If you follow me on Instagram, you probably read a condensed version of this 20 Things NOT Necessary to Being Healthy post in my feed this past week.  The response from you all, was absolutely incredible, so many “amens” and “preaches”, loads of  “thank you I’ve been feeling this way too” and “I really needed to hear that”. I received countless private messages and emails and so many of you shared my sentiments with your own community – first of all THANK YOU! I am happy to know that my thoughts resonated and also that I am not alone. It’s so easy to get caught up in it all. I also felt, given the response, this rant deserved a post of it’s own, so it would have the opportunity to live on more permanently and hopefully inspire even more folks, to feel free of this thought process and empowered to shift the focus.

I’ve recently been coming to the realization that the world of health and wellness, at certain times, can feel a bit like a “cool kids club”.  With our social feeds abundantly filled with “wellness expert”s touting everything from a detox tea that is the answer to your weight loss woes, to diets that will evidently cure all or oils, powders and mushrooms that will make you better, smarter, prettier, more energized and ageless. It’s hitting a tipping point and it’s all so wildly confusing and overwhelming.

Beyond that, having the opportunity every week here in my own community to feed the most humble of meals to the underserved, to those without homes and those without the means, many times, to get themselves a meal of any kind – my focus has really shifted to making health as accessible and inclusive as possible.

Here’s a Reminder / Insider Pro-tip for You –
NOT a SINGLE ONE of these Things are NECESSARY to Living Well and Being Healthy:

❌ Adaptogen mushrooms

❌ MCT oil

❌ Crystals

❌ Bulletproof coffee

❌ Smoothie bowls

❌ Charcoal

❌ Detox teas

❌ Bone broth

❌ Matcha

❌ Protein bars

❌ Collagen peptides

❌ Turmeric

❌ Fat bombs and balls

❌ Green juice

❌ Soulcycle, CrossFit, Yoga, Pilates

❌ CBD

❌ Dusts to make you sexy & smart

❌ Infrared saunas or cryotherapy

❌ Intermittent fasting

❌ A name, label or title for your diet or way of eating

 

The Real Talk

Do I rock some (lots) of these things? Hell yeh I absolutely do – NO shame. I’m not saying they’re bad or that many don’t have their benefits, at all. But I also think these are the things that get all the focus and attention, especially on social media and it’s not only not the whole entire story, it can also perpetuate the idea that health and wellness is wildly unattainable for SO many. It enforces the idea that taking care of ourselves is a privilege and I couldn’t disagree more. Accessibility to wholesome, nutrient-dense foods can be quite simple, really and it pains me to think some could see this world and feel too overwhelmed to ever even start.

The above stuff is fun for tweaking, experimenting and dialing things in a bit further, but none is necessary or a requirement for being “healthy”. Last I heard there’s no daily requirement for essential matcha grams.

It’s important to remember that living well and being healthy is dependent on so many other things, too!! Simple things that most people can implement regardless of income or location, accessibly and commitment level. The stressors / negative and toxic energies we choose to take out of diet and our life, the beautiful and inspiring community we surround ourselves with, managing our stress levels, how well we sleep, the personalized movement and mindfulness practices we choose to incorporate, between all the trendy elixirs – just to name a few.

My food, my meals and my recipes might often be humble and so not “cool”. Most of what you’ll see in my feeds, of my actual meals, are less than pretty bowls of organic produce topped with a solid protein, a drizzle of good ‘ol olive oil or 1/2 an avocado. But it’s real and hopefully helps you feel like you can easily prioritize your own health with the simplest of choices.

 

Stress Surrounding the Perfect Diet, Perfect Health and the Damage it Can Cause

Something else worth mentioning is the stress. Stress, be it emotional caused by external forces, because of the work we do or our daily family life /relationships, or stress within the body from toxic foods, chemicals we ingest or things we are exposed to in our environment, or simply the unacknowledged stress caused by the constant comparison to others – it can be the single biggest cause of our failing health. Stress is literally the disease of our lifetime.

Stress is often the leading cause of most health conditions and diseases we face. Whatever the causes, when our body is sent into an innate state of stress response, there is a releasing an excess of cortisol into our bloodstream to manage the state of our body feeling “in danger”. This is “fight or flight” mode and while our body is here and in a chronic state of the sympathetic nervous system dominance, our digestion doesn’t work, our immune system shuts down, sleep is affected, our heart rate increases and we feel chronically fatigued. We gain weight and our hair skin and nails look drab, despite how hard we try and how great we eat.

If we feel an immense amount of stress to stay on top of the trendy new heath foods and supplements, if we constantly question the diet we are currently consuming, judging every single bite of food that we consume and are continuously measuring it up against what we see on social media or from our peers, coworkers or family, if we forever searching for a level of unreachable, unmeasurable perfection – we are creating more unnecessary harm to our body through these self-induced stressors than we could ever hope to undo by taking in each and every one of the above 20 things.  It simply isn’t worth it and we are making things far more complicated than they actually are. Even worse, in this case it’s self-inflicted.

SLOW DOWN.

Slow down. Take it easy on yourself and realize that our health doesn’t have to be this complicated. It isn’t about all the stuff, the labels and the trends. We simply need to honor our unique needs, our personal tendencies and make choices based on where we are at, what we can manage, afford and what will give us the best, most long-lasting results – the ones that will last us a lifetime.

One final thought to ponder, if you haven’t quite dialed in your nutrition on a basic level, if you aren’t putting a focus on nutrient-dense, whole foods, that in many instances can give you many of the essential nutrients you need or you haven’t tackled the removal of some foods you consume on a regular basis, that are clearly harming your body. Maybe you haven’t yet figured out how to add in more (or any) vegetables or you haven’t taken the time to step back and manage chronic digestive issues, that are serious enough to keep you from ever even assimilating the nutrients from your foods you eat and the supplements you take – than wasting your money on the cool, trendy new supplements is just plain flushing money down the toilet and you will likely be left searching for more quick fixes and cool trends.

Point being, let’s all just slow down. Take a breath. Let’s focus on keeping it simple and let’s work together to show others that aren’t quite there yet, that living well and being healthy isn’t an exclusive, invite-only club for only those with a certain level of means or access to the newest stuff. We aren’t doing ourselves or anyone else any favors.

 

{photo of Beth by Natasha of The Feisty Kitchen}