you’re not saying, “I can’t eat cookies anymore.” You’re saying, “I’m worshiping God by choosing to be better. I’m choosing to honor God by walking today.” It’ll still be difficult, but your why is stronger. Like it says in 1 Corinthians 6:19–20: “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You were bought at a price. So honor God with your body.” We’d ask you to commit to looking at it through that lens. These five things we’re going to talk about — that is our act of worship.

Danette:  I’ll just interject here. One of the things we need to remember is that by taking care of our body, it allows us to serve more. I know for me, serving in the dance ministry, this is imperative — just to be able to participate. So it’s so important for me to do this on a daily basis.

Arthur:  These five things are the things Danette embraced. She started and stopped, started and stopped, and then found a pattern that worked for her — so now she can worship God not only with her body, but through it. Ten years ago, that didn’t happen. But now you all see it: she’s free to minister, because she did these simple things.

So the first step is to decide. The second is to have a why. And the third is to start now. When we say “start now,” the first thing to do is redefine health. Skinny isn’t the same as healthy. Just because a person is smaller or larger than you doesn’t mean they’re healthier or worse — let’s get that out of our heads. We can’t chase yesterday’s best; you have to find your today’s health standard. And we do that in tandem with a health team: a doctor, a physical therapist, a nutritionist. Get those people together, take your vitals, and track your improvement.

For us, I see my doctor for an annual physical. When I wanted some other tests, the physical therapist who helped our family sent me to get them. I thought they’d be expensive — I thought insurance wouldn’t cover it. But at Quest Labs, right here in Montgomery County, I got my A1C checked for $25 at the time; recently it was about $49. Still some money, but doable if you feel you’re at risk. And if you’re thinking, “I don’t have a doctor, I don’t have insurance, but I want to make some steps” — here in Montgomery County you have free or low-cost places that do assessments.

At Adventist HealthCare Rehab, they offer free fifteen-minute injury screenings with a physical therapist — they’ll analyze you and give you feedback you can use to move forward. And Holy Cross Health Senior Fit offers low-cost and free exercise therapy as long as you have a doctor’s referral. You get a doctor’s note, take it there, and they’ll give you free or very low-cost help. And you can Google other low-cost places if you’d rather not use your insurance.

So we’ve talked about decide, the why, and start now. What are the five paths to better health outcomes? The first one is simply move more. If you work a job where you sit all day, then get off work and sit in front of a TV, then go to bed — that sedentary lifestyle is doing more damage to your body than you may realize. So the goal is to commit to move more. And again, talk to your doctor before you start any of these. I don’t want you to go from sitting at a desk to running two miles like I did.

Maybe your goal is to walk around the block. Maybe it’s to walk up one flight of steps. Maybe it’s to stretch for the next two weeks. When you talk to your healthcare provider, come up with a goal that moves the needle. You stay there until it becomes normal, and then you increase it.

Danette:  Yeah — I like to call those small, actionable, attainable, and practical.

Arthur:  And she’s looking right at me when she says that, because I try to hit a home run on everything and I strike out a lot. She’s always been measured and methodical. After years, I’ll finally say publicly that she was right. Don’t repeat this.

Danette:  I just don’t like to set myself up to fail. I like to give myself goals I feel I can do. And once I obtain one, it makes me feel better about myself — and then it makes me want more. That’s my approach.

Arthur:  And that’s what you do. For “move more,” think of something you’d like to do, think of a small step you can implement, start it, and give yourself a timeline.

The second one may surprise some people: sleep more. Sleep isn’t just about getting rest or waking up to start it all over again — there’s actually healing in your sleep. Some of you may not know: Danette and I have a plant-based pain relief company called MegRelief, and a podcast called Pain Relief University. On it, we always bring in doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors — all types — and they all say the same thing: you need sleep. More than five hours; seven or more. Depending on your age, you may need more or less, so check with your doctor. But what’s consistent among all the practitioners we’ve talked to is this: if you’re sleeping less than five hours a night, your body doesn’t have time to heal and restore. And it can also cause pain. So if you’re hurting in your knees or your back, it may be because you’re not getting enough sleep.

So the goal is to sleep more. If you sleep five hours a night, let’s try for five and a half. Let’s try for six. Now, some of you have two or three jobs, family, all sorts of things preventing that. Again, just like Danette said — take small, measurable steps. Maybe try thirty minutes more. Try small goals, and then go from there.

The next one was the hardest for me: hydrate well. I used to think Coke and Sprite were what hydrated me. I realize now that not only was Coke bad for me, it was elevating my blood pressure. So I drink it in moderation. When I go down south with my family, I drink all I can — but the rest of the time I try to limit it and replace it with water. We know our body is over seventy percent water. So ask yourself: how much water have you had today? Yesterday? The day before? If the answer is none, start with a small goal — maybe ten ounces. Whatever your goal is, add a little to it. As a general practice, aim for half your body weight in ounces of water.

But we have to have water. A lot of things can be mitigated in a positive way when we hydrate well. The next one is to eat better. And when we say “eat better,” we mean food — not food products. In our household, Danette makes all the decisions on the food that comes in, so she makes sure we’re eating as healthy as possible. She still allows us some junk food — but the healthier version of the junk whenever possible.

Danette:  A key for me, especially when I go shopping, is to really stay on the outer aisles — that’s where your real food is — and limit passing through the internal aisles. Like Arthur mentioned, I try to do an 80/20 situation, because I don’t want to prohibit everything. But we do try to read labels and know what works.

Arthur:  And the last of the five paths to better health outcomes is stress less. This is one that, as Christians and just as people, we struggle with — we’re constantly under attack. If you wake up and watch the news in the morning, it’s always some catastrophe — the worst fire in history, the worst political thing ever. Then you go to work and absorb everybody’s trauma and drama. You have managers with their own agendas. Then you come home to families you’re responsible for, you want to be a good steward at church, and you go to bed already tired. So this one is harder to do.

Again, take small, measurable steps. If you can’t change your current schedule, change how you approach it. If you’re working two or three jobs just to make ends meet, pray that God brings you to a place where you only need one job, or none. And in the interim, tell yourself: “It’s not that I have to — I get to support my family through these jobs. And God willing, I’ll have something better in the future.” By doing that, you’re practicing joyfulness. And joyfulness is a strong tool to overcome stress, especially chronic, long-term stress. As the scripture says in Proverbs 17:22, “A joyful heart is good medicine.” If you can’t change your circumstances, change how you think about them. In your prayer time, thank God for the changes you’re expecting even if you can’t see them yet, and give it to God. In time, He’ll change those circumstances.

Danette:  Even if it’s as small as, when you wake up in the morning, taking a moment to thank God for waking you up. That will provide you joy for the whole day.

Arthur:  Absolutely. So, you’ve done all the things — you’ve picked one, some, or all of the five paths. You’ve given yourself grace. You decided, and you understand your why. Now the next thing is, maybe you want to go to the doctor and talk to them. And when you go, they may propose or prescribe certain things. We want you to listen to your doctor — but there’s an acronym we want you to carry with you: BRAIN.

Let’s say, hypothetically, they say, “We need to put you on blood pressure medication.” The B stands for benefit — what are the benefits of this option? They’ll tell you. The R is risk — what are the risks or side effects? For example, a lot of people take Tylenol, because we were brought up on it; everyone uses Tylenol. But acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol — is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States, and nearly half of those cases are unintentional, from everyday overuse of products that contain it. We take things without thinking about the risk. So if your doctor prescribes something, just ask what the risks are. They’ll tell you, or point you to where to look it up.

A is alternatives available. If they offer blood pressure medication and you don’t like the side effects, ask: is there an alternative? Maybe you’re already taking something that would conflict with it, so ask. Don’t be afraid — the doctor is on your side. This should be an open conversation. The I is intuition. The world says intuition, but we know it’s the Holy Spirit living in us. I believe God is a healer, and I also believe God gave us doctors and medicine. So listen to the Holy Spirit — the Holy Spirit is part of your health team. And the last one is N, nothing. Ask them directly: if I don’t take this blood pressure medication, what happens? So: benefits, risks, alternatives, intuition, and nothing. Keep those in mind when you go to the doctor and they try to prescribe anything.

And that’s it, really. I want to go back to the five paths we want you to consider for better health outcomes: move more, sleep more, hydrate well, eat better, stress less. Make a small, measured change in any one of them. Through it all, practice joyfulness. And your reason why is always because you’re choosing to honor God with your body. Remember: wherever you are in your body right now, even if you do all of this, it may not reverse one hundred percent of what you’re experiencing, especially if you’re in pain or dealing with some illness. But today is always the best day to create a better, healthier tomorrow by implementing these things. It can only lead you in a better direction.

Danette:  In closing, I would just reiterate: give yourself grace. Starting new things is hard, and staying consistent is even harder. It’s okay to start and fail — just keep trying again and adding to your routine. You’ll see the benefits.

Arthur:  And I’ll add one thing to that. Get an accountability partner — one who will truly hold you accountable. Not somebody who blasts you when you do something wrong, but someone who understands you and will encourage you either way. I mess up on this all the time, and Danette doesn’t beat me up over it. When I set outrageous goals, she may say something. If I say I’m not going to drink a Coke and she sees me with one, she’ll nudge me — but she doesn’t make me feel bad for failing my goal. She still holds me accountable. Find somebody who can do that — preferably your spouse, or someone else who can hold you accountable and get you started. And that’s all we have for today. We thank you for spending time with us and listening. And if you have any questions, we’re open to answering them.