The "PERFECT" Storm... why the US is at a higher risk... and what you can do to help it.
First off, my intention is to lovingly empower you on how to take action for your health, not to scare you. I am passionate about the topic of health and wellness because I believe it is a human right to UNDERSTAND YOUR BODY! I mean you are living with it for the foreseeable future, so don’t you want to know how to operate at your optimal potential? Feel excited and ready to take on the world with energy, love, and joy?!
In lieu of education, I highly recommend reading this New York Times Article because it dives into the good, the bad, and the scientific truth. It is bigger than the virus at play… it is about the health status of our world before the virus broke out -- here is what you can do about it.
Nutrition:
I used to suffer with disordered eating for various reasons and I am here to tell you, it usually isn’t about the food. It is about what food represents. Although sugar may bring SO MUCH comfort, too much sugar can also cause inflammation, heart disease, fatigue, obesity, lower immune system, and stress. This is where the “perfect storm” begins…
What you can do:
Make a list — What does food symbolize in your life, what feelings do you experience before/after certain meals, what is your relationship like with food?
With the above in mind, what other ways and/or things can you do to create more nourishment for your body? For the way you desire to feel, act, and go about the world? Just pick one thing, start with that. Just changing one thing at a time can add to big beautiful changes.
Stress:
Ask yourself, what is my relationship like with stress? Living in a world where “more stress = more success”, stress is almost viewed as a measure of productivity. Too much stress is actually overwhelm on the body. Another piece of the “perfect storm”. So how can you reduce the amount of overwhelm in your life?
Did you know that the three top reasons for hypertension have been proven to be high stress/overwhelm + low magnesium + dehydration? I could go into the science, but in order to keep you reading… trust the research. I bring up hypertension because, “In Italy, 99 percent of the fatalities were people with pre-existing medical problems, especially hypertension.”
And it isn’t just hypertension that is linked to stress, but MANY illnesses in the body are linked to stress being a root cause. In quick terms, stress produces cortisol, which is a master hormone. Overtime, chronic stress creates too much cortisol output which lowers immune function + disrupts many other functions in the body, causing a downstream of dysfunction.
Another kind of stress on the body, going back to above, too much sugar:
“…in the United States, obesity-related metabolic conditions may put the public at exceptional risk. Today, more than two of three adults have high body weight, and 42 percent have obesity, among the highest rates in the world. Almost two in 10 children have obesity. Excessive weight, and the poor-quality diet that causes it, is strongly associated with insulin resistance, chronic inflammation and other abnormalities that may lower immunity to viral respiratory infection or predispose to complications.” - As stated in the NYT Article
What can you do?
Make a list of three things that are the most stressful and/or overwhelming to you
Make a list of three things you can do to lower the stressful state of these things
Take action, inhales + exhales, and be as kind as possible to yourself. Slow down. Let the little things bring you joy again.
Lack of self care + sleep:
Ahhh the last basic piece of the the “perfect storm” puzzle… we have lack of nutrition + too much stress/overwhelm + lack of self care + lack of sleep
You guessed it, lack of these things cause more stress on the body, which may cause us to overeat or pick foods that might not be as optimal for our desired health status. That will cause more stress and as you can see it is a perfect storm for disruption in the body. So where do we start? Again, one step at a time.
What can you do?
Set an ideal bedtime schedule and follow it as closely as possible. As humans, we thrive best on a consistent circadian rhythm with 7-9 hours of high quality sleep.
Pick one thing to do for self-care as a morning ritual and one as a bedtime ritual to help improve stress levels, joy, sleep, and more!
Bottom line: It is okay to feel fear, but try to let it go… let it pass like a warm breeze on a sunny day. Health has been put on the back-burner by so many and we are now getting some space to refocus that. I recommend focusing on what you can do to give yourself space to heal, nourish, and love your body + heart + soul. When in doubt, reach out to someone you love and trust for support. We are in this together, you are not alone, I promise. It is okay that things do not change over night, enjoy the adventure. Pick one takeaway from this post, and start there. Just one step at a time. Small changes overtime lead to miracles.