A few nights, immersed in piles of homework, I got somewhat distracted by the Internet… as even the best of us often do. Sufficiently side-tracked, I came across an article from one of my favorite health contributors to the Huffington Post. The article, entitled “30 Things I know About Health Now That I’m 30”, got me thinking about some of the best little healthy living tidbits of wisdom I’ve acquired (through trial and error) over the years and through my own experiences. So, here is my abridged and not-quite-as-well-titled contribution on this topic:
“12 Things I Know About Health Now That I’m Not-Quite-30”
1. Physical Health is Mental Health
There’s nothing quite as bad for your body as that nasty little thing nagging us all: stress. Studies show a definitive link between stress and a variety of physical problems. All in all, stress lowers immune system function. So, you can stop blaming your body for “catching every cold” or feeling tired all the time and ask yourself: “am I spending way too much energy stressing out”? If so, actively work to de-stress. Take a small chunk out of each day for a few minutes of relaxation in whatever form you like best.
2. Calories Don’t Matter
Whaaaaat? If your head just exploded reading that line, you’re probably not alone. I could go on in great detail about this, but here’s the basic beak down: an avocado is calorically pretty high. A chocolate 100-cal snack-cake is calorically pretty low. Your avocado grew on this earth, without ever once encountering any strange ingredients; no one ‘made’ that avocado in a lab, factory, warehouse, etc. Going back to the 100-cal snack-cake: try to read all those ingredients on the label. Bet you can’t pronounce or identify half of them. Calories aren’t what matters here. Ingredients matter. Read the ingredient label before noting the calories. If you can pronounce all the ingredients and literally are able to form a mental picture of what the ingredient looks like (flour, salt, brown rice, chili pepper, eggs, etc) it’s way better for you no matter if the food contains 10 calories or 300. Be logical here, do you really want 100-cals of any food that you can’t identify? Are those 100-cals even food or just some chemical processing done in a lab?
3. Eat Your Greens
I used to hate most veggies. As a life-long picky eater, (oops) I used to give dirty looks to just about every leafy green veggie that crossed my path. Now, I try to be a little more accommodating; leafy greens are nutritional power-houses. Even if they look scary, they shouldn’t be neglected. You can start slow: add mild-tasting baby spinach to your salads and sandwiches or blend up some kale with bananas and berries – you can’t’ you spinach to your salads oaccomodating.bf any food that you can’.
4. Drink Tea
Tea is so great health-wise, packed with antioxidants, but there is also something so calming about drinking a mug of tea. It feels like a treat mid-afternoon and puts you right to sleep at night. I also am partial to “Yogi” brand tea because they have pretty awesome little words of wisdom on each tea-bag tag.
5. Read More
It’s hard to read for pleasure in college because generally your brain capacity gets maxed out three textbooks into the semester. But the boring-ness that is often textbooks often makes us forget how great reading for pleasure really is. Magazine articles, a certain blog, paper-back crime novels – whatever it may be, carve out some time to read non-school related material. it might take 2 months to get through a book – but that is perfectly ok!
6. Find Exercise You Enjoy
Don’t ellipticize because everyone else does. Don’t think “I have to be a runner”. I, for one, am most certainly not a runner. A mile here, a mile there – fine. The thought of running a marathon? Makes me wanna die. When I used to exercise in ways I assumed I was “supposed to”, going to the gym was a chore. Now, I flat-out enjoy lots of varieties of exercise. Pilates, yoga, occasional fitness classes, strength training, HIIT workouts – they are all actually fun for me, so those are the exercises I tend to do. Find any form of exercise that doesn’t make you dread a working out and your body and mind will thank you.
7. Take Breaks
Take breaks from studying, from shopping trips, from gyming it, from late nights at the bar. It’s all about balance, and in college it is far too easy to get burnt out or over-whelmed without even really knowing it. If you get really consumed doing one thing, switch it up a little. And don’t feel bad about taking breaks from anything.
8. Stop Waiting Til The Last Minute – Yes, Seriously
My undergrad was consumed with this. I put off any and every assignment I could. Then I’d have one or two days either filled with far more stress than necessary, or I would simply end up with lackluster work because I didn’t invest any significant time in that particular assignment/exam/etc. Planning ahead can really only benefit you. Your final product work-wise is much cleaner, and your stress level will go down exponentially. Think you’re someone who “does better when you work at the last minute”? Yeah, we all say that. You’d probably do pretty phenomenal if you gave yourself a wider window of time, too.
9. Find Something Little (and inexpensive) You Truly Enjoy
I really like candles. I buy too many candles. I burn candles, many of them, every evening. I don’t know why I enjoy them, but I do. So, I indulge myself even though they aren’t purchases I “really need to make”. Find something you really enjoy that makes it feel as if you’re ‘treating yourself’. Sometimes, it really is all about the little things.
10. Try Yoga – At Least Just Once
Proponents of yoga will tell you there is nothing like it; it feels amazing, clears your mind, gives you a rockin’ strong bod, etc. If you aren’t a yogi at heart, that’s ok – we aren’t all into the same types of exercise (see #6). Yoga is a whole different ballgame of exercise. It is both relaxing and energizing and so yoga really is something you have to give a shot at least once. Because… well… there really is nothing like it.
11.Find Out Where Your Food Comes From
Ignorance is not always bliss. You don’t have to be a vegetarian, a vegan, or an-anything in terms of diet. But you should take the time to think about how the food in your grocery store or on your plate ended up there. I shed the desire to hold on to a “label” for myself in terms of food a long time ago. But I am particular about what I eat in terms of where it comes from. I don’t eat cow dairy, red meat, or non-organic white meat. I also try to look out for organic and/or local produce, and when it is not un-godly expensive, buy it over conventional produce. This is for multiple, personal reasons and I do not mean to imply you should do the same. However, I made this personal eating choice largely in part due to where food comes from. Check out “The Omnivores Dilemma” and “Diet for a New America”. Knowing where your food comes from isn’t about dieting, losing weight, or anything along those lines. It’s about making informed decision about your own body, because chances are a good majority of what you are actually eating, you aren’t aware you’re eating.
12. Be kind – Primarily to Yourself
There’s always a lot of talk about negative self-image, especially in reference to our population: younger females. We do it to others, yes, but a lot of times we do it to ourselves. We criticize our own abilities, looks, opinions, behaviors, and actions. We write things off as “I just don’t look good in that” or “I’ve never been good at that subject”. Stop telling yourself you “can’t” or you just “aren’t”. You can do anything you want, and excusing this away isn’t getting you anywhere. Be nice to yourself, cut yourself a little slack, and certainly don’t tell other people all the things you’re bad at or don’t do well with.
If you want to check out the article that inspired this response, go to:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/meredith-melnick/health-lessons-for-young-women_b_1965656.html