Out of context health advice

All the health advice- needs to be placed in context. The health conversation I have witnessed, followed (most my life) and regurgitated for 15 years, is so fragmented.

Usually, the best tips, hacks and information are reduced to the lowest common denominator like what we should or should not eat, or how many grams, steps, cups, minutes, and calories are needed to “be healthy.”

Yet, all the great thinkers and writers, like (my favorite) Wendell Berry, have known health is bigger, wider, and deeper than we can imagine, and it is nourished and sustained by so much more than external tinkering.

How many of us have known people who never saw their health as anything more than a gift- sustained by God, and nourished by work, worship, service, kindness and thrift.

For example: Take my great grandmother and both my grandmothers. They lived past 80, never counted protein grams or lifted weights. They lived simply, did everything themselves until they couldn’t. They also cooked pretty much every meal, didn’t eat out very often- worked, took care of their yards, cleaned their houses, planted flowers, and went to church.

They sewed, quilted, and crocheted. Lived in the same houses most of their lives. They drove used cars, and saved a whole lot of money by not spending money. Sure, they ate meat and eggs but they sure didn’t eat much. They did not drink alcohol or sodas, smoke, or eat lots of processed food. They also didn’t take supplements and weren’t on loads of prescriptions.

So, what was their key to “health” and longevity? Was it their spirituality, lifestyle, can do attitude or something they ate or did not eat? Hard to know and impossible to pull one thing out without everything including God’s providence connected to it.

Today- I am thankful for all the grandmothers, grandfathers and great grandparents who knew how to meet life on life’s terms. They weren’t perfect but they did seem to have a resilience and understanding of life that we have lost.

Here’s my great-grandmother. She crocheted more than a 100 afghans, raised four kids by herself, knew loss, worked hard, lived small, ate simply, laughed a lot and NEVER WONDERED IF SHE WAS EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN. She almost made it to 100.