A simple question: What is health?
Many people find this quite difficult to answer however. Health is not a single faceted topic, and there are many variable that come into play. Being a student of CrossFit, I know that this questions has been researched in depth, and the brains behind the program are beginning to provide an answer. I will dig deeper into this topic in future posts, but I would like to leave you with a few ideas to consider.
1. Your body is a machine. Your environment + Fuel provide inputs. The machine does work, and the resulting output is power of some force.
2. On the microscopic level, every cell in your body is made up of molecules that provide the platform for life. All of these molecules are not however, created equal. The saying “you are what you eat” is holds very true, and it is safe to say that the quality of the food you are eating is just as, if not more important than quantity ingested. (For more on this check out the book Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health
3. To put it in perspective, take the Porsche 911 as an example. Arguably one of the most well designed cars in the world. The reason this car can achieve the power and performance that is does is due to the quality of the parts used to build it. The lightest and best materials, combined with the newest technologies all working together to produce a beautiful automobile. If, however we were to fill the gas tank of our Porsche with diesel fuel, all the aluminum and carbon fiber in the world isn’t going to make this car run and better.
Something to think about next time you’re reaching for that box of processed chemicals that so quickly gets labeled food. Is this good fuel for your machine? Did your body evolve to process this twinky? Is this even food?
