Oh, were it so simple – but, human beings are not machines. Our bodies are not mass produced and parts cannot be easily replaced. Each one of us is an individual flower planted to grow and share within a field of our kind. You might see a field of Freeway Daisies, but upon close inspection, each daisy is different from the next.
Humankind is designed as an omnivore; our kind can eat from any of the food groups. However, some of us do better without grains, legumes, and dairy products due to arthritic conditions of the joints.
Others cannot digest heavy animal proteins for amino acids and must align our grains and legumes in order to reap the benefits of the amino acid chain.
Whether or not to live as an Omnivore, Carnivore, Vegetarian, or Fruitarian is dependent on numerous physical, philosophical, spiritual, and ethical factors. The first rule of any diet is that it is not a diet, it is a lifestyle and depends on our developing a dialogue with our bodies. If we fly from our early morning coffee and then nosedive into a mid-morning crash and burn we are not listening to the dialogue!
However, a few commonsense rules are good across the field:
Stay away from fast foods and sweet snacks.
Don't top your tank – eat medium sized portions. The stomach requires a little extra space to produce enzymatic juices, digest the food, and send it along on its journey. Censor your intellectual and emotional input at mealtime and eat slowly.
Drink plenty of water. Coffee, tea, soda pop, juices, wine, beer, and exercise formula drinks are not water. Only water is water!
Nutritional supplements are highly processed vitamins and minerals taken out of their natural context – they are not food. The human body is designed for food and water. If your physician tells you that your baselines are lacking in iron or calcium etc. then, and only then, should you be considering supplementation, and proper supplementation is an art and science that requires research before you swallow anything.
Eat the highest quality, freshest foods within your budget.
Exercise also requires listening to your body dialogue. Find the exercise program that leaves you feeling comfortably calm and emotionally light after a workout. If you feel sore, fine.
However, if you feel deep pains in your joints and your muscles shake; if you take more than seven to ten minutes for your heart and respiratory system to recuperate, and you are left feeling like a lead weight that can't move, listen to your body's warnings and make the appropriate changes.
Visit your physician before starting a new exercise routine and check for any contraindications.
Did you know that folks with glaucoma should not do exercises such as yoga positions that place the head lower than the heart?
While weight resistance programs can help to avoid low bone density, if you already have low bone density, running and weight resistance programs can be injurious.
If you have weak connective tissue in shoulders, elbows, or knees you will want to take care of committing those joints to repetitive movements such as biking or rowing.
Armed with the proper research and information, you empower yourself to make the best diet and exercise decisions for a healthy and active physical life.
Finally, we might choose alternative treatments, diets, and exercise programs – super! Let's be trail blazers. At the same time, we owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to make our decisions within a complementary structure of solid research and open communication with a knowledgeable physician.