It Matters

My wife and I had opportunity to watch the documentary “FoodMatters” recently.  It’s not the first time we’ve watched it.  I would recommend it as a worthy use of your time. 

By the way, if you use Netflix, it's an instant watch.

The main premise is that we are not eating as we should and that, as a culture, we neglect vitamins and vitamin supplements in favor of anti-biotics.  We make these choices even when more natural methods would work.  It explores this culture of ours and the predisposition we have toward the use of medicine. 

Yet I walked away with a different impression as I watched it this time around.  As usual, I thought about all the ways in which I need to improve my health and that of my family.  I thought about the foods I should be eating, the vitamins I should be supplementing, and the nutrients I should be seeking out.  And, as usual, I was overwhelmed and ate a bowl of ice cream to feel better.

It did help by the way.

This time, though, I thought of all the stuff I’m not doing, and then asked myself why I wasn’t doing any of it?  To put it another way, I asked myself what I could start doing now.  How could I improve my health right now?  I’ve learned much over the years about healthy living.  I’ve found that there is one thing that all the health experts agree on.  They all agree that we need to be healthier.

But that’s where the agreement stops.

There is no magic pill, no silver bullet that will lead to good health.  It has to start small.  After watching the movie, I decided to take some vitamin C supplements and eat more foods that contain C.  Why?  Simply put, we’re in the cold/flu season.  Why not take some preventative measure before I get sick?  This is a no brainer, but I wasn’t doing it.  So now I am. 

Living a healthy lifestyle in modern America is difficult. 

Did you just read that statement?  Did it strike you as odd?  It should.  Here we are in one of the richest countries in the world.  We throw away more rotten and out date foods than some countries will even be able to produce.  We have access to, and the means to buy, fruits and vegetables.  We have whole aisles at the store committed to vitamins.  We have entire stores dedicated to healthy living.  Yet we are a people who read about healthy living more than we live healthy.

Why? 

I submit to you that we are a lazy people.  I know I am.  Here’s an example:  I ordered coffee (yes, I buy it online, yes I am a coffee snob) and forgot to specify that I needed it ground.  I don’t have a grinder.  So each morning I am painstakingly grinding my own beans with a mortar and pestle (As a side note, it tastes absolutely fabulous.  Not sure why the mortar and pestle makes a difference, but it does). Even as I grind, I’m thinking I should just buy a grinder, you know, and then use it every time I order.  Yet as I sit and think about this now, it takes me approximately 5 minutes in the early morning to grind the coffee fresh.  But that 5 minutes is more than I want to spend.  That’s because I’m lazy.  This laziness translates to my health choices.  I know what I should and should not be eating, but McDonald’s has already prepared it.  I know how much I should and should not be eating, but there’s more food piled high on the table.  So I indulge….every single day.  If I indulged only once in a while, say once a week, I would be in good shape.  But I don’t.  I indulge every day.

But I don’t have to.  And you don’t either.

Start today.  Let me know what you choose to do.  No matter how healthy you are, no matter how natural your food choices, do something more.  Do just one more thing.  Do it today.  Tell others.  Take one step at a time toward pulling away from the indulgence that is all around us.  It may not be easy, but in the long run, it will be worth it.