Why is my Body Smarter than my Brain?

The human body is an amazing machine when you consider what it has to work with (our brains, for one, are not a lot of help). I have had this body for 43 years now and I know less about how it works then I do my car, which I’ve only had for 2 years. I have an owner's manual for my car, which I have actual perused from time to time – usually when a warning light comes on or it's time for a tune-up. In one way or another, I have warning signals going off in my body all the time, but I seldom take myself in for a tune-up until I reach the break-down point. I feel guilty when I fill up my car’s gas tank with “regular” instead of “high test.” But what about the junk I put in my body? – the worse it is for me, the more I like it. What’s up with that?!

I’m reading this really great book that I borrowed from my sister (you know my sister – the attractive, slender, fit woman I am often seen with). The book is “BodyFueling” by Robyn Landis – it’s an old book, the pages are literally falling out of it, and it was not a new concept when she wrote it. Basically it explains what our bodies do with what we put in them – carbohydrates, proteins, fats, etc. It pretty much is an owner’s manual for our bodies. What is astounding to me is that this knowledge has existed for decades (probably longer than that) and yet every “diet plan” written is pretty much about eating less food, or completely convoluting the natural balance of food. As it turns out, the majority of popular “diet plans” actually promote the storage of fat in our bodies. I’m not going to babble on about the book – if you’re interested, buy it – my point is that this knowledge has been around forever but our culture is so far in denial about solving our fitness/health problems that we would rather buy into all these bogus quick-fixes that never work in the long run than educate ourselves about our own bodies.

And as long as I’m on the topic of how stupid my brain is when it comes to my body – what exactly do I think I’m doing to myself with all this alcohol? Am I trying to preserve/pickle myself? – that is the only explanation I can come up with. Oh, no – I’m drinking to have “fun,” right? So much fun that the next day I feel as though I was run over by a truck (or wish I had been instead)! Yeah - that sounds like fun, ah?

Some people develop diseases or have accidents that harm their bodies irreversibly, and it is a tragedy. Here I am with a perfectly good body, and I am treating it like it has a salvage title! This is the only body I get. I have to live in this body my entire life. I might as well have a little respect for myself and make it a place I want to be. Wish me luck (or better yet – brains!)