Balance is important in pursuit of a healthier you

Diane Huang, Online Editor-in Chief

Since 1984, Americans have been told to “Hold the Eggs and Butter.” Fat, more specifically cholesterol, had become public enemy No. 1. Cholesterol lowering cereals or soluble fibers flooded the pantries of American households, and any product sporting “Low fat” or “Lite” on its visage instantly appreciated in value to the average American consumer. On the other hand, egg sales, which were on a steady climb until 1984, began to drop. Americans were quick to jump onto the next health scare. Too quick.

Soon enough, obesity rates in America soared, even as fat-conscious diets increased. Why? Added sugar (which is somewhat of a broad statement). As foods became less and less fatty, they became more and more sweet to appeal to our taste buds in lieu of fat. In the 2015 U.S. Dietary Guidelines, the Dietary Guidelines Committee backtracks on three decades of anti-fat sentiments, and even the United Nations has pointed its finger at sugar.

As an increasing amount of paradigm shifting nutritional studies appear, it has become apparent that the common adage, “you are what you eat,” is no longer accurate. Even after decades of health research, uncertainty shrouds the answers to a healthy body and mind. For example, not until the 1980s did scientists discover that ulcers weren’t caused by stress. Similarly, many areas of mental health are still not fully understood.

With so much uncertainty floating around the world of health, many of us are left to wonder: What is healthy? The answer seems simple: “Eat healthy, live healthy, think healthy,” junior Alex Qin said.

Eat healthy, live healthy, think healthy.

— junior Alex Qin

Lofty ideas of health float around but few concrete methods of self-care seem to exist. However, the wrong way to do things becomes clearer every year. In recent years, the Atkins Diet, a diet that eliminated carbohydrates, which include fruits and vegetables, and focused on fat and meat consumption, swept onto the weight loss scene. While the science behind the weight loss is sound, medical experts were quick to warn of the Atkins Diet’s many faults. “A lot of people who went to that diet ended up with serious heart diseases,” Upper School counselor Susanna Short said.

Short attributes a major fault in physical health perception to body image. “People equate ‘health’ with ‘skinny’ or ‘weight loss,’” she said.

She also expresses concern for the female demographic at St. Paul Academy and Summit School. “[There is] too much stress and too much pressure. I worry very much about our idea of body image for women here.”

“[People should ask:] Can my body do what I want it to do? Not: does my body look like I want it to?” Short said.

Junior Max Chen agrees with Short that dieting is rarely the answer. “Exercise is the best way [to] keep fit,” he said.

“There isn’t a health problem that isn’t a little bit improved by exercise,” Short said.

Another good way to stay physically healthy is “[to be] hydrated,” sophomore Macy Blanchard said.

We tend to reduce health to the physical, I think that’s unfortunate.

— Upper School counselor, Susanna Short

However, in many cases, students are aware of such things but choose not to follow through with them. Chen recognizes that he does not sleep enough and junior Christine Lam is conscious of her lack of exercise: “I feel bad…but, no,” she said.

Of course, while proper physical health and maintenance continues to be unclear in many aspects, “we tend to reduce health to the physical, I think that’s unfortunate [since] it always includes social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual health,” Short said.

Lam values her social and emotional health over other areas. “They affect me the most directly,” she said.

Blanchard emphasizes communication as a way to maintain social health. “It’s good to be able to talk to people,” she said, “I talk to people if I’m upset about something.”

Prioritization of different aspects of health is evident when students choose to talk to their friends in the middle of the night or work on their homework instead of sleep. Interestingly enough, emotional health is the most prioritized by students but was ranked the least healthy in the SPA community.

Health for every individual may never come down to a science, but what is clear, is that health is what you make of it: truly healthy people feel content with their lives, their bodies and their minds.