How Environmental Factors Impact Health and Longevity – What to Do to Protect Ourselves
Enviromental Factors most heavy metals occur naturally, their release as byproducts of manufacturing and other industrial and/or technological processes are man-made. Plus, God did not create plastic bottles and containers, pesticides, cleansers, solvents, and the like-we did. The best rule of thumb is not to ingest anything with a name that’s impossible pronounce, much less spell!
I think you raise a point that is an important health consideration. These are not issues often tackled by fitness professionals. The pull here is that most fitness professionals are not specifically trained in ecological science. It would be an interesting suggestion to include in the practical training and certification of those who will work in this area information about the health impact of environmental toxins. While the jobs we do do not include acting on these issues as a part of our daily work, being able to understand the health impact of such things and explain them to students/clients could be a part of the general work we do to impact clients daily drive to increase wellness.
I did have a conversation with a scientist recently who said that he thought the statement that one should not eat things one cannot pronounce was a simplification. There are things that are both health and natural that if stated in their scientific name could look daunting. As a general point I do look at labels before I buy something and reject things with a lot of additives. But I think it is important to become educated on what some of those additives are, so I can make a more nuanced choice.
I agree with you and this can be a subject for a very long and endless discussion. Personally I avoid foods that have too many ingredients on their labels and especially ones I can’t even pronounce. I’m not a chemist. We eat fresh foods bought either by myself or my wife. We both cook our meals and we always know what we are eating. I try to pass this thinking/habit down to my clients as much as I can. Avoiding fast foods is a great way of not ingesting processed foods with many ingredients that are impossible to pronounce. I believe more and more health professionals today are starting to think this way as well. Wellness is getting a lot of attention not just by individuals but also from larger corporations.
Hi Lelsy,
you are probably preaching to the choir here. One of my favorite authors is Michael Pollan who makes a similar statement about not eating what you cannot pronounce.
However, we need to be careful not to assume automatically that something occurring in nature is automatically healthy or that man-made is bad.
The issue of environmental factors is too complex for soundbites.
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com
Humans have been messing with mother nature ever since they appeared on this planet. Over the years they have tailored much of the food they eat to meet their needs and satisfaction. Earlier today I came across an interesting video from TED talking about the Paleo diet. With so many options out there as far as food goes, all we have to do is to be more aware of what we put into our body.