8 Lessons Learned on Health (In no particular order)
#1 “It’s good for me, so I should have more of it…”
…is a lie we tell ourselves. Over the past few months, I attempted to cut out processed sugars and foods contributing to inflammation. Since I hadn’t eaten candy in years, it sounded deceptively easy. I started substituting in honey and eventually dates, telling myself that these sugars were “natural” and had additional health benefits. It’s much easier to feel good about buying a granola bar when it’s labeled, “Only oats, dates, and honey…sustainable/raw/organic/responsibly sourced/etc.” What I found is that no additional health benefits make up for the fact that sugar is still sugar and compensating with too much of anything- even giant salads at Sweetgreen- will upset the body.
#2 Limitation drives creativity
My diet has narrowed a lot in the past year to become an anti-inflammatory version of the Mediterranean diet (no dairy, no grain, no processed sugars, no alcohol, no nightshades, no poultry, and limited red meat). While I definitely miss the foods I’m not eating, I found that my cooking and recipes have gotten much more creative. When your house is filled with vegetables, fruit, and fish, you begin to make foods like beet hummus, halibut in ginger sauce, smoothies with avocado and aloe vera, cashew milk with cinnamon and cardamom, and cajun-style cod stir fry.
This principle holds true in every part of life. Another dramatic limitation for me right now is the inability to write. While dictation software allows me to put words to text fairly easily (this post was mostly dictated), the biggest challenge is in organizing my thoughts. I’ve become aware that for me, writing is not just a process of communicating, but also organizing and refining my thinking. Being unable to do so on a piece of paper has forced me to structure my ideas mentally before speaking them. I take more time before speaking and am much more deliberate, since editing is very difficult.
#3 Grow your own food (or…at least know where it comes from)
As an experiment this spring, I planted a garden at my parents’ house. I searched online for something I could grow that would offer new taste and flavor. I found a variety of French garlic (spring onions) that had great reviews and planted them. It’s worth noting that the produce in most supermarkets is genetically bred for its durability and size, not flavor, fragrance or nutrient content (which are often correlated). As a result, by selecting to grow something with flavor, you not only enjoy it more but often get more antioxidants and nutrients in the process. The other thing you learn is how food has been processed before you normally buy it. While shopping for snacks one day, I saw two packs of dried apricots next to each other- one dark brown and the other bright orange. I assumed the orange were fresher until I noticed they were preserved with Sulfur Dioxide to get their color. It’s amazing how detached most people (including myself) are from nature that we don’t know what certain foods naturally look like or even how they age…
#4 If you want to know if you’re healthy, look in the mirror
In college, I noticed for the first time how diet (alcohol aside) directly affects the brain. I always brought my math homework to a cafe to do it alongside a coffee. I noticed some days I could finish it without problems and some days I seemed to get foggy-brained and couldn’t handle the abstraction. I also noticed on the days when I worked well, I had an espresso; the days when I struggled, I had a cappuccino. Since the work I was doing was already challenging to me, the dairy in the cappuccino made the difference between being able to do the work and not being able to do it.
With my health going up and down over the past few months, I’ve seen this effect over and over, throughout my body. When I eat well, the skin on my face is clear, my hands are smooth and taut, and I am optimistic; when I don’t eat well, my mind becomes depressed, the skin of my hands becomes scaly, and my face breaks out.
#5 The site of pain is often not where the problem is
During one visit from my cousin, who is a physical therapist, I described my hand issues. After having me do a series of exercises and observing me, she made the comment, “ A lot of this is probably coming from your neck.” I was surprised, given that she hadn’t asked about my neck and aside from a small amount of stiffness when I woke up, I didn’t think I had neck problems. But sure enough, exercises, stretches, and adjustments that targeted my neck, shoulders, and even hips, all seemed to help. Though I’m far from an expert in functional anatomy or physical therapy, I can better understand now the structure of my torso and the pathways of my nerves- and therefore how issues around my neck prevent nerves from reaching my hand. Especially for health issues at the periphery (hands, feet), the whole musculoskeletal system comes into play, since these areas rely heavily on support in the main trunk of the body.
#6 Have a good primary care physician
Since I moved between New York and Washington during the past 4 years, I neglected to find a primary care physician. While I knew this wasn’t a good idea, I didn’t fully appreciate how a primary care physician could have helped me. For example, once I did find one, he suggested I do a general blood test to look at various markers of inflammation as well as a Lyme disease test (still waiting on results), which could explain the arthritis in my hands. In all of my anxiety, I had never considered a condition like Lyme disease, which can manifest in so many ways, but which no specialist would likely have pointed me towards. Additionally, a PCP was suddenly someone else who knew my entire history and could help me build a game plan.
#7 Varied motion matters
When was the last time you threw a ball? Or went out dancing? I realized that since increasing my commute time last year, the variety of motion I was getting had practically gone to zero. I still went to the gym, but I only exercised a small fraction of the muscles in my body. And I’m not alone- even in the case of young athletes in the US, sports injuries are on the rise (in part) due to earlier specialization. While specialization may allow deliberate practice, it also brings muscular imbalances and an increased risk of injury. And the ease of the modern lifestyle doesn’t help. Aside from varying exercise routine, I try to take more time for varied motion, and look for opportunities to move (either through yoga, dance, or housework) that I otherwise wouldn’t.
#8 Purpose is essential to Healing
About a month ago, my parents asked me why I was not being more proactive about my medical care. While the question initially made me defensive, I realized that they were right. Aside from doing frequent acupuncture and physical therapy exercises, I didn’t have a strong strategy for getting healthy. Part of this was exhaustion and frustration from the many doctors I had met (and watching my savings drain in a flash from my account). But as I reflected more, there was a more fundamental reason: I had just quit my job, I had gotten tired of New York City, and I had no idea what the next step was. Simply put, what is the point of getting well when you have nothing to look forward to anyway? While my life situation has not changed and I’m still not clear on what I will do next, I’ve tried to visualize the future I do want. Each night, I imagine feeling joy and fulfilment and picture myself as I want to be, without knowing how I will reach that point; that was enough to get me back to a doctor and moving towards that next step, whatever it may be.
