What is the best way to be healthy? Hint: It’s not what you eat that will do it!

Everyday we hear about new research. Much of the new research refutes old research. Lately I’ve been reading about milk and dairy products and how they are not the healthy, bone-building food we grew up believing dairy products to be. In fact, one study that followed more than 100,000 people for more than 20 years came up with a shocking result – old milk drinkers are more likely to break a hip than non milk drinkers! Whaaaaaaaa?

I’d like to see some research on all of this research!???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

I’m really tired of the absolute bombardment of information telling us to “eat this” “don’t eat that” if you want to be healthy. I really have had my fill of the “experts” who pop up on TV, on the Internet, and in books and magazines with their dire warnings and (no surprise here) their “cures” for which they are expecting us to pay them a lot of money.

Wheat doesn’t make me sick, but I’m getting very sick of people saying stupid things such as “humans cannot digest gluten.” I don’t even know if that’s true or if it’s something some huckster says to sell disgusting and overpriced gluten-free products or if not products, then books and Internet downloads. Maybe gluten can’t be digested, but then, neither can fiber and everybody seems to agree that fiber is good for people with normal, healthy digestive systems.

I almost would rather avoid groups of people just because I am sick of hearing the benefits of “being a vegan” from a guy who wears leather, or the people who go on at length to describe their revolting digestive upsets happens when they eat dairy foods, or gluten. Oddly, I’ve seen them eat foods that contain the alleged offending substances and they don’t have reactions because they’re not aware of what they’re eating.

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Stress will do more damage to your body than your food choices can.

In the midst of all the new research to try to discover what we should eat and what we shouldn’t eat, there remains two things we can do for our health that have nothing to do with food. In fact, if we do these two things we can protect our body and our health better against whatever food choices we make.

A sedentary lifestyle will undo all the good eating well can for your body!

A sedentary lifestyle will undo all the good eating well can for your body!

These two things that are indisputably the best way to get and stay healthy are stress management and exercise. It’s not a coincidence, by the way, that exercise is an effective way to manage stress.????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

To sum it up, the best way to be and stay healthy is to get plenty of exercise (which can be fun activities that you really enjoy) and reducing stress and it you can’t reduce it, then learn how to release it.

 

Jackie Conn

About Jackie Conn

Jackie Conn is married and has four grown daughters and four grandchildren. She is a Weight Watchers success story. She's a weight loss expert with 25 years of experience guiding women and men to their weight-related goals. Her articles on weight management have been published in health, family and women's magazines. She has been a regular guest on Channel 5 WABI news, FOX network morning program Good Day Maine and 207 on WCSH.