The definition of healthy

Lately I've been thinking about how we define "healthy" as a culture. It seems we think we're healthy if we do not have a serious disease (like cancer) and feel generally "ok" day to day. Even if we have allergies, acid reflux, high blood pressure, etc, we are still healthy, we just deal with it, maybe pop a pill. We only realize we're unhealthy when something very serious happens (hospitalization, feeling like crap on a daily basis for more than a month, disease). We believe everything our doctors say and don't ask a lot of questions. (I realized that last one for myself when I got an infection a while ago and my doctor never told me how I got it, that I could get it again easily, and let me walk out with some pills.)

In ancient Eastern cultures, especially China, health was considered an overall state - mental, physical, and emotional. What you ate was most important, and when I think about it, of course is was - you eat at least three times a day and food is what sustains you, what makes you healthy. When you eat crap, you're going to feel like crap. The only problem is learning what that crap is. I'm on that journey right now, and I learn something new every day. That has led me to feel better about the decisions I'm making, and even after only a few months I am having less of the issues that have plagued me most of my life, like acid reflux and irritable bowel. I know if I were to go in 100% I would feel amazing, but I'm still learning what 100% is.

Here's a picture of what I bought at the grocery store tonight (my way of proving my commitment and learning progress) and my husband enjoying veggie lasagna and a healthy pop alternative called Ogave, made with agave nectar. I've been MIA for a few days so I figured this post better be long and meaningful. I dare you to spot something unhealthy in these pictures! (Alright, there's regular mayo, bbq sauce and ranch dressing I forgot to throw out.)

Annie's salad dressing, sugar-free sauce, veggie chips, fruits, tomato bread, green tea, 70% dark chocolate, sweet potatoes, avocado, garlic, onion, eggplant, zucchini, lemons, peppers and oranges.

Beets, swiss chard, almond milk, Kefir, aloe vera juice, pickles, preservative-free jam, carrots, watercress, spinach, brocolli, cauliflower, turnip, coconut milk, chickpea soup, kale, cucumber, celery, kimchi

Romaine, blood orange juice, artichokes, tofu, purple carrots

Organic portabella mushrooms, veggies burgers, filtered water, organic lemonade, Greek yogurt with no added sugar (as a temporary addition), cage-free organic eggs

I admit, I need to organize my fridge better. What do you do with really long leafy greens?

Anyway, back to the definition of healthy. I bought a book a while ago that has a picture of something healthy and a description of why it's healthy on the side. I have been trying to memorize all the little details, but so far all I can remember is that carrots and other orange things = good eyesight. Then I have a picture on my computer of a list of healthy things and what they do. Here's that one...

So, they didn't have room to list all the benefits of these foods, like how ginger cures joint pain and coconut oil tastes beyond amazing with cooked brocolli, but this is a good list to memorize. I can tell you chia seeds may mean "mega moisture" but they also do wonders for keeping your bowel regular. I mix a tablespoon into my tea and wow.

So, if each food does a few beneficial things, like improve eyesight or get your blood flowing, and you add a lot of those things up in a day, in a week, and eat tons of healthy food (and little to no bad, processed, refined food) then you are increasing your health, even curing yourself. If you know you're unhealthy and someone tells you "this food here does this beneficial thing," why wouldn't you eat it like there's no tomorrow? Why rely on a pill to do food's job? (Mom - this is what you do when I tell you to eat chia seeds. Have you been eating your lingonberry jam?) And if you have this information, if you know, for example, that papayas are a digestive aid, or that sweet potatoes can help prevent cancer, and you don't take advantage of that information to the best of your ability, then it is your loss.

The problem I see is that we are unhealthy and just deal with it until the problem cannot be ignored, then we go to the doctor and request a miracle pill, a solution in a bottle, instead of preventing the problem in the first place or treating it the natural way - with food. This is not even to mention lack of exercise and lack of emotional well being (another problem we ignore). Tomorrow I'll be posting a list of which foods do what.