It's All About Health & Wellbeing

Health & Wellbeing

When I Started my website/blog about wellbeing and health, it led me to ask the question, “What exactly is wellbeing, and how does one translate the correct meaning to the reader?” Dictionaries are often great places to start for general definitions:

Well-be·ing [wel-bee-ing] noun -a good or satisfactory condition of existence; a state characterized by health, happiness, and prosperity; welfare: to influence the well-being of the nation and its people.

Health [helth] noun -1. the general condition of the body or mind with reference to soundness and vigor: good health; poor health.  2. soundness of body or mind; freedom from disease or ailment: to have one's health; to lose one's health.  3. a polite or complimentary wish for a person's health, happiness, etc., especially as a toast: We drank a health to our guest of honor.  4. vigor; vitality: economic health.

These definitions are simple, easy, and to the point, yet not quite the definition we have come to recognize in today’s alternative health circles. But, when browsing the Internet; we need to remember to take a lot of what’s out there with a grain of salt. Amazingly enough, a definition was found that captured the very essence of today’s holistic culture:

Health and Wellbeing - more than just good health, wellbeing describes a state of wellness of body, mind and soul, where all are in a state of health, the individual is happy and prospering. Wellbeing is not available by prescription, there is no one path and many different roads can be taken to arrive there.¹
     It is true, health and wellbeing when put together become one entire picture, and seems to better capture today’s view of alternative health. When separate, the aforementioned dictionary definitions seem to keep that picture in pieces.

One may further ask: “What is wellness?” Yet another good question!  Here are some ideas on the subject-
According to Wikipedia², wellness can take two paths, the Alternative Medicine (this topic will be covered in a later article), and the scientific, Western medicine outlook. Science states that wellness is defined as: health, freedom from disease.  Not a bad description. In alternative or holistic practice, the meaning expands: generally used to mean a healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being.
Both meanings are correct, but we mustn’t leave out the dictionary definition:
well·ness [wel-nis] noun -1. the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort.  2. an approach to healthcare that emphasizes preventing illness and prolonging life, as opposed to emphasizing treating diseases.

When speaking of total health and wellbeing, one must consider the inside as well as the outside. You may well have a totally sculpted, organically-fed package with which to look upon, but your inside; your spirit, or soul, and/or mental capacity, could be found wanting.

While having good physical health is certainly not a crime, it is only part of the whole picture we are trying to paint. When you add good mental health practices, maybe some deep breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, anger management, to name a few, along with a stable spiritual awareness, delve into meditation, research healing prayer perhaps, and please remember proper nutrition, it is vital to the operation of your entire system; mind, body, and spirit- all of this is what defines the essence of contemporary alternative wellness, or a state of wellbeing.

1. http://www.wellbeingspot.com/
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellness_%28alternative_medicine%29

All About Healthy Food!

A simple dictionary definition probably won’t give the answer to this question enough merit, though- we can give it a whirl and see what Old Webster has to say:

Examples of Healthy Foods

Health·y [hel-thee] adjective, health·i·er, health·i·est.  -1. possessing or enjoying good health or a sound and vigorous mentality: a healthy body; a healthy mind. 2. pertaining to or characteristic of good health,  or a sound and vigorous mind: a healthy appearance; healthy attitudes. 3. conducive to good health;  healthful: healthy recreations. 4. prosperous or sound: a healthy business. 5. Informal . fairly large: I bought a healthy number of books.

Food [food] noun  -1. any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc. 2. more or less solid nourishment, as distinguished from liquids. 3. a particular kind of solid nourishment: a breakfast food; dog food. 4. whatever supplies nourishment to organisms: plant food. 5. anything serving for consumption or use: food for thought.
Defining healthy seems about right, though there could be a disagreement with the Semantics of the definition of food, but- for the most part, it is correct.  What are the Semantics in the definition of food that cause a problem? That food is still nourishing and sustains life, not all of it does- these days especially.
In just a few words, to sum up healthy foods for contemporary times, it would read:

Fruits (preferably organic), vegetables (again, organic), non-packaged, non-processed, chemical free, meat; intake at less meals per day than vegetables, oils; high in essential fatty acids as opposed to hydrogenated, or partially-hydrogenated. No Genetically Modified Organisms¹ or Engineering. -This topic will be covered in a later article, and there is plenty of information to be had on the subject if one is looking.  Are you following so far? Good.

In this day and age of people actually not knowing what healthy food is, the question begs to be asked: “Why do we not know this?” In short, because labels have become very deceiving. It can be difficult to know whether we are in fact eating something that will sustain our lives, or land us in the hospital. But, guaranteed, if your food is pre-mixed, and in a package that touts itself as being “healthy” or “natural,” the food inside that package is more than likely neither. It has been processed to DEATH. No nutritional value left. Hence an epidemic of obese, UNDER-NOURISHED humans.

Becoming a conscientious label reader is paramount. The rule of thumb for reading labels (that works for my healthy lifestyle) goes as such: If there is more than five or six ingredients listed, and if you cannot pronounce one or more (or any) of them- should this be consumed? The answer should be a resounding no, but often, gets swept under the carpet. While it seems logical enough to ME, the logic often times falls short on the general public.

We want to believe all food is healthy, or good for us. We want to give companies the benefit of the doubt, and there is no crime in that. One question to consider while trying to give the benefit of the doubt: Why are there so many sick people around me?  The word "sick" is a very broad subject as well, sick encompasses physical, mental, and emotional; believe it or not. While taking all of that into consideration, as you read the label of your tater tots, question why there are so many different chemicals in them. After asking this question, if you still are concerned, further ask: "Whose interests are being served by these companies who are selling chemicals and passing them off as healthy?" If you are not outraged, you are not paying attention!

Question everything. If it does not sit well with you, or does not make sense, it is more than likely not healthy food, and at that point, you have the choice whether to consume it or not.

1. http://www.organicconsumers.org/

Links of Interest on this subject:
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/
http://organicconsumers.org/
http://www.fooduciary.com/issues/2013/06-06-2013.html

Healthy Urban Kitchen Cookbook- Click Here!

To Exercise or Not? Just DO IT!

Exercise Benefit Cycle

In order to best explain exercise and the benefits thereof, there are copious amounts of information on the
web to explain in better detail the point being made. Comparing four articles on the web (yes only four so far), we can see that though they may be worded differently, they all agree that exercise may be the key to a longer, more happy, definitely healthier life.

It seems that exercise may be able to ward off different kinds of diseases, such as Osteoporosis, Type II Diabetes, Depression (yes, that is a dis-ease), and High Blood Pressure among others. When sitting on the couch flipping through channels on the old television day in and day out, one would hope that the thought of getting up, getting out, and getting moving would occur.  The sad realization, when we read statistics on this subject is: the majority of Americans are not moving.

Doesn’t it seem like a simple fix to keep from being in the hospital? Eating right, getting off the couch and getting outside?  While it may seem like a simple fix to me, there are plenty of people, apparently, who don’t see it that way. A really good question to ask would be, Why? Many answers could be conjectured, but, the bottom line is, people have their reasons for doing what they do (or NOT doing). While most might call them reasons, could those reasons not be seen as excuses? And as I always say: "When you run out of excuses why NOT to do something, the reasons to just DO IT will show up."

“What if someone told you that a thinner, healthier, and longer life was within your grasp? Sound too good to be true? According to a wealth of research, exercise is the silver bullet for a better quality of life.
Not only does regular exercise aid in weight loss, it reduces your risk for several chronic diseases and conditions. Finding activities that you enjoy and that become part of your daily routine is the key to a long and healthy life. The list of health benefits is impressive, and the requirements are relatively simple -- just do it.”   http://www.medicinenet.com/benefits_of_exercise/article.htm

“How Physical Activity Impacts Health
Regular physical activity that is performed on most days of the week reduces the risk of developing or dying from some of the leading causes of illness and death in the United States.
• Reduces the risk of dying prematurely.
• Reduces the risk of dying prematurely from heart disease.
• Reduces the risk of developing diabetes.
• Reduces the risk of developing high blood pressure.
• Helps reduce blood pressure in people who already have high blood pressure.
• Reduces the risk of developing colon cancer.
• Reduces feelings of depression and anxiety.
• Helps control weight.
• Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints.
• Helps older adults become stronger and better able to move about without falling.
• Promotes psychological well-being.”       http://www.nutristrategy.com/health.htm

“When we talk about exercise, we nearly always refer to physical exercise. Exercise is the physical exertion of the body - making the body do a physical activity which results in a healthy or healthier level of physical fitness and both physical and mental health. In other words, exercise aims to maintain or enhance our physical fitness and general health.”            http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153390.php
"Health Benefits of Exercise and Physical Activity:

• Reduce the risk of premature death
• Reduce the risk of developing and/or dying from heart disease
• Reduce high blood pressure or the risk of developing high blood pressure
• Reduce high cholesterol or the risk of developing high cholesterol
• Reduce the risk of developing colon cancer and breast cancer
• Reduce the risk of developing diabetes
• Reduce or maintain body weight or body fat
• Build and maintain healthy muscles, bones, and joints
• Reduce depression and anxiety
• Improve psychological well-being
• Enhanced work, recreation, and sport performance"         http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/benefits.html

These excerpts from the websites I have linked for you may entice you to look further into each article, I hope they do- then ask yourself this: “Why am I not exercising?” Just do it. Would you rather continue to be power-less, consumed with your excuses? How about power-full, full of reasons why you have gotten up and moved! Again, the choice is yours, make it a good one, one you can live better with!

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