We’re all aware that there are a multitude of positive choices you can make in favour of your health. The problem for many, is trying to maneuver the decisions as to which ones are most impactful. Even the healthiest of healthy sometimes struggle to know which of the top echelon of choices really lead the way. I’m here to tell you that even though health is about maintaining a significant number of reasonable and effective health practices, the single most effective choice you can make for you health today is focusing on proper nutrition.
Ensuring you are accessing, sourcing, preparing and consuming highly dense foods is the key to stacking the odds in your favour of not only improving your current health, but excelling it toward elevated levels. Although proper sleep and stress management are two key cornerstones of ensuring you’re continually propelling your health forward, imparting healthy dietary measures into your daily life truly is the leading anchor. For those who consider themselves ‘health challenged’ or far from being healthy, we already know that minimizing unhealthy risk factors are critical steps toward neutralizing your health. However far beyond eliminating ill health practices such as not smoking or excessively drinking, in order to take your health from the starting (neutral) line forward, it’s healthful dietary measures that lead the way.
Within the naturopathic medical profession, we know well that dietary habits largely contribute (if not predict) whether your life will lend itself to being healthy or not. As importantly, science is very clear that your dietary habits will contribute to at least one of two things. What are these two things I speak of now? It’s simple; unhealthy dietary choices create ill health and disease, while consuming nutrient dense, healthy foods, help create an abundance of health potential throughout a lifetime. Did you know that research clearly states that there are independent correlations between eating unhealthy and increasing chronic disease? And did you know that the opposite (consuming nutrient dense, pure whole foods) only encourages health away from disease and potentiates optimal health outcomes? Yes, everything we do for our health is vital toward playing a major role in overall health, however it’s the food you put into your body that ultimately determines how your health will unfold.
Let me lay out the value of diet in a very clear way for you here. Your body only functions based on nutrients, vitamins, minerals, water and a few other key necessities in life. If your body becomes devoid of any of these, it will dip into its ‘reserves’ for as long as it can. Regardless of how well you sleep, or how balanced your stress level is, if you don’t feed your body well, eventually it will stop working. Yes, there are certain life essentials that are created on their own in the body, however the body will only serve you for so long in the face of detrimental health practices and with the presence of a poor diet. Now some say ‘well I haven’t eaten a healthy food, vegetable or fruit for as long as I can remember’ or ‘I eat ultra processed meals every day of my life’. Well to those people, I am here to help (if or when they are ready), but I also stand firm that feeling well, living to their potential, having an abundance of energy, without pain, and the many other end-points that those who do feed themselves well are experiencing, will ultimately never be reached. Sure people who don’t eat well will live and survive, but who I am speaking to today are those people who want to give themselves the opportunity to live their best and thrive.
There is much to speak on regarding the value and benefit of making wise and healthy food choices as the top priority in your life, so the commentary today is simply here just to make you begin to think. So if you truly wish to further your health forward, follow my ongoing blog as we continue to explore this most effective choice you can ever make for your health today.
Dr Jeremy Hayman, ND helps patients at Cornerstone Naturopathic Inc. feel better, live better, and achieve optimal wellness and health. Years of patient care coupled with dedication to personal life balance has helped Dr Jeremy employ the adage that “your approach to health should be simple”.