I love getting people healthy, happy and doing what they love. But admittedly I have a love / hate relationship with the word healthy.
I adore the definition of health according to the World Health Organization:
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
This definition has not changed since 1948.
I also appreciate that health itself is a vehicle for other things in life – a long, active life with your grandkids, having the time and energy to enjoy your hobbies – with out pain, or agile travel and world exploration. Health itself isn’t that important but it is a vital part of getting you happy and doing what you love.
But here’s the confession. I cringe when my patients say they are eating healthy foods. (Tweet it!)
I’m a terrible poker player because I have a million tells so I hope I’m not giving my internal flinch away when I hear them say that.
Why the body willies? Well, I have come to learn and deeply respect that everyone has different foods that are healthy. For them. As individuals. What invokes calm sleeps, energized days, and perfect bowel movements in one might cause headaches, joint pain, or diarrhea in another.
And of course there are general healthy eating guidelines that are important to consider:
- More fiber-rich veggies,
- more water,
- clean produce,
- hormone / antibiotic free / free-ranging meats,
- no processed foods,
- more essential fatty acids,
- less nasty hydrogenated oils,
- and no, no, NO(!) food-like products.
These suggestions will take you fairly far in your get healthy, happy, and doing what you love journey. But only so far. Eventually you’re going to have to learn what is healthy for YOU.
Working with my patients over the years has really reaffirmed my understanding of individual self-care. Eighty-five percent of people will react to the following “healthy” foods:
- salmon
- black beans
- oatmeal
- greek yoghurt
- asparagus
- turkey
- egg whites
When I say react I mean gain weight – a potent market of acute and chronic inflammation.
Only 5% of people will react to chickpeas. I’m one of those lucky folks. You can put on a sad face for me because I can’t enjoy hummus with out a tonne of gut pain and gaining a pound.
But!
I’m also one of the 15% of people who DOESN’T react to salmon.
Your body is unique. Repeat. YOUR body is unique.
There is no “healthy” one size fits all. Nope. And I’m okay with that. It certainly keeps my job interesting. I mean think about it. If there was one solution for everyone… don’t you think we’d all be doing it?
So I want you to find YOUR healthy. Maybe you do awesome eating cauliflower, but tomatoes make you break out in hives and gain 2 pounds. Both we consider, generally, to be “healthy foods.”
What is healthy in general is not good enough for you. I want your best for you. What do you want for you?
If you’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, no worries. I can help.
To your healthy-for-you, thriving, delightful life,
