Awareness

I believe that we are not only capable of experiencing good health, but that we should expect to experience excellent health. What exactly does that mean? For starters, the absence of disease- high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity. But also, much more than that. Excellent health makes us feel great, every day.

This is a foreign concept to many of us. Lets face it, it is generally accepted to be tired, stressed, overwhelmed, irregular, and addicted to caffeine. The Starbucks cup has become such a status symbol of the suburban mom, the driven executive, the struggling student, that we can even purchase an environmentally friendly ceramic replica. So even if we are drinking Kool Aid, we can pretend we are just as fashionable as the next bean head.

But if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, please take heart- these are not natural. These are warning signals. If you were to see your general practitioner for any of these issues, you might go home with a recommendation for an over the counter pill, and a reassurance that you are just fine, just like everyone else. But problems like irregularity, chronic fatigue, and irritability are symptoms of living a life contrary to our bodies needs. While it may manifest itself as inconvenient or annoying today, if the underlying cause is ignored, the problem will manifest itself as debilitating disease tomorrow.

Unfortunately, many of us experience what I call 'symptom overload'. A combination of issues, such as chronic exhaustion, irritability, indigestion, creeping weight gain, that leads us feeling generally 'yucky'. No one symptom is dominant over another, so they all get lost in the mix, and we can't define what the real issue is, just that we don't feel good. Worse yet, we become so used to feeling this way, and treating each symptom with a pill or drink, that this 'yucky' becomes our normal and we don't even realize we are feeling poor.

Eastern medicine places great emphasis on close observation of these subtle signs, and teaches us to be acutely aware of our bodies' reactions to input- those things we put into our bodies, and those things that take from our bodies. Food, supplements, exercise, stress, bad relationships, smoking, etc. This approach encourages excellent health by eliminating the confusion brought on by symptom overload, and allows us to make changes appropriately.

Excellent health begins with being aware of the things that we do that add to our health, and those things we do that detract from our health. The most obvious of these is the food that we feed our bodies. When asked, 'what have you eaten over the last 24 hours', the majority of people will underestimate the "bad" things they have eaten, overestimate the "good" foods they have eaten, and underestimate the total amount of food eaten in general. In order to gain a true perspective of how well you are feeding your body, try keeping a journal. In your journal, document the times you eat, what you have eaten, whether you were hungry, or eating for some other reason. Also take the time to notice how you feel during your meal. Does it taste good? Why did you choose that food? How do you feel when you leave the table, 30 minutes later, an hour to two hours later?

After 3 or 4 days, assess your own diet. Are you getting at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables? Do you have a variety of foods? Have you been consuming more snack foods than "real" foods? Do you eat three meals a day? Do you skip meals?

It is only after true evaluation of your own habits that you can become aware of your need to change. Awareness is the first step in the journey to excellent health.