Doctor’s Orders. Never Followed.
Your doctor tells you this all the time but you don’t listen.
Take your vitamins, omegas, minerals etc.
There are supplements lying in your cupboard or by your bedside that you never take right now, as you are reading this. This is probably because you can’t fully understand why these dreaded pills are so important. Today I’m going to run through a few reasons why you need to be taking your supplements like your life depends on it.
1) In the Beginning.
Let’s start from the top. How was human life before we had big cities and fast food places? Before we spent all our day sitting and before we left the safety of our food up to big brands with fancy marketing campaigns.
We were hunters and gathers. Nomadic. Eating a wide variety of seasonal fruits, nuts, roots, proteins. Drinking water without chemicals and eating very frequently. Moving, working all the time. This is how the human body is designed to operate. How our ancestors lived is the life our bodies crave til this very day. We have evolved so much as a people but our bodies haven’t changed.
Answer the following:
- Do you regularly gather leaves, roots and stems of various plants to add to your drinks and meals?
- Do you live somewhere you can grow your own food?
- Do you hunt fresh meat daily?
- Do you consume at least 1 pound of fresh fish everyday?
- Do you have fruits and vegetables in large portions at least 3 times a day?
If you are not doing these things your body is running on hope and you need to take supplements specific to your lifestyle and genetic needs.
2) You are not your Body. You have no Control.
Many times we think that our bodies are…well…us. Right?
Wrong.
Your body completes billions of tasks everyday without your knowledge and without your permission. It gives you vague signals when you do something it doesn’t like and you fan it off as a random occurrence. These are warning signs that all of us are guilty of ignoring.
Believe it or not there are countless communities of other living organisms working inside your body in a mutually beneficial relationship. They don’t pay you rent and they communicate with your body not you.
You may not want to face the truth, but you are a consciousness in a very complex vehicle. We experience life through this vehicle. Destroy your vehicle and how you experience life will crash and burn too.
One of the ways we can keep our vehicles happy is to provide it with the materials it needs to function properly. We eat and apply countless toxic and poisonous substances every day and our body, in its infinite wisdom expels, converts or stores these hazardous objects so that they don’t hurt or kill us (instantly).
To complete these functions your body needs protein, vitamins, minerals, good fats and trace nutrients that you don’t get in the modern diet.
3) Eating Healthy is Hard
There are so many reason why eating healthy is a no easy feat. Some of the excuses,err….reasons we use are:
- We don’t have the time
- We can’t access healthy, fresh food
- The convenient food is unhealthy
- We don’t know what are the right foods to eat
- Eating healthy is to expensive
While these are all good reasons, we can overcome them by doing a little extra research and managing our time better. For people in Jamaica you can go directly to the farmers! More and more of them are offering delivery service for fresh organic food, like The Mais Farm. Set aside some time on the weekend to food prep, so when you are rushing out during the week you can throw healthy meals together in a jiffy. Just keep researching and listening to your body and you will get there! Whenever you fall short see if there are supplements that can help.
4) The Body Breakdown
Your body is made up of mostly protein and water. Carbohydrates are used for fuel. But what keeps the body functioning after you have the framework and the fuel? How do you get the food you eat broken down? How do you absorb what you ate? How do you convert and take out the garbage?
The little things. That’s the answer. The minerals, vitamins and fats we get in small quantities from our diets. Unfortunately many of us don’t even get a small amount of the fruits, vegetables and fats we need. Most times none at all. The fast food we eat and all those conveniently packaged foods in the supermarket give you almost nothing in the way of nutrition. In fact, they tax our bodies and causes it to work harder for less. How would you feel if you went to work and kept putting in more effort and time only to find that your boss is paying you less and less? Awful right? Your body feels the same way.
Conclusion
Let me make it clear that I don’t think taking supplements will be your cure all. Supplementation is just one step in an approach to healthy living. Taking supplements, exercising, drinking lots of water and eating a healthy diet is the combination you should strive for to make sure your body is getting what it needs.
Recommendations
Daily recommended vitamins and supplements for men.
Daily recommended vitamins and supplements for women.
Search for just the right combination for your lifestyle.
(Disclaimer: I make a small kick back from the following supplements)
Healthy Living Jamaica 