Jordan Gray says that prioritizing your health is so much simpler than you were once taught.
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he health and wellness world has never been more polluted with info and studies on diets, nutrition and fitness fads. Wading through it all to find definitive answers is incredibly confusing. Because no matter the point you want to argue, you can find the science to back it up.
One article will tell you that soy is the worst poison known to man, another will say that it is a miraculous saviour for all humankind and the answer to sustainably feeding the planet.
One doctor will say that wheat is slowly killing you every day, another will say it’s an essential fuel for the human body to function optimally.
The bottom line is that you need to do what works and feels good for you. Find one authority that you really resonate with and take on only their advice, wholesale, for at least two months, so your body can really experience the results – for better or worse.
I might not be that authority figure for you in the health world. But after years of research, specialist appointments, talks with friends and struggling to find what works for me, I’ve seen five dead-simple, universal things that everyone can focus on to help drastically improve their health across the board.
If you were to throw out all your books and podcasts and just follow these five points, you would live far more happily and healthily than the vast majority of the people in the world.
1. Eat nutrient dense, easily digestible foods
Your body has a list of priorities for where it chooses to spend its energy. Critical functions like respiration and blood circulation come first, then the digestive and immune systems, and finally, higher, “non-essential” functions, like high-level creative cognition.
Having a clear, energized mind is at the bottom of your body’s to-do list. It’s busy trying to simply continue existing. So it’s on you to give it what it needs.
If you’re looking to optimize your mood and creativity, you need to start by feeding the foundation. Garbage in, garbage out. If you’re consuming toxic, processed, inflammatory foods, your body not only doesn’t have the proper nutrients it requires to function properly, but it also has to spend energy to deal with the crap you’re feeding it.
It’s simple systems theory: the less energy your system has to spend to digest it’s fuel and heal from any damage, the more energy it has available to allocate to other, more complex parts of the system.
Nutrient deficient, hard to digest foods are essentially a tax on your system. When you eat them, there is a hefty energetic cost. If you feeling chronically weighed down, foggy, low or depressed, there is a massive chance that your diet is bringing you down.
Replace your breakfast or lunch every day with a big green smoothie. It doesn’t need to be too complicated. A handful of kale or spinach, a banana (for sweetness and texture), half an avocado (for healthy fats and more texture), some flax, chia or hemp seeds and a handful of berries. For a fuller nutrient profile, add chlorella and/or a versatile protein powder.
Instead of adding ice cubes, which waters down the flavour, but is great for temperature and texture, try freezing almond or coconut milk cubes, or adding frozen fruit instead of fresh.
2. Drink more water
Since your body is mostly water, every system in it relies on it for optimal functioning.
Water is especially crucial to aid your body’s natural detoxification process. Organs such as the kidneys, liver and lungs are filters for impurities and toxic chemicals from the foods we eat, the fluids we drink and the air we breathe.
But without adding plenty of clean water into the system to flush those filters and excrete the waste, it accumulates and stews in your cells, organs and fatty tissues.
General dehydration also causes fatigue, brain fog, irritability, cramps and vulnerability to sickness. So if you’re looking for more consistent energy and a clearer mind, reach for a cup of water instead of coffee.
Many people find themselves in a vicious cycle with a caffeine addiction. They’re tired/foggy so they drink coffee, which lets them burn themselves out more, so they have more coffee, which leads to further burnout… you can see where I’m going with this.
I carry a freshly stocked 1-litre water bottle in my bag pretty much everywhere I go. This helps me avoid buying the sodas, coffees and sweet drinks that most everyone else is living on, rather than straight up, good old-fashioned water. Managing your thirst with water throughout the day is key in reducing your cravings for other drinks.
3. Move your body
Your moods, work efficiency and general confidence are three massive reasons why you should be moving your body on a regular basis. Along with diet, this is the highest leverage thing you can focus on to make big changes in your life, fast.
And unless you have a specific goal of rocking a six pack and 24 inch biceps, you really don’t need to spend that much/any time in the gym.
Studies have shown that short bursts of high intensity cardio is just as effective as jogging or cycling at a medium pace for extended periods of time. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is the latest iteration of this research.
Check out this total body, cardio blasting workout that takes just 4 minutes to do, and is far more beneficial than an hour on a treadmill. No, that wasn’t a typo. Four. Minutes. Anywhere, anytime. The military and olympic athletes implement this style of exercise.
4. Prioritize quality sleep
5. Have amazing sex regularly
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