Stress is stress… even when it’s about your health.
I've spent the last 20 years learning everything I could possibly learn about health and wellness. And honestly, it's still confusing at times. I've changed my views on what is the “right” approach many different times. And no wonder when you see all of the conflicting advice out there.
Meat gives you cancer. No wait, meat is the only quality protein. Organic meat is okay, as long as the animal wasn't treated with hormones. Nevermind, it's actually grass fed that you want, cows shouldn't eat grains. But some meats are labeled as carcinogens. So just stay away from red meat.
It's confusing!!! Especially since every single opinion has “data” to support their claims. And that example is only about meat! You could find the exact same diversity of thought on every diet, lifestyle, or supplement out there.
But here's one thing I know and feel very passionately about: The stress and fear we have around trying to live perfectly does WAY more damage than anything else could.
I recently heard about a study where they took two groups of people and in both groups some of them were gluten intolerant and some weren't. They fed each group the exact same meal (which was carefully gluten free) but one of the groups they told them there was gluten in it.
Even the people who didn't have an issue with gluten reported being bloated and suffered digestive upset after eating the meal!! In the other group they assured everyone that the meal was gluten free and no one had any kind of digestive issues.
Our minds are POWERFUL!
When we're obsessing over every little ingredient or whether or not a diet is the best one or what the next evil thing is, it ends up doing more damage to our bodies than the actual toxin does.
That being said, the dose of the poison does matter. No one can mind over matter their way out of eating poison.
But we can't allow ourselves to be overly consumed with trying to live “perfectly” either.
I love the illustration that Dr. Stephen Cabral uses:
Imagine your body as a rain barrel. It takes time for a rain barrel to fill. But once it's full, any bit of water will cause it to overflow.
Your body works in a similar way. Once you start to have symptoms because you're overly toxic and your gut is imbalanced, then it doesn't take much for your symptoms to be exacerbated. That's when every little bit of exposure can have a big effect.
At that point you want your focus to be on doing what you can to empty out your rain barrel in order to start the healing process. We do that by doing something like a Functional Medicine detox, eliminating toxins in our daily life, and being more intentional with what we're consuming.
But even then, if we get too consumed with trying to avoid every little potentially harmful thing, it will prevent our healing.
Remember, being in a stressed state means we cannot heal. Our Sympathetic Nervous System is focused on immediate survival, it puts our long term survival on the back burner.
Even if the stress we're feeling is about our healing, it doesn't matter. Our nervous system doesn't think or reason. It doesn't know why you're stressed, it just knows that you are and reacts accordingly.
But that reaction only ends up having a negative impact long term. We all want to have the best health possible, but so much of it starts with our thinking, even more so than anything we're physically exposed to.
So how do we find balance?
Stop following accounts or sources that use fear to motivate. Education is great, but if they’re only adding to your stress load, it’s not worth it.
Work on the stories you’re telling yourself about your body. Your body is strong, it is resilient, and it CAN heal. Remember, words are powerful, whether they’re positive or negative! Pay attention to what you say and think about your body’s ability to heal or state of health.
Focus on overall lifestyle. If we all just focused on addressing our sleep, diet, exercise, hydration, and managing our stress; that would address 99% of most symptoms. Take the focus off of the bad you want to avoid, and focus instead on the good you want to add in.
Aim to live by the 80/20 rule when it comes to diet. Let 80% of your diet be nutrient dense foods that nourish your body. The other 20% can be eating a cookie or potato chips or anything else within reason.
When you are in control of what you’re purchasing or consuming, do your best to avoid known toxins like pesticides, parabens, plastics, heavy metals, etc. These all add to our rain barrel. But we cannot keep all of them out, so don’t be overly stressed about exposure. It’s about lowering our toxic load, not eliminating it. By taking care of your body and mind it means you can handle what you are exposed to.
I also like to look to the blue zones for the keys to health. These are areas of the world where they live not only the longest lives but also the healthiest. They have the lowest rates of chronic illness in these regions. And there are a few key things that are unique to these blue zones:
They live in communities. Relationships are a big part of overall health.
They are physically active. Most walk every day.
They eat whole foods. Not supermarket overly processed “food”.
They eat a diet high in Omega-3s.
They eat in community, which means their meals are eaten slowly and while relaxed.
They get quality sleep.
They live slow paced lives.
Makes sense, right?
There's one more thing about health that is really important to understand: the reality is that health is completely unique to each individual. The right diet and exercise plan for you could be completely wrong for me. But that's not because you're wrong, it's just because we all are so different in our makeup. This is why it's impossible to say that any one diet or lifestyle is “right”, because there is no one size fits all. You have to have the self awareness to figure out what makes you feel best.
But if you don't know where to start, start with learning how to manage your stress and regulate your nervous system. That is going to have the biggest impact on your overall health.
You cannot heal in a stressed state. This is why we always start there. Learn to regulate your nervous system and everything else will follow.