The environment we live in determines a lot about our lives. If we are surrounded by good things, then our chances of feeling and being prosperous are in our favor. Our health is directly connected to the environment that we live in. We must identify the external forces against our health and take action steps to be healthier.
Whether we live in a rural town or in the bustling streets of a city, the modern world has provided us with easy luxuries—fast-food drive-throughs, over-the-counter pain medications, grab-n-go bottled water, and small, packaged snacks. They are also designed to keep us coming back for more, as they are loaded with fats, sugars, salt, and artificial flavors. Many of these luxuries have been created to serve our culture and the lifestyle we have created, which in today’s age is not on a farm, but far from it.
What this means is that to provide something fast and convenient, there is a sacrifice of what is good and natural. We have discovered that fast, convenient foods and quick, bottled water come with a host of consequences. These were not immediately known or realized but have been slowly discovered over time. As a result, our health is suffering.
These challenges to our health come in several forms: unhealthy foods, dangerous chemicals, toxic environments, and more. These are what I will call “external forces” that actively work against an individual’s health. The external forces are things outside of their immediate control, having been at work for decades and accelerated more in the present, diminish one’s health slowly but surely. These are taking place not only on the local level but even on a global level.
With that said, we will explore a few reasons why it is imperative, now more than ever, to take personal responsibility for one’s health so that we may live long, fulfilling lives. As well, I will provide four action steps to accelerate one’s pursuit of better health.
The External Forces Working Against Our Health
While this topic alone encompasses books, articles, podcasts, and studies that are continually piling up, I will succinctly mention a few key points that will clearly show just how much our health is being diminished by the external forces and the world around us.
There’s no one, single way in which an individual’s health is being affected. This is happening through several angles: profit motive, the environment around them, the social media they engage with, the food they eat, the things they touch, and the cooking dishes they prepare meals with.
Here’s a partial list of external forces that are affecting an individual’s health:
- A Goldman Sachs biotechnology research report suggested the biotech company should not cure people because it wouldn’t be a profitable business model. (1) Yes, you read that right. They suggest not healing people in order to continually make more money off of them.
- A Danish study found that exposure to PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as “forever chemicals”) during a woman’s early pregnancy can lead to her male child’s lower sperm count and quality later in his life. (2)
- PFAS are found in numerous everyday products like plastic food wrappers, food packaging, stove-top pots and pans, textile materials, carpet products, furniture cleaning products, rain gear, and more. (3)
- 94% of both store-bought and homemade food purees made for infants contained toxic levels of heavy metals including lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, which leads to diseases/conditions like neurotoxicity, brain/cognitive impairment, cardiovascular disease, and more. (4)
- The obesity prevalence in the US is 41.9% (5) which leads to chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and more. And while obesity is a sign of severe unhealthiness, the cultural society is pushing for “body acceptance” on a number of levels by encouraging and normalizing obesity. (6)
- Large, international organizations like the World Economic Forum are encouraging people to not eat meat for climate-change purposes and are taking active efforts to promote the consumption of bugs instead. (7)
- Microplastics have been recently discovered in human blood, which have the capacity to lodge in organs and cause damage to human cells. (8)
This is not an exhaustive list of external forces by any means (and if it were, it might drain your enthusiasm for quite some time!) but is meant to illustrate a few ways that your health is in the crosshairs of nefarious elements. I believe it to be nefarious because of the sheer volume of evidence that shows how a person’s health is being reduced almost intentionally by these external forces. But even if not, the net result is still the same: an individual’s health is depleted, reduced, and negatively affected, leading to a lesser (if not shorter) quality of life. Below I explain the 4 action steps that you can take to work against the external forces and be healthier than ever.
Action steps #1:
Do your own research and seek out professional advice for any health treatment
This is pretty straightforward, but why is it necessary? Simple: we should trust nothing at face value. Believing something easily is how many people fall into traps laid out by the very people who say they are there to help. And nowadays, with the overwhelming amount of information coupled with the powerful influence of social media, it can be difficult to know what the truth is in a given matter. In order to navigate this, you must take matters into your own hands.
Do your homework by researching the medicines, prescription drugs, and other alternative treatments that claim to resolve the health problem you have. More so, it is extremely important to seek out professional advice from a licensed physician or medical practitioner. Ask them about the treatments/medicines they recommend (or have been recommended to you) and why it is they recommend them. Seek out multiple opinions if needed. So, the action step here is to be informed, not confused.
This also applies to any diets or methods of eating. Know what foods you are eating and why. Just because a given diet says it is “super healthy” or will accomplish some benefit you are looking for doesn’t mean that you should believe them on the spot. While it may be beneficial overall, it may not be beneficial specifically for you. Read more into it; understand fully what it involves so you be confident of what you are doing (and eating). Do not gloss over the details, for they provide the real picture. And of course, seek out professional advice for any diet or eating plan you wish to embark upon.
Though doing your own research may be time-consuming, this is your health we are talking about! Nothing is more important than that. You must take it as seriously as everything else that matters to you in life, for your life and your health are precious gifts that you should treasure always. Do not simply presume that what is touted as being “good for you” is actually good for you, for the truth is usually found in the finest details.
Action steps #2:
Eat foods as close to the source as you can
It may be very convenient to pull up to a drive-through line, but that temporary satisfaction of a fast-food meal will linger in your body as deadly consequences later in life. It does not mean that you shouldn’t enjoy some of the pleasures of life, but if it becomes your consistent go-to for an evening meal because you didn’t cook ahead of time, then your health will soon suffer.
If you wish to feel better, look better, have more energy, radiant skin, and everything that describes an abundant physical life, the action step is to eat foods that are as close to the source of where they came from. The closer they are to the source, the more nutrient-dense they will be. The less distance that is between where it grew (or was raised, in the case of meat) and where you eat it usually means you are consuming a higher quality food.
So, when you are in the grocery store, spend more time in the produce area. Buy more lean meats. Stay away from the multiple aisles of processed, packaged food. Buy frozen foods that come directly from the farm itself and have very few ingredients listed on the label. The fewer the ingredients on the label, the higher quality of the food.
Action steps #3:
Use glass and not plastic as much as you can
Plastic is everywhere; it’s very hard to avoid. It makes up a lot of our products, toys, utensils, food packaging and so much more. In the modern world, it’s just a fact of life that plastic will be there.
To avoid contaminating your body with microplastic particles that could wreak havoc on your cells and organs, the action step would be to start looking at the things in your cabinets that are plastic-based. Water cups, plastic containers, plastic spoons, plates, and water bottles are all culprits. Swap these for glass-based products instead. Even stainless steel is a good option too.
Bring a reusable glass water bottle and fill it up as you go about your day. It’s a great way to save money as well! Not only are you benefiting your personal health, but you’re benefiting the Earth’s health by reducing pollution!
These things take time to get used to, so give yourself a chance to learn new habits. It might feel cumbersome at first to carry around a glass bottle (and then not forget it somewhere) but keep the end goal in mind: living a healthy life. By incorporating a small habit like this, you will begin to give your body a better means to fight off disease, increase your energy, and so much more.
Action steps #4:
Spend time with others in person
As we continually create and engage with new digital technologies, there is the temptation to rely on them to stay connected with one another more than being in person with each other. Delegating this essential component of living to a digital screen is not sufficient for our optimal health. We were designed to live in a community with one another; we are meant to be together, in person.
If you find yourself in front of a screen for most of the day and have a hard time pulling away, then taking action steps in the form of incorporating some simple habits can truly benefit you in this regard:
- Work for 50 minutes and then take a 10-minute break. Go outside and talk to your neighbors.
- Take a 30-minute walk in the morning and greet the other people walking as well. Don’t just go on by and say nothing; do good to them by genuinely acknowledging their presence.
- Don’t opt for a texting marathon when a short drive to see that friend or family member in person will accomplish so much more.
- If you want to watch a movie, invite someone to join you! If you’re going to be in front of a screen, at least enjoy that time with someone else.
Final Thoughts
Our health is not the responsibility of others; it is our own. In a world that doesn’t always promote a healthy environment, we must take matters into our own hands and be advocates for our own well-being. Taking personal responsibility for your health starts by making small choices that eventually repeat and compound on themselves over time.
Be informed about the external forces, the things that diminish your health and let it motivate you to take charge of yourself, taking the above mentioned action steps and much more!
Incorporate these four action steps as the beginning of a life well-lived. Your body will forever thank you for it.
Sources
- https://www.gspublishing.com/content/research/en/reports/2019/09/04/048b0db6-996b-4b76-86f5-0871641076fb.pdf
- https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP10285
- https://www.ewg.org/withoutintentionallyaddedpfaspfc
- https://www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2022-08/StoreVsHomemade_2022.pdf
- https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/106273
- https://nypost.com/2022/08/29/abercrombie-deletes-ad-after-fury-over-normalizing-obesity/
- https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/sustainable-food-alternative-proteins
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412022001258
Jordan Fuller
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