As you go through life, you inevitably adopt a set of assumptions about your health. You might say things to yourself like:
- “I’ll always feel out of breath when I run. It’s just my body type.”
- “I’ll be overweight for the rest of my life. All my family is obese, so it makes sense that I am too.”
- “Chronic pain is just something that I need to accept. There’s nothing I can do about it.”
- “Some health conditions are irreversible and can’t be fixed. It’s better for my mental health if I just accept that instead of fighting it.”
You get the picture. This sort of self-talk is something that people do to soothe themselves when there seems to be no way out of their health predicament. But that sad thing is that they’re mostly untrue. Yes – disabilities exist – nobody denies that. But a lot of people have conditions that can be changed. They just don’t realize it.
The concept of “health potential” is a reflection of this. It’s the idea that only a small subset of us are as healthy as we could be, including those living with disabilities, chronic pain or other chronic conditions.
Did you know for instance, that researchers have proven that you can reverse the number one killer, atherosclerotic heart disease?
Did you know that the majority of people can reverse type II diabetes through lifestyle interventions, including a plant-based diet?
Did you have any idea that chronic inflammatory conditions, like inflammatory bowel disease, can also go into remission in most patients by eating more whole foods?
Did you know that chiropractic interventions can help reduce chronic pain and allow you to live a fuller and more fulfilling life?
Maximizing your health potential should be a priority in your life. After all, if you’ve ever lived with a chronic health problem, you’ll know how fundamental it is to your life changes, happiness and success.
Maximizing your health potential doesn’t mean achieving perfect health. It just means doing the best you can with what you’ve got. Sometimes you can’t do anything about the health problems you have – and that’s okay. But there is often room for improvement. Very few people living in Western countries are genuinely healthy. And most don’t even know it.
Researchers, for instance, estimate that fewer than one in a thousand people eat a healthy diet. Only a vanishing fraction of individuals eat the recommended amount of beans, whole grains, fruits and vegetables weekly. An even smaller number of people do this and take regular exercise.
When it comes to lifestyle, the interventions are incredibly simple. You don’t have to make sweeping changes. Primarily, you just need to make sure that you’re giving your body the things that it demands to be healthy – all while avoiding the junk.
Most people don’t have a sense of their health potential. But when they make an active effort to achieve it, they’re often astonished. They didn’t realize that they could feel so good. It’s a revelation for many.
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