Who are your five??

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”  Jim Rohn, the personal development guru who passed away in 2009, was quoted by Scott Dinsmore in a recent post on his inspiring site, www.liveyourlegend.net.   

I think this idea is thought-provoking from multiple angles and I encourage you to spend some time with it and ideally use it to proactively improve your life.  Here are some of my noodlings on this idea, which I believe to be extremely useful, even if I may quibble with it around the edges… 

So what’s the exact equation? 

Is it really 5 people, or could it be 4, 6 or 7?  Do they all have to be in your life right now or can past influencers count?  More broadly (and mathematically), what are the weights on each person (variable) in the equation and how do you account for time?  This relates to quality vs. quantity time – is it possible that someone you’re rarely with can impact you disproportionally?  I think that’s possible, but I believe Jim Roh’s points was that you do need to look at what you do and who you do it with EVERY DAY.  And can a country or company or other organization count as one of your influencers?  I believe the answer is YES.

Think about the following… Over time, people begin to resemble their spouses.  Sometimes there even seem to evolve similarities between people and their dogs!  This seems sort of funny, yet it’s true.  And why is there such positive power in the family dinner?  If “you are what you eat”, then this makes perfect sense.  People who eat the same food together become more similar.  Groups (races, nations, age cohorts, regions, etc.) with similar eating habits develop a culture, which consists of shared beliefs and behaviors.  I love that the founder of my nutrition school (Institute for Integrative Nutrition*), Joshua Rosenthal, says that when he goes to dinner with a friend he makes a point to let them order first, and then orders what they did so that their bodies & minds can be on the same wavelength from the food, and they can connect over – and as a result of – their shared meal.  More insidiously, you have probably read about the studies that demonstrate “clustering” of obesity – that your chances of becoming obese increase significantly if you have a friend who becomes obese during a given time interval.  Same goes for spouses or siblings.¹

Let’s take this sharing a step further.  Deepak Chopra, the famed M.D., neuroendocrinologist, and mind-body medicine expert who never fails to deliver mind-blowing research findings & ideas, has described human beings as verbs or processes, not nouns or structures.  We are constantly changing and evolving.  With every inhale, Dr. Chopra describes, we take on 10²² new atoms; the same goes for every exhale – that’s a lot of new atoms in, and a lot out!  Each time we breathe, we incorporate atoms from our surroundings into our bodies, and we exhale massive amounts as well.   Did you know that our breath is the most important detoxifying mechanism that our bodies have?  Not sweat, not elimination – breath!  Our bodies are incessantly regenerating.  This is an opportunity!  As Dr. Chopra asks:  “Who do you want your 2012 model to be?”

I hope you will take some time to think about your “5 people” (plus or minus!), evaluate your current situation, and make plans/set goals for modifying it if your situation doesn’t serve you.  And please remember that it’s reciprocal.  You are doubtless one of the 5 people for others in your life, and that’s a great privilege, a great opportunity, and also a great responsibility. 

*See www.IntegrativeNutrition.com  for more information

¹Christakis, Nicholas A., M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., and Fowler, James H, Ph. D. ”The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years.” New England Journal of Medicine. July 26, 2007. <http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa066082Special Article.>

K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple, Sweetie!

Did you know that our country’s agricultural system produces twice the calories that our population requires?  That sounds like a good thing, but the fact is that too many of those calories are provided by our ingenious food industry in unhealthy forms – refined and processed foods that are loaded with sugar and bad carbs.  With appealing advertising and abundant availability it’s easy to eat too many calories and yet be malnourished.  This can set up a vicious cycle – our bodies continue to need nutrients so we keep eating, yet the only thing we gain is weight.   

The bottom line is that it’s easy to eat healthfully if your diet is dominated by high quality whole foods – vegetables, fruits, lean protein, whole grains, and good fats.  When you do buy packaged foods, it’s important to read the ingredient list (not just the nutrition panel) and try to stick to products with just a few ingredients that you actually recognize.   I decided to call this post K.I.S.S. for Keep It Simple Sweetie – no need for insulting adjectives like “stupid” when we’re talking about taking care of yourself and those you love!  

A recent article in The Washington Post (see link below) does a great job of spotlighting food items that are marketed as healthy but are actually far from it.  Here is their list: 

Reduced-fat peanut butter:  This product typically has as many calories as regular peanut butter but also more sugar and other non-peanut ingredients to create a peanut butter-like texture.  The oil in peanuts provides nutrients, so stripping some of it out decreases the product’s nutritional value.  Your best option is to purchase natural peanut butter, which ideally includes only peanuts, or perhaps adds a little salt.   

Enhanced water:  Vitaminwater and similar beverages “are essentially sugary drinks with a vitamin pill.”  Zero-calorie water drinks are better, but the best choice is to drink plain water and to eat your vitamins in food form, not as reduced and isolated additives to other products. 

Energy bars:  Depending on the brand you buy, energy or meal replacement bars may contain some whole foods and provide protein and fiber, but they are usually high in sugar too.  My teenage sons love Clif bars and I like that they contain organic whole grains and have a pretty impressive fiber/protein profile, but I was dismayed to see that the #1 ingredient is organic cane sugar!  Organic, cane… it’s still sugar!  Again, read ingredient lists carefully and consider nuts & dried or fresh fruit for an energy boost. 

Multigrain foods:  Grain-based food products can be very confusing with all the healthy-sounding descriptors out there, but keep in mind that multigrain does not mean whole grain.  Multigrain just means multiple grains, but all may be refined and stripped of nutritional value.  Look for a whole grain as the first and preferably only grain in the ingredient list, noting that multiple whole grains are even better.   

Non-fried chips and crackers:  This is a tricky one, because Baked sounds healthier than Fried, doesn’t it?  In the case of chips and crackers that may not be the case.  As Walter Willett of Harvard’s School of Public Health notes, “Now that trans fats have been removed from most cooking oils, the healthiest part of potato chips is the fat.”  That’s because most chips and crackers are made from refined grains or starch, so their natural healthfulness is greatly reduced.  Look for whole grain crackers and chips made from whole grains (or vegetables, such as Terra Chips) and fried in healthy olive or canola oil.  Note that Sunchips are recognized as a decent option “so long as you keep to the one-ounce serving size.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/5-so-called-health-foods-you-should-avoid/2012/01/31/gIQA6E7vfR_story.html