As we go through our lives, especially as we age, we think about our mortality and put more emphasis on health advice. We read magazine articles that advise us what to eat, what to drink and how much we should consume. Morning and evening news broadcasts feature daily or weekly health tips that provide the latest nutritional information.
Visually stunning website blogs about wonderful state of the art mechanisms that will help us burn fat and achieve six pack abs. The media has shaped our philosophy of what is good for us. We have been drilled into our heads what we should do for our bodies based on countless laboratory experiments sponsored by corporate conglomerates.
But what about taking a more holistic approach to health advice? How about using common sense to listen to your body and learn what it specifically does or doesn’t need to be at its best? It sounds strange? Not if you put it in the right light.
Did you ever notice how specifically eating fried chicken livers gave you heartburn? Did you notice that when you specifically ate white rice instead of the healthier brown rice, you felt disgustingly bloated? Do you specifically remember eating a couple of oysters that made you nervously run to the nearest bathroom?
In each of these cases, you have specifically identified what your body doesn’t like. You listened to your body because it was savagely protesting the food you fed it. Now, remember the last time you ate an apple or chewed on a celery stick. Although it may have happened a long time ago, you don’t remember feeling anything, do you? She just went about her day, not thinking about how much her body appreciated a nutritious snack. Your body was silent because it was happy. You gave your body your own health tips without even realizing it!
It turns out that, for a growing number of people, it is not necessary to spend a lot of money to buy a lot of magazines to be very healthy. You don’t have to spend hours clicking through websites, one after another, staring at your monitor, trying to absorb every piece of health data you find. You just have to listen to your body and use common sense. There is no need to join a trendy gym. Cut out the perpetual beatings the media provides despite your best intentions and be your own source for health advice.
Each day brings a wealth of new or old advice seen from a different angle. You would go crazy trying to read and absorb them all. So what usually happens? You get tired and reach for a doughnut, tired of the incessant media barrage and walk away, looking for solace in sugars.
Take a moment and just remember that your body is your individuality. Those articles you see and hear are for the masses. Yes, they are there to help you, but take them only as a guide. When it comes down to it, the best health advice is the one you’ve gotten over the years of living your life.
See, your body will give you its own fitness advice, tell you what to eat and what to avoid. You just have to listen to those health tips!