What is healthy?

There are many things in life that I find myself pondering, like who started the rumor that moon is made of cheese? And where do all of those missing socks end up? But one particular type of pondering involves ideas that seem to be understood, but actually have a wide variety of interpretations. Like what is spirituality? What does it mean to be artistic? But the one I have been pondering over the past few days is: What does it mean to be healthy?

I'll start off by saying that I am referring to a physical state of health, although I regularly wonder about mental health as well. People come into Jamba Juice all the time and ask me what our healthiest drink is. Now, I surely can tell you what the least healthy drink is (Peanut Butter Moo'd if your wondering. Highest amount of calories, fat and sugars). But we have such a wide variety of drinks, it's hard to really answer without knowing what their idea of healthy is. Working in the Marina is quite the experience, because trying to get this information out of the typical customer is, for some reason, insulting. Apparently I should know exactly what they're thinking. Are you looking for the least amount of calories, the highest amount of protein or antioxidants, the most amount of fruit, the least amount of sugar? Do you see where I'm going here? So, after having countless amounts of run ins of this nature, I began to ponder what I believe to be healthy and how can I become more healthy?

Most people that know me know that I love Dr. Pepper and candy. I like to bake brownies and eat the batter and I eat children's cereal for breakfast. I also have low blood sugar, which could be a sign of diabetes. So as I eat my way through my 20s, but remain thin, I have a hard time focusing on maintaining my body for the years to come. But as I become more aware of healthy practices and the benefits of eating a well balanced diet, I realize that there is a reason that I am tired a lot and don't always have much energy. My diet sucks! So 2 days ago I hit google up with some searches on healthy eating. Boy oh boy did I get a ton of results! So now, I am left to sort through and decide what kind of healthy eating I want to partake in. Should I eat a protein rich diet to gain more muscle and become more lean? Should I become a vegetarian and skip the red meat to keep my heart healthy? Should I focus on carbs so I can become a long distance runner? So many questions and so many options. So, I am left with finding my motivation for eating healthy in the first place: be more active, stop consuming so much sugar, and feel better.

I am still in the beginning stages of planning my healthy eating venture, and I plan to supplement with my diet with pilates and cardio to stay fit! Some things that I have learned through my research: No matter what type of diet I choose, I should find a corresponding food pyramid (yes, there is more than one) and stick to it as best I can. There are many vitamins and nutrients that are essential to being any type of healthy, so I need to find a way to incorporate those into my diet. Variety is not only important for sticking to a diet, but also for getting all of those nutrients. Not eating should never be an option, no matter how busy I get. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day and eating sugary cereal is really just doing a disservice to my body. And drinking sufficient water is very important especially when including an exercise routine in my diet.

Now, I am certainly no expert, and my only training is through my own internet based research, but I am excited to learn more about healthy eating and how I can improve my habits so I can live a healthy life for a long time to come! As for those customers of mine, I wish they would be more specific about what they're looking for!