There is no shortage of theories about what it means to be healthy or to take care of your health these days. The fact that the range of novelties and trends is already enormous, and now 2020 added something else to the pile: How to be healthy in the midst of a pandemic? What does it look like to be healthy in our ‘new normal’?
Every day, a new trend emerges, and what was once labeled healthy, now science says you can’t be sure. When we ask ourselves what it means to be healthy, the answer is full of paradoxes, making it all too confusing.
What food should we eat? But is it really natural? What does “natural” mean, anyway? Why choose organic? Do we pay more if it’s local? Is it salt-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, wheat-free, lactose-free? Have you checked to see if what you consume is not tested on animals? Is it cruelty-free, plastic-free and biodegradable?
You’ve probably already asked yourself at least some of these questions and that is normal, since we live in a world where we are saturated with “information overload” 24/7.
A homeopath once recommended that I take an oatmeal bath to help improve my allergy symptoms. I thought he was joking, but he wasn’t.
Just recently green tea was the cure-all, then it was quinoa. Last year, valerian was the solution to sleep, but today, it’s melatonin.
Don’t forget about the many miracles of coconut oil, then chia seeds quickly took the stage. Oh – and then there was grapefruit seed extract.
Suddenly, the fountain of youth was found in aloe juice, smoothies, goji berries, matcha tea - and who can live without spirulina? Not to mention the latest healthy trends in the world: intermittent fasting and 3-day liquid detox. You don’t detox? You’re SO out. (JUST KIDDING!).
This is all to say that knowing what’s what when it comes to health is not easy. Everything I mentioned above does have its place in the conversation about health, but it’s hard to keep up. Grilled salmon is healthy today, but tomorrow we might find out that it’s toxic and we should avoid it.
For this and other reasons, there is no single answer to what it means to be healthy today. There is no recipe.
Surely it is important to keep yourself informed and set out to change habits that do not benefit you. Watching your diet and exercise is part of the “healthy (and happy) life” package. Besides, science has proven that body, mind and spirit play a factor in our health.
There is still a whole world to discover, but we don’t want to go crazy, so we’ll share what we believe can guide us in this sea of possibilities:
This “trend” is by no means new and continues to be relevant. We recommend that you invite natural foods to take up more space in your kitchen.
The journey towards a healthier life starts with vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. Like in the old days. So say goodbye to processed foods and additives. Say hello to new sources of energy from nature or even from your own garden, if you can.
Remember that we don’t want to let our obsession with diet take over our lives, since the pleasures of life are also related to food. So, natural, but not too extreme.
Everyone has a different lifestyle. You may not be into yoga, but you love to swim. In other words, the task is to find out how you like to move. There are tons of healthy workouts: walking 30 minutes a day or riding a bike are also simple and efficient physical activities.
It’s not the results that matter, it’s the journey that gets you there. What good is strong and curvy body if you’re not happy moving it?
Feeling at home inside your body is not achieved through regular physical activity alone. Mental health also plays a very important role.
There are many ways to take care of the mind, be it through meditation, therapy, hypnosis, holistic treatments, or something else. Relaxing and focusing completely on yourself is fundamental and works like a charm.
We start with diet, body and mind, then we get to our skin, hair and the clothing we wear, which is also part of our day-to-day. What kinds of soaps and cosmetics do you use? Where do you buy them? What are your clothes and accessories made of?
Only by asking these kinds of questions, can we rethink how and where we can improve our habits.
It is not an easy task, but we invite you to think about each of these topics, making changes as needed, little by little. Adapt your routine to improve your health through diet, exercise or meditation, we leave it up to you.
Challenges can also be our allies. Drink 2 liters of water a day and get your 8 hours at night, that might help you eat a balanced and healthy diet. But we must never lose sight of the fun and pleasure in life, in the end they say that life is too short, and 2020 will be hard to forget, so enjoy life, either with a glass of champagne or a chamomile tea!
