Wellness is the sum total of  physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. These areas are all intertwined. This means that our mental health can and will effect our physical health. Over the next several days, I will discuss each of these and then put it all together. For today lets look at physical health. 

How do you know if you are really “well?” How can you tell?

Our physical health is based on family history (genes) and life style choices that we make. You can’t do much about your family history. However, you do have choice about how you live, what you put into your body that will have a huge impact on you health now and as you age. You have choice in the area of diet, exercise and your daily practices.

Nutrition is feeding the body. You are charged with providing the body with all the necessary food, vitamins, minerals so that it can thrive.

Lets look at eating habits. You are a product of what you eat. So, what are you eating? Are you eating wholesome organic local foods (meats, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fruits) that are filled with natural vitamins and minerals? Or are you eating packaged fortified processed foods?

I will tell you that whole foods, eaten in or near their natural state with minimal cooking is the best way the get the vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Eat a wide variety of foods to ensure that you get all the natural supplements you body needs.

 Processed foods may fill you up with volume but not with the nutrients your body needs. The “fortified” part of this food is synthetic vitamins or minerals in a form which the body doesn’t recognize. Pretty much wasted effort.

Do you take in more calories that your body needs? Meaning, are you gaining weight? One hundred calories a day more or less will equate out to 10# a year. This isn’t about eating the occasional big meal, it is about the daily soda pop or candy bar that will do you in.  See if there is one small item you can drop from you diet on a daily basis. You might be surprised!

Are you supplementing you diet with vitamins and minerals. From my perspective, the best source of vitamins is whole foods. With our extreme American diet, we might not be getting what we need from our foods. Pick wholesome vitamins and minerals Such as Shaklee and Young Living Essential Oils. The cheap vitamins in the supermarkets are mostly synthetic and the body can’t use them. You will have expensive urine. Depending on what you eat, you may not be getting the nutrients you need. You may not look sick, and you may not have any noticeable symptoms of ill-health, but you’re not the well individual you could be.

Do you exercise? Regularly? I hope so. If you do not have some kind of regular exercise practice you are not as healthy as you think that you are. Everyone, no matter what their age, benefits from exercise.  It keeps the body conditioned, contributes to mental sharpness, gives a boost to heart and immune health, extra calorie burn, and more oxygen to those cells! Exercise also helps our balance and agility which will protect us from fall related injuries as we age.

Fitness requires us to examine more than just our exercise routine.  The mere definition of fitness refers to the body’s ability to meet physical stresses. That includes coping with our day to day life, getting from the beginning of the day to the end, without being worn completely out. Can you walk up a flight of stairs without being short of breath? How about a hill? If you can’t, check with you doctor to rule out any physical issues such as heart disease. Once you are cleared, start exercising. Slowly at first then increase you routine. 

I am a fan of massage. Massages are the best cure for ridding our bodies of the stress buildup that can occur, help with sore muscles, chronic pain and poor range of motion. Try a massage.

January is a great month to review your health habits. The choice is yours. Choose you food and exercise wisely. Choose Health. Your life depends on it.

Would you like a free report that includes tips for weight loss, some very interesting food facts and more? Click here. It is yours. Here’s to a new healthy you, one healthy choice at a time.

Blessings, Mary Pat

Mary Pat FitzGibbons RN MS