Recently, a group of Harvard researchers published a study associating red meat consumption with an increase in mortality.1 As usual, the media has taken the opportunity to make some provocative claims, so let’s take a closer look at the actual evidence to see what it really suggests.
A healthy diet and a high quality exercise program aren’t going to do nearly as much to improve your level of wellness if you’re overwhelmed with negative emotions. Your emotions are arguably the single most important determinant of wellbeing, and because emotions are derived from thoughts, how you manage your thoughts has a major influence on your quality of life.
Wellness is a combination of both mental and physical health, and these two aspects of wellness are clearly dependent upon each other. But in regard to happiness, which is generally the ultimate goal of achieving wellness, physical health cannot compensate for the displeasure and pain caused by poorly managed thoughts. Therefore, learning how to effectively manage your thoughts is the most fundamental aspect of achieving a high level of wellness.
Few nutritional topics spark as much heated debate as veganism and vegetarianism. A common theme in such debates is the supposed moral, environmental, and health implications of consuming animal food. In response to reading The China Study, I’ve done my best to write a balanced and evidence based review of why I think the claims made against animal food are grossly overstated and why animal food can indeed be part of a health promoting diet.
I fully respect the right of any individual to choose what they eat and I have no interest in denouncing veganism or vegetarianism. In fact, if I believed one of these approaches would improve my health and quality of life, I’d switch in a heartbeat. While I do believe that some people can indeed thrive on a vegan or vegetarian diet, I also believe that this is not the case for everyone. Either way, the primary purpose of this article is to provide support for the role of animal food in a healthful diet. Ultimately, you’ll have to come to your own conclusion, and I hope I can provide you with enough valuable information to help you do so.
Depression is a very common health care concern and is disabling for many people. In most cases, antidepressant medications are the chosen form of treatment, but they aren’t always effective and often have dangerous side effects. Although antidepressants have proven to be invaluable for some patients, they’re frequently recommended without prior consideration of safer and more healthful forms of treatment that can be just as effective.
Photo by Mark Howard
The following 3 basic principles are in my opinion an essential foundation of any healthy diet. They make the most important aspects of healthy eating easy to understand, and their simplicity resolves much of the confusion caused by conflicting information. Whether you’ve been struggling with your diet for a long time or have just recently decided to make some changes, these principles will provide you with a health based perspective on nutrition that will help guide you towards a higher level of wellness.
Nearly everyone wants to be fit and free of pain, and whether it be in regard to athletics or the daily demands of life, many people also want to be able to perform at a high level. As obvious as this may seem, the foundation needed to achieve these objectives can be easily overlooked. The foundation that I’m speaking of is the ability to accurately and consistently perform the basic movements that we depend on daily and often take for granted until they become difficult or painful.
