How well can you get?

When you have toothache your attention is almost completely taken up by the pain. At this time, perfect health would be not having that toothache.

What we forget are the day-to-day discomforts which are barely considered illness, like back pain, headaches, blocked sinuses and sore feet. These are so commonplace that they are almost considered normal. We have forgotted about wellness.

And wellness can also drastically slow down the ageing process!

Let us go back to basic principles

When high performance cars race, the owners ensure that such things as fuel, tyres, lubricants, maintenance and tuning are the very best available because they can account for the small margin that wins and loses races.

We are nearly all born with ‘high performance’ bodies. If we regard our bodies as ‘high performance’ cars, are we doing our best to ensure peak performance? Is the fuel we put in the most suitable or just whatever is conveniently available? Do we clean the mechanisms regularly to ensure they are in peak working condition? Do we listen to the varying demands of our bodies to find out what they need at a particular time and give it to them?

It is possible to improve so many things about body performance that you can turn it (gradually) from an under performing jalopy to high performance racing car.

But what about long term illnesses and growing older, we hear you say?

Good questions! There are debilitating long term illnesses which are capable of blighting a person’s life. However, unless you are diagnosed with a chronic (long term) illness by the age of 21, virtually all subsequent illness is self-inflicted!

This view may seem controversial but if you are open -minded you may come to agree with it. The good news is that, even if we have acquired these illnesses because of our innocence, ignorance or self-neglect, they are potentially reversible once you know more about how the body really works.

How can you start to achieve wellness?

Listen to your body

Have you ever felt a strong impulse to consume an apple or an orange, or some other food you rarely eat? The body knows that particular foods will provide something it needs. The most familiar experience of this is the cravings pregnant women have for certain foods. Our bodies have developed this knowledge through evolution over hundreds of thousands of years.

Today however, bodies can become confused with modern food combinations and additives which have only been around for a few years. In desperation to find particular nutrients, your body may eat everything available in the hope that it will find the missing nutrient that will enable it to solve particular problems. Instead of responding to everyone of your cravings, simply notice them.

Start keeping track

Keep a diary. Not necessarily of what you eat, but of what you crave, when you crave it and where you crave it.You may notice a pattern - for many people mid-morning, mid-afternoon, just before dinner and around 10pm are times when a craving will hit. If you track these you will be able to look at your diet more closely and see what may be lacking.

Get into a healthy eating routine

Your body has been fine tuned over 150m years of evolution. It needs oils, vitamins, fibre, antioxidants etc. It likes set patterns and knowing what it is getting when. And this gives you two problems.

1. The modern world is reactive. It requires you to adapt, change and respond instantly to demands whilst dragging our body along for the ride. Missed lunches, breakfast on the go, irregular meal times all put a stress on your body as it tries to work out a pattern to fit in with.

2. The body tries to adapt quickly and become efficient at managing that pattern. So if you live a high octane life of late nights, fatty foods and missed meals your body will conform to this pattern, making it harder for you to get out of it.

So to improve your wellness, get into the habit of consistent set meal times.