Our children are obese (1 in 3 children in the Caribbean). We have diabetes (1 in 3 adults have diabetes in Barbados). We have terrible reputations which reflect the suffering of too many people "Barbados is the amputee capital of the world". You can check PAHO or Carpha for more stats or you can simply look around.

Do you know at least one person who has passed away from cancer or suffers from hypertension?

Swollen feet, indigestion and asthma anyone?

Are we spending most of our money (and time) on doctor visits, medicine and procedures which require a hospital stay? 

It doesn't have to be this way especially here in the Caribbean with our abundance of fruits, vegetables and herbs which can prevent and even heal our health issues.

Being healthy should be a priority for us all, after all if you are sick, weak or suffering there is not much more you can be or do. We certainly are not destined to suffer or "barely mek it through life".

Being healthy improves your quality of life, and you deserve the best quality available.

Anything is possible, being "healthy"  is a state of being which can change. Although the term healthy is used to describe habits, it is really meant to describe people - healthy/unhealthy people. Our state of being healthy can change and more than likely has changed. We can all try to remember a time when we felt that change. Do you know that feeling when you are so sick that you can't remember what "normal" feels like, and you beg the powers that be to let you remember by helping you over your health hump? Most of us are unhealthy in certain ways and healthy in others. However the way we use the word is still very subjective.  Our characterization of "healthy" is based on our individual perspective and world view.

Someone who -

• Rarely eats vegetables  

• Has inhaled smoke from burnt refuse  every day of their life

• Watched everyone in their family die of a heart attack before the age of 60 every day of their life

• Is unaware of how indigestion feels and how  food choices influence our quality of life

• Believes that living life until 50 years old is normal

Has a different definition of what is healthy than someone who -

• Frequently eats vegetables but has no idea about how different vegetables have different purposes

• Lives in a culture where health is defined by how much physical exercise we do rather than what we eat

• Has some awareness about how smoke affects their asthma but they still feel helpless

All of us fit somewhere along the scale between healthy and unhealthy depending on how our bodies respond to our practice of healthful habits and making healthful choices.

Healthful describes any practice or choice which creates good health. Well, good is relevant. So, we should all ask ourselves these questions about how we define “good health” or “feeling good”.

Pause, before you reassure yourself that you know what tastes good, feels good and what good health looks like (in order to convince yourself no changes are necessary since you are already a super-human); consider that change is the only constant in the universe. Life changes. If you were healthy, a series of poor decisions can still lead to you being unhealthy.

We can all, always, all-ways change for the better though. All around us this is happening in the ecosystems - different creatures are learning how to adapt and evolve. We human beings are capable of the same and live in an ever changing body and an ever-changing universe.If you are looking for a change - 

Ask yourself......

If I eat this food, will it help me with any health issues I might have?

If I eat this food, could it possibly make any of my health issues worse?

If I eat this food or have this drink, will it help me to heal or could it create another health issue?

Will I be satisfied when I eat this food or drink - will it make me crave another type of food?

Will I be satisfied when I eat this food or drink – will it make me crave more of this food/drink?

When I am bloated or constipated, how is my life affected?

When I am sick or incapacitated, how is my life and those around me affected?

When I exercise, how do I feel after?

When I practice this habit, does it make me feel better than I did before I started it?

When I practice this habit/behavior regularly - does it make me happier, more peaceful, full of vitality, joy, satisfaction or self-pride?

When I make this choice – does it make me feel good? 
 

To practice healthful habits means making some easy and even some tough choices. Sometimes there is thicker mud to plough through to figure out what is right for you. Whatever is right for you should not be a chore for you to maintain.

Either your mindset will mean that you see healthful practices as growth rather than chores or you simply find easy ways to feel good. There is no one way for you to become healthier but it is important to distinguish between fake healthful suggestions and honest habits which allow you to better understand your body.

 Read more on healthy definitions HERE.