Moderation In All Things
When it comes to getting healthy, it’s not just a healthy diet that you need to practice, its exercise, quality sleep, lowering stress, and reducing toxins as well. The same is true for eating a healthy diet. It is not just avoiding foods that aren’t good for you, but it’s also maximizing the nutrient dense healthy foods that are good for you. There is one aspect of becoming healthy that many people struggle with and that is moderation.
Moderation by definition means partaking in something in a reasonable and balanced amount and avoiding excess or extremes. Excess is eating too many slices of pizza on a Friday night, but it is also having too big of a portion of salad on a Tuesday at lunch. It can be the person who only eats one main food group or the person who runs six miles on Saturday because they didn’t do anything the rest of the week. When many of us hear the word moderation, we likely think of unhealthy habits that we do in excess such as consuming too much pasta or ice cream or alcohol, however, moderation applies to healthy foods and habits as well. Too much of something, even when it is something that is good for you, can actually be bad for your health.
Eating a spinach smoothie every day might sound healthy, but it could cause kidney stones from the high amount of oxalate that is found in spinach.
Using gluten free flour to make those special baked goods sounds healthy, but too much of any flour could cause a big blood glucose spike.
Protein is great for us and helps us with muscle building and repair, energy, hormone production, brain function, weight loss and more but too much of it could cause kidney problems.
Magnesium is necessary for muscle function, nerve function, bone health, cardiovascular health, digestive health and more. Many of us are deficient in it and need more, however, too much magnesium and one will likely experience gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea and abdominal cramping and possibly worse problems such as muscle weakness and arrhythmias (heart rhythm disturbances).
Sugar as an occasional treat and in natural forms is an enjoyable part of life. However, when consumed in large doses (as most Americans do) sugar is linked to insulin resistance, fatty liver, inflammation and almost every other chronic disease.
When trying to get healthy, moderation is a key ingredient. To focus on moderation as a part of a healthy diet, eat a variety of foods and do not overeat. Live your life and enjoy occasional treats during times of celebration but not all the time.
Focus on moderation in exercise by not going too hard at your exercise each time (which will ultimately cause burn out) but focus on getting some movement and exercise each day and know that some days will be more than others and that’s ok.
When eliminating toxins from your life, moderation is important because there is no way in our world today to get them all out of your life so there is no point in feeling like you must or in feeling guilty for not doing so, but instead focus on removing toxins in your life that you can easily change (buying organic foods when possible, personal care products such as deodorant, lotions, and soaps and household products such as candles, detergents, and cleaners). Stay tuned for more on this topic in a blog post soon.
Remember, good or bad, moderation is one of the keys to building a healthy lifestyle that is not only sustainable, but enjoyable.