Yes. I believe food can be thy medicine. But there’s more.
When I first started this blog, it was basically to have a place to keep all the recipes that my followers on Instagram asked for. Clearly it was a food centered website in hopes of inspiring others to lead a healthy life by way of eating real food. I thought food was the only “medicine” that was needed to help heal a body.
Over the course of my blog writing years, I soon discovered that food wasn’t our only measure of gaining a healthy and thriving lifestyle. Yes, food plays a huge role in our bodies ability to adapt to a healthy being but clearly, it’s not the only thing! Take for example the types of lotions, shampoos or even toothpaste we use. If you’re not careful, you could very well be sabotaging your health and negating the real food you’re fueling your body with.
Skin Cancer? From the sun ….or our products?
Toxic chemicals are found in most of our products. Chemicals wreak havoc on our hormones and can cause inflammation. When we slather on sunscreen, in hopes of steering clear of a sunburn, we subject ourselves to chemicals that travel through our skin and into our system. I don’t know about you but I’d rather wear a hat …..get some vitamin D for a bit and then get out of the sun. I’m certain skin cancer is on the rise due to all the sunscreen that’s being used vs. the sun. But I’ll leave that there for a bit. Just think about it though — sunscreen sales are at an all time high and yet, so is skin cancer! Interesting.
Let the body rest and recover ~
Another way to lend your way to a healthier lifestyle is rest. I will address sleep in a minute but let’s talk about resting your body, especially when it really needs it. I know you’ve visited my blog for recipes and meal inspiration and many of you have asked about weight loss. Well, I can lead you in all sorts of directions by way of food, that could possibly help with health/weight loss BUT if you’re not resting your body when it needs it, you’re doing it a huge disservice. Your body becomes stressed when it’s pushed too far (especially when starting to feel under the weather) and it protects itself. Resting is one of the most important things you can do for you! I know – trust me – we all have things to do or get done. The list goes on and on from day to day. We tend to push through and pretend all is well but I learned a huge lesson in the early part of January. I learned that resting ourselves takes much less time than the alternative. Let me explain …..
My niece Sara passed away on the 2nd of January. She died of pneumonia. Here’s the short version of her story. She had a cold and it progressively got worse. She kept going. She has 2 teenage children, Christmas was coming up and she started new job. She simply didn’t have time to let her body fight off the sickness. Sara pushed herself to the limit all December long. With starting a new job, she felt badly by taking a day off. When she finally did call in sick, her employer made her feel guilty as it was the holiday season and they needed her! So ….Sara went into work – sick. She never rested her body. Needless to say, it was too late when she finally got the medical attention she needed. And if she’d listened to her body from the get-go, she may have never even needed medical attention in the first place. Sadly, a tragic and heartbreaking ending of our sweet niece’s life!
Why am I telling you about this? Here’s the thing — my interest in inspiring you all to cook healthier meals is still first and foremost BUT if I truly want to inspire you to be the healthiest you can be, I have to be honest and say that I don’t think food is the only component and though my website is ‘Cocos Paleo Kitchen’ and tagline is ‘Food with a Purpose’, I would be remiss if I didn’t pepper in all of the other factors in gaining true health.
I am a food blogger but I now look at all aspects of health
…it’s not all about food
I think when people start following me, especially in the new year, it’s in effort to get resources for healthier meals because there’s usually a goal or new years resolution. I love that and I really do hope to inspire everyone to keep their plate rounded with lots of greens/veggies, protein and healthy fats but at this point in my life and from learning so much the last couple of years, the need to remind you all that food is only one component. Our products are another …..we can’t expect to be toxic free because we eat clean, if we’re using toxic chemicals on our skin. Cleaning products in our home are culprits as well. There’s honestly so much more to go into with both of those areas but that’s for another time.
My hopes for this blog post is to highlight the importance of resting your body, especially when you’re feeling run down or under the weather! There’s no better time to slip into your comfy clothes and plop on the couch or your bed, than when you’re feeling a scratchy throat or sniffles. It does a body good to let it have the time to fight it off vs. trying to push through it and stress your body out. And sleep. Go to bed early and get a solid nights sleep when you’re fighting a cold! I mean, that should be a given ….getting a good nights sleep each and every night but especially when you’ve got cold/flu’s all around us – sleeping a good 8 hours a night is key! My husband eats what I do. My husband also works a few nights per week and averages about 4-5 hours of sleep on those nights. He also gets sick pretty much every few months. Nothing too crazy – cough, cold and/or sore throats, whereas I get my 8 hours of sleep per night and I can honestly say that I can count on one hand the times I’ve had a cold/cough in the last 6 years! Again, we eat the same things …..we just have different sleeping patterns and I’m pretty sure that’s where we differ in fighting off any bug that might be going around.
Sleep. It does a body good.
So, for what it’s worth – there’s my 2 cents. I can share all the foods that will help you be a healthier you but if you don’t listen to your body and give it the attention it needs, you are digging yourself into a hole. I care about your well-being and my hope is to not only inspire a healthier looking plate but to inspire you all to live a healthier life as a whole!
Kick the chemicals in your home and skin care to the curb. Eat real food (Food with a Purpose). Stay hydrated and drink plenty of bone broth …..and above all, give your body the rest it deserves and craves when you’re feeling run down! You’re all you’ve got. Treat you right!
