© Another Day in the Country
What is it about us that makes us think that taking a pill solves a problem? Pharmaceuticals of one kind or another have always had their place, “but, c’mon folks! Ever think about changing your lifestyle?”
I know, I know, it’s easier to take a blood pressure pill than to get out there and exercise to get that extra weight off; but seriously? Wouldn’t the fact that a doctor writes you a prescription make you wonder if you could prevent this or heal this ailment by changing something you do or something you eat? Ask the question, “What am I doing that I shouldn’t or what haven’t I done that I should?”
It’s a fact that every time we introduce something into our system whether it is food, drink, or pills things are going to change. If you want to know all the myriad ways that your body could change, you just have to listen to the ads for painkillers or anti-depressants (that can actually make you more depressed).
I rarely watch television in the morning, but yesterday was an exception because Barbara Walters is retiring and I wanted to see a particular segment of “The View.” Usually, I prerecord programs so I can fast-forward through all the commercials. Yesterday, I was going cold turkey and the number of advertisements geared to whatever age group watches lots of morning TV was mind boggling.
I saw one ad for a skin cream that will make your flaws fade. I had to chuckle because I believe one of the blessings of getting older is that your eye sight is not so keen so when you look in the mirror your flaws just fade naturally.
Another commercial starting off with a visual of beautiful apples on a tree transitioned to a lady’s cheeks meanwhile assuring us that the apples under our cheek bones didn’t need to fall. We could have them injected with gel and we’d look 20 years younger. Oh, of course, there may be side affects like lumps, bumps, bruises, and acne. It’s exactly what I want, how about you?
I’m forever grateful that I had parents who were into a healthy lifestyle. Way ahead of their time, they knew that what you put into your body made a difference — a huge difference. Eating or behaving in a way that does not improve your health will catch up with us eventually — it’s just a matter of time.
We’ve got to take charge of this body of ours and learn about how it works and not just swallow some pill to solve our problems. Most of us are more cautious with our automobile than we are with our own bodies. The nice thing about cars is that they come with an owner’s manual. For our bodies, we often have to write that manual ourselves by listening to our bodies and learning about them.
Through the years, there are certainly things that I wish I’d done differently, things I didn’t know; but I’ve vowed to incorporate every new thing I learn about living a healthy life. What you learn and the changes that you make in your lifestyle do make a difference — at any age. So, let’s start the learning curve.
My learning curve has been to remove gluten (among other things) from my diet for two weeks to see if it makes a difference in how I feel. First of all, I had no idea how many things that I consider “normal, healthy, foods,” contained gluten. (That was the first things that I learned.) The next thing was that I actually felt a difference. “Could it be true?” I asked myself, “that I actually have more energy?” Hmm.
“Live and learn,” is my motto, on another day in the country!