HEALTH is . . .

I thought we could talk today about a word that is heard almost every day but with all the confusion about nutrition that exists, it’s getting harder to define what it really means anymore.  That word is health.

Maybe this isn’t a word we think about too much when we’re young or growing up, but certainly as we get older, nothing is more important to the quality of our life, than our health.

So, let’s begin by exploring the answer to these 3 questions: 
~  how do you define health?
~  what does healthy mean to you?
~  what are your specific reasons for wanting to be healthy? 

Here are some answers from my Wellness Presentation participants:
1). Define Health: feeling good, organs working properly together, looking good, feeding our machinery properly, exercise, happiness, regular maintenance (dentist, blood, mammograms), preventative, absence of disease, stable mind, healthy muscle, healthy spirit
2). Healthy Means: lifestyle, foods, exercise, activity, mind, relationships, happy to be alive, getting up in the morning, body parts work, glowing, posture, less doctor's visits
3). Critical Reasons: independence, longevity, not to end up like sick or aged parents, set a good example to children and to clients, outlive spouse, do what you want to do, care-taking of others, enjoy eating, mental clarity, physical strength

When I asked my 16 year old daughter what came to her mind, she said: thin people, green food, and fat people.  It’s funny – the images of health that come to mind – and we do tend to think of “thin” as being healthy, because on the outside we don’t see what’s going on inside. But being thin doesn’t automatically equate to good health, and being not-so-thin does not automatically translate into ill health either.

But it is this perception that leads to one of the biggest misconceptions: that as long as you lose weight, it doesn’t matter what you eat or what your lifestyle is. But it does matter because being thin and being healthy are not at all the same thing.

What you eat affects which diseases you may develop, regardless of whether you’re thin or fat. Some diets, that may help you lose weight, may be harmful to your health over time.

A widely publicized study earlier this year, for instance, showed that a low-carb Atkins-type diet might be a faster way to lose weight. Yet, this diet gives people the idea that eating meat and butter is the route to thinness and thus health.  People are drawn to Atkins-type diets in part because, as the study showed, they produce a higher metabolic rate. A low-carb diet may increase your metabolic rate but: it is stressful to your body, your hormones. Just because something increases your metabolism, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Amphetamines will also increase your metabolism and burn calories faster, which is why they are used to help people lose weight. But stressing out your body in this way, just may mortgage your health in the process.

What is comes down to is the importance of clarifying and distinguishing between 
~  what is good health vs. what is great health
~  where looking healthy begins but possessing great health is a lifestyle
~  where health isn’t defined merely by the absence of illness, but health is a life  that revolves around the prevention of disease.

How many of you consider our own health every day, as a measure of how well you are able to function? How so?

It is my firm belief that there is one thing, over which we have complete control in our lives that does have a direct impact on our health.

Any idea as to what that one thing might be?  It’s food.

Food influences everything. We make decisions daily by choosing food that is either healthy for us or harmful to us. The expression, “you are what you eat” goes very deep. Food creates our blood, our thinking, our energy. The better you feed yourself, the better you feel.

Now, what you eat is just as important as what you exclude.  For example, plant foods have special molecules called phytonutrients which can actually turn on and off our DNA to help prevent disease as well as heal acute (short-term) sickness. Therefore, eating a diet rich in plant foods over time can prevent disease and enhance health. However, foods containing sugar, preservatives, and trans fats can turn on a cascade of inflammatory processes that ultimately lead to disease.

WHAT DO YOU NOTICE ABOUT THESE 2 PHOTOS?

Unfortunately, so much of what is available to us today in terms of nutrition, is not really even considered “food” – it’s not healthy, it is not nourishing, and a lot of it is not real. Think about it – with the vast accessibility we have to grocery stores in America we also happen to be the sickest and the fattest nation in the world.

The food industry doesn’t make our job as consumers easy. Have you ever noticed that unhealthy foods are cheaper and more accessible than healthy foods?  Why is it easier to buy sugary, processed snacks rather than local, organic produce? Why is it if you walk into a McDonalds with $5 you can either buy 5 hamburgers or 1 salad? Health is dictated by value not quality!

A marketplace saturated with low-quality food, conflicting dietary advice, and a population of sick, overweight people is the result of such confusion. And many people turn to prescription drugs to fix their poor health.

For some reason, we are conditioned to think that taking a pill out of a bottle will make us feel.

We don't generally think that fresh vegetables and fruit count toward healing. But it's true, food is the most powerful drug we have. So, really consider what quality and choice of food you are feeding your body.

Please pay attention to what you eat and how it feels in your body; get to know your healing foods. You will find that food offers much more than calories. It offers your ticket to a nutritious, long, and healthy life.

So, let’s explore a few final thoughts:

What are you missing in your life that prevents great health from being an everyday occurrence?
What are 3 things you can begin to do now for your health that will make a difference?  

What you put into your body determines not only your happiness but 
your energy levels and cravings.
Fueling yourself with wholesome, nourishing goodness is going to support you
in living your biggest, best, and fullest life possible.

If you eat junk you are going to feel like junk.

It’s that simple!

I help my clients get in touch with their body and 
understand what their body needs.

Everyone is different and it’s important you

know and listen to your own body.

My Wellness Counts