The Things That Feed Us.

When we think about getting healthy, most people turn to diet changes and excessive exercise routines. We collectively as humans have been brainwashed to the idea that healthy looks a certain way. The to be healthy, you have to weigh a certain amount. Woman, and young girls especially fall victim to this dangerous mind trap.

In reality, being healthy has nothing to do with the way you look. But rather the way you feel. The Health industries have lied to the public, and made millions of dollars marketing fad diets, and quick fixes to a problem it created. That problem is disease. Disease and sickness is at an all time high in America. More then 0ne and 10 adults in the USA, who are aged 20 and over have diabetes. It is estimated that this year alone, over 606,500 people in the USA will die from cancer. No one ever talks about this! While we all are protesting black lives matter, no one advocates against the biggest silent killer.

The medical industries are in my opinion, a direct influencer of those statistics. They purposefully leave gaps in education, and are clouded with misinformation when it comes to Proper nutrition and basic body chemistry.

What we are told is this: Health is all about the foods that feed us. Eat a balanced meal. lots of fruit and veggies and proteins, and less sugary foods and sweets. That if we ate right and got enough exercise we would be healthy.

What we are not told is this: The foods the feed us, is not just the ones we eat. Taking care of our mental and spiritual nutrition is vastly more important then just the physical foods we eat.

Sure eating the right foods that fuel our bodies will make us feel like a million bucks, and is encourage by most health care professionals.

But what we are lacking is the understanding that Nutrition stretches' to the things we desire.

Im talking about the things we don't eat, like spirituality, hobbies, body movement, stress management and our relationships.

These things absolutely play a role in overall health and wellness, and can even be the key to fighting back against diseases.

Lets start by looking at spirituality. According to a study done in 2001, That examined the relationship between health and spirituality, concluded a positive correlation between religion and physical and mental health. Over 79% of adult Americans believe that having a spiritual practice can help you heal and recover from illness and disease. Having a spiritual practice for some helps reduce anxieties of day to day life. Helps, inspire feelings of connection to the world around them. spirituality is in many ways a positive alterative to the harsh realities we deal with everyday. Many find peace and comfort in spirituality, And the strength to continue on their paths- to over all wellness.

Next Hobbies, provide and positive, and productive outlet for many people. According to Headtohealth.Gov Hobbies are purposeful activities That can improve your mental health and wellbeing. People with hobbies are less likely to suffer from stress, low moods, depression and anxiety. Hobbies can bring about feels of relaxation and happiness.

Body movement, is the simple act of moving your body. It is well documented that staying stagnant and still actually cause free radicals to spike in your body. It reduces your ph levels, turning your body more acidic. This allows for prime breading of Bactria and viruses that can cause cellular destruction to occur in the body. Giving our body motion, not only helps to keep our waistlines, but can reduce stress, depression, Can reduce risks of infections, By boosting our immune systems and can fight against cancer. Our bodied were designed to move.

Stress management is a big one. Its so easy to feel high levels of stress in our society. Its almost unavoidable. Not many people know what stress can do to your body. The Stress hormone, or cortisol comes from your liver, and it sends signals all over your body to prepare to jump into what is widely called "Fight of Flight" mode. This was useful when we were hunters and gathers. It helped us protect ourselves against dangers. But now is more or less annoying. We live in a cush world, yet we seem to have more and more stress then ever before. High levels of cortisol can lead to depression, cancers and heart disease. Managing stress, has shown to reduce these, and improve cognitive function.

Lastly, Our relationships in life. These are the soul connections we make. Having deep routed connection to others around us, is a primitive desire imprinted on our DNA. We as a species love to be social. We actually need it to survive. Studies done on infants, where one experienced large amounts of social interaction, and the other received little to none, prove that our relationships with people are a key factor to our health and our survival. The one infant that didn't have socialization- by the end of the study was, weaker, sicker and lethargic compared to the one who did have social interactions. Both infants received the same amount of food, water and hygiene routines.

Over all- Health is relative to the individual. But the take away, is that its not definitive on just food, and exercise. Being healthy means so much more then the fad diets, and the self help books you read. Its a whole ecosystem, and should be treated as such. Our healthcare system has failed the people, by not educating them on the massive importance of the foods that feed us. And how food- doesn't just mean the bag of Doritos you inhale while binge watching cupcake wars. Its everything that inhibits us. The good and the bad, and our health is simply the reaction we get from it.

At the end of the day, we are in charge of our bodies, and our health. Its up to us to make sure we take care of it accordingly. There is no diet that works for all people, just as there is not a single way of thinking that works for every person. Its a unique journey. A journey that can move mountains.