2010 February 18

Healthy Living Across the U.S.: How does your county measure up?

j0433088 A new tool has recently been released allowing people to see just how their community measures up to neighboring counties and other counties across the country. As seen here on the County Health Rankings website, visitors can select their state from the map or input their info on drop down menus. We all like a little competition and being able to see if your neighbors make healthy living a priority is a fun way to motivate for change.

As the official website and this CNN Health story reveal, the healthy living rankings relied on numerous factors including obesity rate, crime rates, smoking rates, poverty, and access to doctors and healthy foods.

While my county ranks #32 in a state of 100, the more urban county to my north is #1 on the state’s list. Why is that? Urban centers often have more access to doctors, fresh markets, and money while outlying areas tend to traditionally lag somewhat behind. Also, being near Duke University and several other colleges known for their research tends to elevate the counties around me as well.

So, what does the healthy living factor of your county tell you? Consider the culture of your community. Is fitness a priority, not only to the citizens but to local government? Cities that put money into bike trails and family fitness centers will obviously rank higher than those who leave their citizens to make their own way.

Healthy living is about more than diet and exercise, it is a culture that affects an entire community. When the people of a county are taken care of, they feel better. And when they feel better, they take better care of themselves and those around them.

While your 40 minute P90X workout may not seem like a community effort, remember that what you do to keep your own health and the health of your family a priority may inspire others around you to do the same.

We Are What We Eat Part I

images Is eating healthy really the answer to curing all of the “incurable” diseases? Well, I think so. I think the saying “you are what you eat” is a very real thing. The hard part is to change one’s way of thinking and to get rid of the brainwashing that conventional wisdom has instilled into the modern American.

Eating right is simple, but it’s not easy. Not for most people. When I tell people what foods to avoid they say, “But that’s everything I eat!”

Yeah, and that’s exactly why you’re sick!

If you eat mostly raw, fresh organic vegetables and fruit and avoid refined foods, you will rid the body of nearly every disease. We need to stop thinking of disease as some bug that attacks us, some microscopic evil creature that comes into our bodies and takes over. A healthy body and a healthy immune system do not succumb to disease. Most of the diseases people fear these days are simply caused by the body breaking down. Microscopic organisms that prey on us are actually preying on decaying matter. Disease is a symptom of an unhealthy body, not the cause.