Fitness: Your body a symphony not a soloist

I watched a great documentary, that I recommend many of you check out called Forks Over Knives. It explores the health benefits of eating a plant based diet to reverse disease. It was quite fascinating learning more about the links to nutrition and major disease in our society.

Personally, I have participated in heated discussions with people who argue that even people who are in shape still get cancer. My response is: What is your definition of healthy? Yes on the outside many of these “healthy” people look great and can perform athletically, however their diets are often rich in animal products and chemical toxins which lead to disease. We see a fit body and mistake that for optimal health.

This flawed thought process is rooted in the fact that we compartmentalize our bodies. We don’t realize that our body's functions work together. Yes, an all protein diet will give us ripped abs like Janet Jackson but it will also increase the cholesterol in our bodies giving us a heart attack like Dick Cheney.

We compartmentalize our bodies in terms of exercise. I get numerous emails from people asking how they can get a flat stomach; well I hate to break the news but there is not one solo thing you can do to get a flat stomach. You can do crunches till you pass out but if you’re not doing cardio you will never see those abs; more importantly if you diet is rich in sugar and lacks in fiber you will certainly never see those abs.

We even compartmentalize our nutrition. Those savvy food companies realize that if they put high in fiber, low in fat or high in protein on the packaging we will buy. We never consider the fact that we may be ingesting chemical fiber, high sugar that replaces the fat or synthetic protein that is a mutation of many animals all of which lead to disease.

I have been a victim of compartmentalizing for years but I broke free. You can too! First educate yourself, that documentary is a good start. Read and research about your body; it is the only one you have! Begin to eat and think whole, understand your body is a symphony of many parts working together to produce one sound. Eat cleaner foods that are as close to their natural state as possible and strive for optimal health on the inside.

What do you think? Can we just focus on one aspect of our bodies to achieve health? What is your definition of health? Share your thoughts and comments.