I was listening to a podcast the other day about a magic pill that promotes weight loss. This concept is not new, trust me, I myself have tried a few. Caffeine pills and appetite killers, limiting calories and cardio workouts, to pre-workout, protein out the wazoo, to vegan, to pescetarian. What’s healthy seems to be a constant question. Everyone has an opinion promoting what someone is trying to sell. A quick google search informs me that in 2020, the global wellness economy was valued at $4.4 TRILLION. While we as individuals try to create wellness in our lives, we are bombarded with capitalism, unable to feel what long term “health” really means. I am not a doctor, I am not a nutritionist, I am just an individual that is on a journey to discovering what health means to me. I am here today sharing what I have learned through my yoga teachings and a lot of trial and error. While I have a lot to say about this topic, I am going to try and make this all relatively short and save the longer version for a book in the future.

The Nervous System

I promise this will all make sense in the end. Just try to stick with me for a bit.

What I have learned about the nervous system is that there are two main parts. The central nervous system (CNS), and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The central nervous system consists of our brain and spinal cord while the peripheral nervous system houses the nerves that branch off the CNS. Again, I am keeping this as short as possible, skipping over a lot of information so if you have any questions or want to dive deeper into this, send me an email at tara@discoveringtara.com or send me a text over to Discovering Tara at (614) 636-2479.

The peripheral nervous system is the system that communicates with the central nervous system and the rest of the body. The PNS is divided into two nervous systems, voluntary and involuntary.

Under the PNS you will find the Enteric Nervous System, which has both voluntary qualities and involuntary. The Enteric Nervous System is also known as our “Second Brain”. This ENS (second brain) has about 100 million nerves that reside in the lining of our gut.

So just sit on that for a moment. Our guts are known as our second brain. Even crazier, about 90% of the serotonin we get (our happiness hormone) is produced in our guts. If we are filling our bodies with foods that don’t allow glucose to get to our cells, our systems have a more difficult time communicating with each other. In a lot of ways, it seems to me that our guts are actually our first brain. What is put in our gut, send signals to the brain via the nerves, and then we respond to life in ways that reflect what we eat.

For example, when we eat high fat, processed foods, we slow down. Movement feels more difficult and that affects how we feel since serotonin has not been able to be produced to its full potential. We see a lot of mental health issues in younger generations. What if a contributing factor to this is the change in our diets? It seems convenience has begun to override us as a society due to our fast-pace lifestyles. But that fastest food available to us is fruits and vegetables that are ready to be eaten in their natural form. Yet we only eat one banana at a time, or a small side salad when it may be in our best interest to make these our main servings. The changes that we need to make to give us a healthy gut are not ones that can be solved by a pill. While this can work momentarily, as soon as one stops taking that pill, the weight is gained, harder to get back off, and heavier than before.

To be able to take a pill to achieve total “health” just isn’t possible. Complete health is more than just your weight. Remember, this writing is intended to be short and sweet. I am not going to include the sympathetic nervous system in here that houses our stress responses and how the body feels stress even though this is still linked to our ENS (second brain). Just have a place holder in your mind for that.

The Cardiovascular System

We know that health includes a lot more than just our weight. That living a healthy lifestyle is more than just what we see on the scale. Let me explain the Cardiovascular System as I know it. The cardiovascular system, also known as the circulatory system or vascular system’s main purpose is to pump blood throughout the body through the veins, arteries, and capillaries. Our blood is what carries nutrients, hormones, and oxygen to our tissues and organs which are filtered through the kidneys and liver for elimination. Our cardiovascular system grabs nutrients from the stomach (where our second brain or ENS system resides) and then pumps those nutrients out to the rest of our body. If we eat foods that are high in fats, our arteries that transport blood from the heart to the body have a more difficult time sending oxygen and nutrients.

We know that sitting for long extensive periods is not good for our hearts, yet we still sit at our desk for hours on end whether that be working on projects in the arts or at a desk in a bank. We sit at our job, in the car on our way home, to instantly eat, then watch T.V. to lay down in bed and start all over again. And that does not even include stress and how it affects our bodies and cardiovascular system. Even if you eat the healthiest of foods, this type of lifestyle will not get you very far.

Our bodies have a built-in way of getting our blood pumping so what if instead we work on finding movement before taking the pill? It appears that some doctors are quick to give out pills to remedy heart issues while not suggesting that changes in lifestyles will help the individual over the long term. It seems to me the medical industry is in the business of keeping individuals sick than helping them get better. And this could be due to multiple factors. How do you tell someone that the solution to their problems is to adjust the habits that have been built throughout their entire lives? How do you tell someone that most of the wellness industry is just a business that wants to make sure they reflect a profit. Even more so, that they continue to make more profits each and every year? Doctor’s can only do so much, it is up to the individual to make their own choices. No one can make the decision for us that we are going to live a healthy, rich life. No number of green juices are going to be able to get us off our butts. No number of pills are going to tell us we need to get outside and experience the sun (which is a conversation for a different day). We must make a different choice. There is no quick fix. The “fix” just helps the symptoms, it doesn’t fix the actual problem.

The Endocrine System

So, we want a pill that will help us lose weight. At this point we feel like there is no other option. We feel like we have tried to diet, tried exercising, and nothing feels like it is working. We want the pill because maybe that will get us to the weight we wish to be. In comes the Endocrine System. This system contains glands that are typically discussed as hormone regulation. When specific hormones are imbalanced, you may feel fatigued, depressed, or tired and weak.

This system has seven major glands that produce and release hormones that seek to regulate their functions.

The Pineal Glad –This gland produces melatonin and affects our sleep.

The Pituitary Glad – This gland produces hormones that trigger growth and affect stress levels, blood pressure, thyroid glands, metabolism, growth, and reproduction.

The Thyroid Glad – Releases hormones that promote growth and energy, calorie burning and heart rate.

The Parathyroid Glad – Associated with the amount of calcium in the body.

The Thymus – Immunity.

The Pancreas – regulates glucose levels in the blood.

The Adrenal Glands – Sex drive and Cortisol.

The Gonads – Reproductive/Sex Glands. Ovaries and Testes.

This system reflects overall good health and a healthy lifestyle where we consume foods that are good for us, get enough sleep, and move our bodies. I am not saying that a healthy lifestyle will solve all these problems, I am saying that before or during the time that we are taking the magic pill, we need to make lifestyle changes. Medications are great at relieving symptoms while we get ourselves in a healthy position. I am suggesting that we use medications as tools instead of as a “Quick” Fix.

In a society where we are taught to ignore what our bodies and minds need; I encourage us all to reconnect with ourselves. To slow down. All that we are missing out on when we slowdown is the stress of capitalism. Regardless of what your boss (or clients) says, 10 minutes of meditation a day, every couple of hours or even every hour is not going to mean life or death. You are your own business, treat yourself as such. You are your greatest asset, no matter what assets you have. If you don’t exist, then those assets are worthless to your (just your) life. Life is so much more than the burger that we got at the drive through.

As far as what health means to me in terms of diet and exercise, stay tuned.

Thanks for reading.