By changing our perception of disease, preventing individuals from developing chronic disease, is possible. But first, we need to ask ourselves a few questions.
Why, despite advances in modern medicine and medical treatments, are more and more people falling prey to chronic disease than ever before?
Why do we seem to wait until we get chronically ill, before changing our lifestyle and behaviour?
And, what drives motivational change in some individuals, but not in others? If you’re as perplexed about this as I am, read on.
What is ‘chronic disease’?
Chronic disease is categorised as a health condition that occurs over time and lasts longer than 3 months. It’s also not something that generally goes away on its own. The word ‘chronic’ itself means persistent, long-lasting, and is often associated with other health complications.
It seems like now, more than ever, people are chronically ill, whether it be a physical or mental illness.
Have we just accepted this as the new ‘norm’? Surely not. So why does it seem to be getting worse, not better?
Read more about the rising rates of Coeliac Disease HERE.
We’re living in an age where advances in medicine and medical treatment, are the best we’ve seen. Yet people seem to be getting sicker.
As humans, we’ve worked incredibly hard to grapple our way to the top of the food chain. But, you’ve seriously got to wonder, was anyone taking note of what was happening while we were climbing up it!
Are we smart enough to change our perception of disease?
I think yes. Or at least I hope so! Unfortunately, it took a chronic autoimmune disease (Coeliac Disease), for me to wake up and change the way I was eating and living. But wouldn’t it be great if we could take action BEFORE, rather than after the fact?
The more we start to question why this is happening, the greater the awareness we can generate.
If we ask the question ‘why is this happening?’, I’m pretty sure we would arrive at the same conclusion. – It’s how we are living – It’s our lifestyle – It’s the choices we make every day!
If you don’t know what is classified as a chronic disease, check out the link below.
As humans, one of the biggest challenges we face, is we often wait until we receive a serious medical diagnosis before changing our behaviour. We have to begin to look at this differently because it’s pretty clear that this way of thinking just isn’t working well for us.
There also seems to be a difference in those facing disease. While some individuals use the opportunity of ‘disease’ as a chance to make positive change, lots of others don’t.
It’s possible that it boils down to our perception of disease and at what point we decide ‘enough is enough’. This could then influence our motivation to then seek knowledge, which in turn affects mindset and whether we then use this knowledge to our advantage.
Knowledge is Power (but only if you use it)
Before chronic disease rears its ugly head in your neighbourhood, change is possible. Schooling yourself, on a few topics around chemicals and food, is a good starting point.
You won’t hear me state, ‘just eat more fruit and veggies and less packaged food’, as this message is just too general.
Preaching strict or ‘just plain weird’ diets can be damaging, overwhelming, and almost always impossible to maintain long-term. This is why most people fail time and time again. I know this because I’ve been there many times before.
Start SMALL
Before I got chronically ill, my diet was poor. I did try, just not consistently. But once I started learning key bits of information about fruit and veggies, I just couldn’t ‘unlearn’ it and it motivated me to get better quickly.
I started eating certified organic fruit and veg because it was the easiest way for me to avoid gluten, heal my gut naturally, and reduce my overall exposure to chemicals.
What I started to notice, was that the better choices I made with food, the better I started to feel, the better decisions I began to make. I followed the formula below because I was sick of feeling like sh*t!.
My top tips for starting small
These would be my top tips, for making a difference in food choices, that aren’t too overwhelming. It’s how I began making a massive difference in how I felt, mentally and physically:
1. Gain some knowledge of Glyphosate, herbicide and pesticide use on fruit and vegetables.
2. Print off a copy of the ‘dirty dozen and clean fifteen here’. I hadn’t even heard of this before but it’s brought out each year stating which fruit and vegetables carry the most/least amount of chemical residue when they hit the supermarket and veggie stores. There’ll be a new list coming out soon for 2020.
3. Eat seasonal fruit and vegetables where possible. This reduces the amount of imports from other countries where regulations around chemical use may not be as strict.
4. Start swapping the foods on the dirty dozen list for organic or certified organic where possible. Again, this can be overwhelming but just start with one item at a time. It can be costly, but not as costly as developing a chronic disease! I now see more certified organic fruit and vegetables in my local supermarket than when I started, and I’ve only been doing this for 11 months!
5. Wash your fruit and vegetables! Even if they’re certified organic. I never did this before but I sure do now.
6. Talk to your friends, neighbours, coworkers, and anyone who will listen to you about what you’ve learned and what you’re doing. This is an important one! You would be surprised as to how many others are trying to do the same or are interested in what you’re doing.
Change starts with just one idea, one person, and motivation to help not only yourself but others!
That person could be YOU!
