Holistic Health:
Looking at the Bigger Picture
Every year on health day we see a lot of attention on the importance of clean eating. For most of us the focus of
health day then becomes solely what’s on our plate, and yet have you ever found
yourself focusing on your healthy eating, and sure you lose a few kilos but the
weight doesn’t really seem to move, your acne remains the same while your hair
loss just seems to be getting worse and not better?
Welcome to today’s biggest problem- the problem of hyper
focusing.
We zoom into one nutrient, one diet, and one aspect of our
lives all the while ignoring the bigger picture. We clean up our diets by
knocking out the toxic foods but never stop to consider the toxic emotions and
lifestyles we swim in. We load up on a supplement a friend told us about all in
the name of good health- but never think to cut back on those late night
Netflix sessions or deal with our stress in a more healthy way than after hours
TV. That’s why this health day we’re going to shake things up a little.
If you’ve never considered it before- consider it now- the
body is a complex interconnected series of systems all silently working
together to maintain a balance. When anyone system is compromised it’s up to
the others to pick up the slack and keep the show on the road (everything
working the way it should be). The damage you incur in one area of your life
inevitably spills over the others.
Those late nights add up and give you junk food cravings.
The weight piles on and gives you anxiety. The anger you hold on to stores up
and causes low-grade inflammation. The stress you keep avoiding keeps you
needing that weekend drink. The thirst you ignore makes you overeat.
It’s all connected, it always has been and it always will
be.
So instead of focusing on any one aspect- let's step back and
take a look at the bigger picture and the major pieces to the puzzle. You can
remember this with a simple acronym “for
perfect health we need to get everything off our C.H.E.S.T.S”
- Clean Eating
- Hydration
- Exercise
- Sleep
- Toxic Emotions
- Stress
Clean Eating
Eating clean doesn’t mean you have to put yourself on a
diet, sign up for Atkins or get yourself a customised plan. It can be as simple
as eating local foods when they are in season. Buying your vegetables from
local farmers instead of at the hyper-mart. Cutting back on the breakfast
cereals and waking up earlier to have something home cooked. Preplanning your
office meals to avoid ordering out.
To simplify it: Make sure you are eating as little outside
and or processed food as possible. This not only includes your favourite
restaurants ( bye-bye swiggy) but also anything that comes out of a packet or
is factory made- yes those so called health biscuits count too!
Hydration
We can’t stress the importance of water enough. With summer
just around the corner it’s now more than ever - important to keep those
bottles handy. Find water boring? Try drinking an infused water combination (or
try keeping a bottle of chia seeds handy to sprinkle into your bottle) in the
office.
Exercise
Why is it that for most of us the only time we think about
exercise is when we want to lose weight? Exercise has a tonne of other amazing
benefits like helping you retain muscle mass as you get older, keeping your
bones healthy. Getting your skin that cover magazine glow some studies even
show that it can boost brain health- helping you to think faster and remember
skills better.
Sleep
The simple act of sleeping may not seem like much but is
everything to your bodys maintenance cycle. At night while you’re far off in
dreamland- the body takes time to repair the wear and tear incurred during the
day. Think of the body as one large factory that works through the day- while
the night shift gets the plant ready for operation the next day. Its during
this time that the body regulates your hormones and even reduces inflammation.
When you cut into your sleep by spending 1 extra hour on Netflix- or giving
yourself only 5 hours to sleep a night- you are without knowing it cutting into
that much needed maintenance time.
Toxic emotions
This life is a wild unpredictable ride in which at some
point we experience negative situations and sometimes yes even people. These
sticky instances tend to fill us with fear, anxiety, may even get us riled up
and ready to give someone a piece of our mind- and while it’s not possible to
avoid these feelings- it is possible to deal with them in a healthy sustainable
manner.
Most people numb toxic emotions by treating it with either
psycho active substance (hello alcohol!) or self-consoling behaviours such as
comfort eating, smoking or even pure ignorance. While avoiding these feelings
may seem like the cleanest option- bottled feelings have a way of creeping out.
Try journaling, talk therapy or even exercise to deal with
frustrating feelings.
Stress
A lot like toxic emotions none of us can go through life
without incurring stress along the way. While stress is a natural response to
inevitable life events- here are a few tips to help you fight that fatigue:
1) Avoid too much caffeine- while you're stressed
reaching for a cuppa coffee may seem like a really refreshing thought too much
caffeine can unnecessarily stimulate your already over stimulated fight or
flight glands.
2) Try a relaxing floral or herbal tea- also known
as tisanes- these help you calm your nerves while also boosting your anti-inflammatory
response.
Perfect health is never possible- but that doesn’t mean we
should stop trying! Take care of the little things and trust me- they’ll add up
to big results.
Inputs by: Zenobia Chacko
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