Take a look at the image below. Where would you truthfully place yourself on this spectrum in relation to the definitions under each of the 5 zones?
Ideally we should all be up towards the green zone. For the vast majority of us we are born with a set of genetics that give us the potential to live a full and healthy life, where we are able to do anything we want and need to. For some people it may seem surprising to hear that this is where you are designed to be and is normal. We have been evolving for millions of years, continually adapting and become the dominant species on this planet. Our bodies have evolved to become extremely intelligent and excellent at survival. However that only happens if we provide our body what it genetically requires to express this potential.
In the middle is where I’ve found most of my patients place themselves when asked. Unfortunately this happens to be one of the most dangerous places to be, as you are judging your health on how you feel and how you look. These are ofcourse side effects of good health, however not accurate measures. 50% of people who have fatal heart attacks have absolutely no preceding symptoms. Women can carry breast cancer for up to 18 months without displaying any symptoms. People in this category often do not take medication and have no chronic illness or condition, but have low energy, get headaches and aches and pains. They are surviving, but not thriving!
‘Our bodies have evolved to become extremely intelligent and excellent at survival’
Finally if you’ve identified that you are on the lower end of the spectrum I think it’s fair to say you are aware that your body is not in the healthiest state. Now ofcourse some of us are unfortunately suffering from a condition which automatically places us in this category. However it is important firstly to acknowledge whether that is a lifestyle caused condition or a genetic one. If it is a lifestyle caused one, the vast majority of people are on medications to help support them. However take a moment and ask yourself. Is this medication reversing your condition and getting you healthier? Over the years are you taking less medications and coming off them because you are getting healthier, or are you slowly taking more and more? Western medicine and medications are very good at ‘managing’ symptoms but that does not mean you are getting healthier, and unfortunately if the cause of the problem is not fixed, it is only a matter of time before that cause manifests itself in a different way for many people. But that is not the medications fault. Lifestyle caused disease can only be fixed through lifestyle change. If things like high blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol ‘run in the family’, lifestyle change will have far more influence over that condition than the possible genetic predisposition itself. True genetic conditions generally only make up only 5-10% of all disease. If you unfortunately do suffer from a condition with a genetic link then understandably you are limited in how far along this spectrum you can move, however the same rules apply. A person suffering from a rare genetic condition will function better and have a better quality of life if they do things that support their body, rather than giving it more things that work against it beyond the condition itself. Substantial research also shows the effectiveness of medication will be far greater in people who maintain a better lifestyle as opposed to those who don’t and depend solely on the medication.
‘is improving your health and bettering the quality of the one life you have worth investing in?’
So where the hell do you start in moving yourself up the health spectrum, and how do you know if how you are functioning well?
1. Measure It
Go to your doctor with a symptom. How does they check your health? By measuring it; with blood pressure, blood tests, weight, scans, lung capacity.. All these things give them numbers on your health which tells them if you are functioning well or not and what may be causing your symptoms. There are plenty of ways of getting this done now: GP check ups, wellness scores and even at your local gym. The most important thing however is what you do about these numbers. If you find something which indicates your body may not be functioning optimally, use this as feedback that you need to change certain things in your life to do so. Set yourself the goal, and remeasure in the future to make sure things have changed.
2. Make a Change
Symptoms reflect function and function reflects lifestyle. You must change areas of your lifestyle if you want to change your body function and change symptoms. If you eat, think and move in ways that support your body (ie fix the cause of the problem) your body will stop giving you signals that you need to change the behaviours which are causing it harm. It sounds simple. Which in theory it is. Getting healthy isn’t rocket science. You just need to eat things you a designed to naturally eat, minimise mental stress and move regularly as you are designed to do. However what is hard is changing your behaviours and habits. Don’t overwhelm yourself with everything. Set yourself a goal to improve one thing and once you have achieved that, identify the next, and over time you will start to accumulate more healthy behaviours and move up the spectrum.
3. Get Help
Making a change can be hard. It takes a very strong and motivated person to make changes to their life alone. Many of us do need support and guidance to do so and there is nothing wrong with that, especially when you are suffering from a condition and are in pain. Find a therapist who is trained to help people in these situations who understands you and what you want to achieve. There are so many skilled practitioners out there in each area of health. Chiropractors, osteopaths, physios and massage therapists can help you get out of pain and dysfunction and highlight things you are doing everyday that are causing the issue. Psychologists can understand your mental symptoms like a map and lead you in the right direction out of the woods. There are unlimited amounts of self help resources and dietary guides to show you how to improve yourself. If you don’t know how to exercise, find a personal trainer. If you can’t cook, learn through cooking classes or a cook book. Yes, these things will cost you money. However is improving your health and bettering the quality of the one life you have worth investing in?
Information and knowledge can help us to make better decisions for ourselves. However while in theory getting healthier is easy, changing our behaviours and habits are difficult which is why getting help from a professional is key. Feel free to contact us if you would like to enquire more, or navigate to the home page for information about bookings for personalised one to one care plans and health coaching.
Dr Jamie
