Food, health, and living life...

"You are what you eat" is one of the most commonly-recognized sayings in modern American culture.  I can see the truth to it--we certainly want to ingest substances that contain good nutrients and powerful energy reserves, and can be processed by our bodies cleanly and efficiently without causing hardship or draining our bodies resources through the digestive process.

Green, leafy vegetables, low carb/sugar/meat/fat/cholesterol, fresh, water-dense, nutrient-rich, mineral-rich, and little to no processing, are all commonly agreed upon principles of a healthy diet.  There are many variations, of course: low-fat, low-carb, no-carb, vegetarian, vegan, raw food, Paleo, etc. etc.  And there people who follow each of these variations at levels ranging from moderate to extreme.  

While we can find healthy, fit, vibrant individuals in each corner of the diet map, however, we can also find their unhealthy counterparts in all of those same corners.  Quite obviously, therefore, diet is not the whole story when it comes to physical health.  

So where does that leave us?  Well there is one very logical answer that comes to mind immediately when running a mental search on factors that influence heatlh: exercise.  Of course!  Right?  Yes, but not completely.  Still unhealthy people in those same corners who exercise religiously.

So diet is important, yes.  Exercise is important too.  Oh, and yes, let's not forget about SLEEP.  But even with sleep, we still don't have the whole picture quite yet.   Even with all of those factors in our favor, we still have unhealthy people in our corners.

What's missing?  Ironically, the person who really answered this for me is David Wolfe--one of the most (if not the most) well-known, knowledgeable, and charismatic advocates of the raw, vegan diet (you eat nothing that is cooked or contains animal products--or as little as possible in either of those categories).  "You are what you eat" is a quote that he often begins his talks with, and regardless of whether you agree with his food philosophy, most of us agree with that general statement. 

I'll make the disclaimer here that, although I have attempted to steer myself in the direction of the "raw food diet" and I do believe that it can have tremendous health benefits, I am not a raw vegan.  I'm not even vegetarian.  However, David did make an assertion in talk that I listened to that really hit home with me; he said that the number one factor one most important factor in a person's overall health is... relationships. 

I would generalize that a bit and say that the third factor (on top of diet and exercise, and aside from external factors such as air pollution or a penchant for taunting wild bears) is mental and emotional well-being--or, in short, happiness.  (I would then say that our relationships with others and with ourselves are at the root of every other factor that affects our mental and emotional well-being, such as money....)

Now it seems that being healthy is getting rather complicated.  However, there may be an outlook that makes it simpler again: what if one major factor could steer the other contributing factors in the right direction?  What if they were connected in some way?  

What if... managing our relationships in a way that makes us happy were to also cause us to choose healthier food options, to feel more motivated to exercise, and to sleep better at night?  What if our thoughts and emotions affect our lifestyle choices and habits?  

Can our moods actually drive our decisions on what to eat, for example?  (Hmmm... Where did the phrase "comfort food" food come from?  Who invented the concept of gorging one's self on a carton of Häagen-Dazs to sooth a broken heart?) Perhaps there are too many books, articles, blogs, shows, and classes out there that are focused on how and what to eat.  Perhaps we already have general idea of what's good for us and what isn't.  (I would even argue that our own intuition can often be our best guide for what to eat at any given moment.)  I think what we need to focus more on are the factors that drive our food choices; what does it matter what we should be eating when our thoughts and emotions are leading us in a different direction?  

Then think about all of the happy people who live long and healthy lives while carrying on lifestyle habits that are commonly known as damaging to our bodies; think of your friend's great uncle who lived to be 105 and drank a whiskey on the rocks, smoked two cigars, and ate bacon for breakfast every day for the last 80 years of his life.  Dig a little deeper, and you may find that it probably wasn't the bacon breakfast that kept your friend's great uncle alive for all of those years; you'll likely find something even better about his life to emulate.  (Unless bacon breakfast lies at the core of your mental and emotional well-being, of course....)

What do we hunger for?

I've created this blog for a number of reasons, one of which being that I want to make a positive impact in the world.  Sounds simplistic and idealistic, I know.  But I believe that positive influence is something that the world hungers for.  

We live in a rough, rough world.  People are starving.  People are depressed.  Some people hunger for better jobs, more meaningful relationships, and granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.  Others are more concerned with where their next meal will come from.  Things are definitely not as great as they could be.

At the same time, we have on our planet all of the physical resources and all of the human capital that we could possibly need to make things better--exponentially.  There is enough food in the world to feed every single one of the several billion people who occupy the planet every single day, and have leftovers for the next day's lunch.  There are enough bright, talented, and energetic people to use the overabundance of raw materials and natural resources at our disposal and provide comfortable shelter, clothing, and even iPads for everyone on the planet.  (And we could even create UNLIMITED bandwidth to accommodate all of those iPads.)

So if there is so much abundance in the world--and if you're still reading this, I'll go with the assumption that you're at least willing to consider the possibility that the statements in the prior paragraph are true--then what does the world really hunger for?  What is the answer to all of the open questions, concerns, trials and tribulations, troubles and hardships, etc.?

Better food supply to starving populations?  Homes for the homeless?  Volunteers teachers, nurses, and builders?  Yes.

All of the above.

But we are not lacking any of the raw material, food supply, or human capital to provide any of those things.

What we need is organization and leadership.  Those are tricky areas, and especially so when there are powerful groups of people who organize and lead for other reasons (like oil).  In order for the resources of the world--people and things--to create positive change, there needs to be positive leadership in place painting a vision for what needs to be, and effective organization in place drawing a plan for getting their.

World leadership has been evolving for many centuries, and while many would argue that today's leaders are no better than the leaders of ancient societies, I would argue that the world is evolving and that there are leaders showing up in all of the places where they are needed.

Are you in a place to lead?  Where can you have influence?  Which positive leaders can you support, and what can you do to lead where you are needed?  

I certainly have my own opinionated answers to these questions, and those answers make up one of my major reasons for creating this blog.

What is GCF...?

The Greatest Common Factor is the antithesis of what I call LCD--short for LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR.  By this, I mean the idiot majority, the ignorant masses.  The folks who watch reality shows about child beauty pageants, and cry for any reason other than the fact that this type of show exists.  The type of person who quotes George W. Bush un-ironically. (I used to worked for a company run by a guy who quoted Bush... and this was on a TV news interview!  Although it was Fox News and therefore a safe platform on which to do so.)

Let me switch thoughts quickly and just mention that, by the way, this is going to be a very opinionated blog.  There will also be possible grammatical errors, and not because I don't have a grasp on English grammar--but because I don't want to inhibit the flow of thoughts and ideas coming from my heart and mind; because I want the GREATNESS within me to come out without being hindered by my obsessive tendencies.  And that brings me back to my original thought: we all have greatness within us. Everyone does--even those of us who don't fully realize it.  And just as we all have a little (or even more than a little; perhaps significantly more than a little...) LCD in us, I believe that we all have greatness, or The Greatest Common Factor within us as well.  I believe that it's a matter of making the right choices that can bring us to GCF instead of LCD.

I can admit that I've watched the reality TV show Jersey Shore and enjoyed it.  (I can also admit that I felt a little better about this fact after hearing Jimmy Fallon admit the same in an NPR interview, because I respect Jimmy Fallon as an intelligent and gifted person--but my point is that at least I am trying to become comfortable with the fact that I can sometimes fit myself into a category of people that typically disgust me.)  However I prefer to think that we, as people, don't fall entirely onto one side or the other--LCD or GCF.  I think that we all have tendencies of both within us.  And I think that it is okay to slip into LCD mode at times.  It's human. 

What I feel strongly about is that we should strive to be as great as we can be, and that we all have the ability to access greatness within ourselves.  We all have--dare I call it-- genius within us.  I see genius everywhere, and not just in people who become rich, famous, or otherwise celebrated for what they've done, said, or become.  I think some people simply are able to cultivate their genius in a way that allows them to benefit from it--and to enable the world around them to benefit from it--than others. I think there are some barriers that we as human beings have to deal with in order to bring our genius to light.  I think we all have the GCF, and the trick is finding out how to bring it out into the world in its best possible form.

Greatness and genius, GCF--I think that we all have it; even those of us who enjoy reality TV have it.  (Even the shows about child beauty pageants?  I suppose that I have to reluctantly concede that it is a possibility that even those people have some genius within them, somewhere....)

This blog will be about many things, but will likely have a recurring theme of greatness, or genius, or GCF, or whatever you want to call it--and finding it both within ourselves and in the world around us.