Healthy Body, Healthy Mind

“To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”

— Buddha

Improving our eating habits has a profound impact on our body and our mind, and is an important step as we pursue our life’s purpose.

Our bodies are the most amazing of machines, and we must treat them as such. If our body were a car, it would be similar to Bugatti Veyron.   We would not put regular unleaded (cheapest quality) gas into a Bugatti. But, we sometimes put the lowest quality food in our bodies.

This unhealthy eating affects our bodies and our minds, as they are intimately connected.

Firstly, low quality food disrupts our digestive system. Our bodies were created to consume whole foods that contain essential vitamins and minerals. It is difficult for our digestive systems to process artificial junk foods, and consuming these foods causes constipation and various other unfortunate side effects.

We also deprive our brains of the essential vitamins and minerals they need to function optimally when we put unhealthy food into our bodies.  And, when our mind is not functioning optimally, we are unable to stay in the present moment and pursue our life’s purpose.
 

History of Unhealthy Eating

Now do not assume I have always been a health-conscious eater.

During high school summers, my daily order from Wendy’s was, “two junior bacon cheeseburgers, an order of biggie fries, an order of chicken nuggets, and a biggie sweet tea.” In college, my friends and I ate fried chicken tender wraps and cheeseburgers daily.  Oftentimes, we would have entire pizzas around 2’o’clock in the morning.

So, I definitely would not have won any awards for healthy eating.

However, my diet steadily improved after college.  I began eating much less fast food, substituted water for sugary drinks, and in fact became a vegetarian in the last sixteen months.

This transformation in my diet caused an unexpected number of benefits for my body and mind.
 

Benefits of Eating Healthy

These are the seven most significant benefits that I immediately experienced after changing my diet: 

1)  Energy levels boosted by consuming whole foods and staying hydrated.  It became abundantly clear to me that the more energy I needed to process my food, the less energy I had available for other activities.

2)  Brain function improved by consuming foods with more vitamins and minerals.  My mind felt much more alert when focused on professional and personal tasks.

3)  Productivity increased due to the mind functioning at a more optimal level. Improved energy levels also led to increased productivity. I procrastinated less, and focused on my life’s purpose more.

4)  Metabolism enhanced by eating more whole foods that boost the burning of fat and eating less junk foods that add fat, as well as by staying hydrated. Protein plays a key role in increasing our metabolism.  Although it takes more effort to find the right sources of protein as a vegetarian, my metabolism is just as strong now as when lean meats were the key source of protein in my diet.

5)  Body weight & composition improved through the improvement in my metabolism and by being more active during the day.  As a vegetarian, the food I consume is much lighter on the stomach and burns more quickly when paired with a weight-training regimen.

6)  Emotions (Energy in Motion) improved by reducing energy spent on digesting unhealthy foods and by being more active.  The less healthy I was, the more I wanted to lounge on couch and be lazy.  By staying active, I keep my energy in motion and my emotions more positive.

7)  Sleep Quality enhanced by going to sleep with a much lighter stomach.  I remember days when I went to bed and woke up with a stomach full of BBQ. My body and mind feel much more rested when I wake up in the mornings because my body spends much less energy digesting food through the night.

These significant benefits to our bodies and minds make it essential that we eat healthy foods.

On this beautiful journey we call life, our ability to live out our life’s purpose will be directly proportional to our ability to maintain a healthy body and mind.