By John T G Nielsen General Manager & Nutritional Advisor of Fivelements Retreat Bali
We have bounced back from a global pandemic that caused 2020 and 2021 untold damages to many people’s health and businesses around the world, but the sad fact is that we have over the past two to three decades been experiencing a pandemic that has been causing massive damages to people’s health with little or no interference from governments.
I was driving to the launch of a mental wellness clinic in Denpasar on the island of Bali a few weeks ago when my colleague asked if he could stop at a famous fast-food place to get a soft drink.
We parked and walked in. As I gazed over the floor, I saw a “restaurant” that was full, which is great for business, but sadly in this case it only highlights the pandemic of nutrition.
We have known for decades that having a balanced lifestyle will improve many aspects of a person’s life. Eating well and healthy with a balance of whole foods and a higher percentage of vegetables, exercising regularly and drinking limited amounts of alcohol will have excellent long-term benefits to your health and personal wellness.
The wonderful expression attributed to Hippocrates (BC400) “Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food” says so much about how having a balanced and healthy diet can have so many positive effects on our life.
Countless research from universities, be it Harvard Medical School or The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine or books from leading medical authors including Dr Michael Greger’s “How Not To Die” or The Longevity Paradox by Dr Steven R Gundry highlights the relatively simple things we can all do to lead a healthier life or as Dr Gundry writes “How to die young at a ripe old age”.
Getting off first-base
Modifying your diet to include foods packed with antioxidants (Green tea, dark chocolate, prunes) and polyphenols (berries, olives, beans) and cutting down on processed food can play a positive role in starting the journey, but equally as important is the key ability to move and create a regular workout routine.
No, you are suddenly not going to be training for a triathlon but build up your fitness level and start a new chapter in your life. Ms Julie Bach, founder of Wellness Four Cancer w4cancer.com makes it clear that by simply being active for a minimum of 22 minutes per day “you suppress the cancer cells’ ‘ which cause us so much harm and damage.
