Good ol’ Hippocrates… His stamp has been permanently inked on all modern-day physicians in the form of the Oath that bears his name. All physicians have recited a version of the Hippocratic Oath at some point in their medical training. And even though these famous words were written over 2000 years ago, the relevance of Hippocrates’ words ring true in our modern medical landscape:
But what about the other Hippocratic Oaths? You know, the ones about food and exercise and their relationship to our overall health. Never heard of them? Well, it turns out they don’t really qualify as official “oaths”, but that fact shouldn’t diminish their importance.
We have strayed long and far from Hippocrates’ wisdom here… Instead of it being a source of medicine, food has become the source of illness for a large portion of Americans.
We eat way too much food
Rates of obesity continue to climb in the US (West Virginia is in the lead with 37.7% of its residents), and the levels of associated lifestyle-related illnesses (diabetes, hypertension) are following right along. Obesity is a complicated beast on many levels, yet it is an elementary level math problem at its simplest. Calories in, calories out.
We also eat way too much “food”
For the bulk of human history, the need to figure out exactly what we should eat was unnecessary. The only options we had available were the plants we gathered or grew in the ground, the animals we raised or hunted, and what was shared by our neighbor. Basically food.
Today’s landscape is vastly different: there is an endless supply of food-like substances designed and created in labs, made to resemble real food. The scientist has put his mark to such a degree that a good chunk of what is being sold to us is now more a product of science (“food”) and less a product of nature (food).
Think about the incredible opportunity that we have when it comes to our diet. Because we eat three times a day, every day, we have regular opportunities to nourish our bodies with the nutrients they need to run clean. Imagine how good we could feel if we regularly ate the treasure chest of vitamins and minerals found in vegetables, fruits, nuts, quality meats, and healthy fats… And the only thing we’d have to do is eat real food. Just not too much of it.
I’ll be the first to admit that exercising feels a bit like flossing. I imagine you can relate: we know we’re supposed to do it, but the immediate benefits seem a bit intangible, and the feeling of being beat up and bloodied when finished is a significant deterrent. So, most of us give exercise a pass.
According to the website The State of Obesity (a collaborative project of the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that focuses on raising awareness and creating prevention strategies for the obesity epidemic), “eighty percent of American adults do not meet the government’s national physical activity recommendations for aerobic activity and muscle strengthening.”
Let me take a moment to inject some perspective and remind us all of the benefits of exercising.
Exercise improves your mood
The psychiatry literature is loaded with studies that show the beneficial effects of exercise on our mood, on our ability to better handle stress, and on reducing anxiety and depression. Regular exercise can also improve self-esteem and cognitive function.
Given the skyrocketing rates of medical worker burnout, the psychological boost that exercise provides can be a godsend.
Exercise improves sleep
I have three growing kids at home, and I have found that my wife and I are guaranteed a trip to crazy-town if any of their four basic needs aren’t met: access to food, access to water, appropriate temperature and adequate sleep. I should admit that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as I undergo my own “Teen Wolf” transition when I am sleep deprived.
Exercise can play a role here too: from college students to the elderly, pregnant women to obese men, studies show the sleep quality of all is improved with regular exercise.
The American Heart Association sums it up best: a regular amount of moderate exercise helps you “fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.”
Exercise and the prevention of chronic diseases
A quick search of “exercise and disease prevention” on Pubmed will yield literally thousands of articles that deal with exercise and the prevention of chronic diseases. I’ll list a few ailments here that can be thwarted by some good ol’ vitamin e — cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, osteoporosis and premature death.
Personally, I am a big fan of living a life full of quality (and ideally quantity), and the knowledge that I have some control over whether these diseases are present or absent in my life spurs me toward activity.
Exercise and physical change
There is no denying that our physical appearance matters, and unfortunately, change takes time. Remember that you are still reaping the benefits of exercise even when your physical appearance seems slow to change. Also, you are most likely to succeed if you combine exercise with eating healthy. The unofficial word on the street is that physical change is 80 percent related to diet and 20 percent exercise. The bottom line: showing up is half the battle. A sloppy workout is better than no workout.
When you think about it, there is an interconnectedness in all of the ancient physician’s words… As we treat food and exercise as medicine, we hold true to the same tenets of the actual Hippocratic Oath:
Hippocrates was a wise man. It’s time to listen up.
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