Paige for Wellness

Essential Non- Nutritional Interventions for Health

As a long- time Nutrition buff– to put it lightly– I convinced myself that it were possible to optimize health with nutrition exclusively. While indeed nutrition alone can arguably have the majority of an impact on one’s health, I’ve learned over time why one shouldn’t necessarily try to do it with that alone.
One of the important factors for overall health is muscle.

But like many do, I previously saw muscle- building as something solely for, well, bodybuilders. It’s an unfortunate assumption that muscle building is generally for those only focused on aesthetic. To the contrary, muscle can be seen like an organ that influences health like the gallbladder, liver, etc. can. It’s anti- aging, anti- inflammatory, helps the brain function and prevents disease like Alzheimer’s. It’s one of the best blood sugar regulation interventions as it functions as a glucose “disposal” system. Muscle is one of the best predictors of protection from Alzheimer’s (which has also been deemed “type 3 diabetes”).

Fascia is literally connected in that it holds the body together. It facilitates muscle health, enabling flexibility and proper movement. Just like the lymph was more or less ignored in the health field for decades, the fascia is a massively underacknowledged influencer of overall health and even mental wellbeing. Fascia incredibly facilitates the mind body connection in a tangible way you can physically affect. I know there are many of us would love to optimize our mind- body connection in a way that didn’t require 30 minutes of sitting still for a meditation. Anyone who’s had a good massage can attest to the undeniably mind- relaxing effects. Being like threads that holds together muscle, bones, nerves and tendons, flexible, relaxed and healthy fascia can help keep them in place, gliding along nicely, and well-nourished. But fascia under sprain can become “tangled“, in which case it gets tightened or stiff, receiving less of the oxygen- rich blood that keeps the rest of the body supple and feeling good. The mechanism behind this involves the lymph. Doing things like foam rolling, exercise, standing or sitting on a vibration platform, Gua sha or a massage gun all target and relax the fascia.Lymph: the way that fascia helps keep the muscle healthy involves the flow of nutrients and waste to and from the muscle. Lymph runs alongside the circulatory system (veins and arteries), carrying waste out. This optimizes healthy circulation and blood. The lymph contains fluid that helps remove toxins out of the body. It connects to and mobilizes the immune system for neutralizing pathogens. You can see how all of the moving parts need support to work together and support the overall health of the body and even affect your nutrition status.If the lymph is stagnant and backed up, you won’t be able to absorb nutrients like you should or digest fat. Essentially the body’s already “overloaded” with its own waste and becomes overwhelmed. This could cause something that could otherwise be benign or healing to become detrimental. A symptom of this could be someone having an allergic- like reaction to a nontoxic, natural lotion, for instance, that they never had a problem with before. Solutions exist. This may come as a relief to those eating an emaculate diet and still struggling. There are even ways to supports all of these systems at once. Yoga is a great one that feels fantastic. Another option is rebounding– jumping on a trampoline (or in place– even just lifting yourself up and down on your tippy toes!). Not everyone has time to spend doing a million different self- care techniques, but thankfully we can kill multiple birds with one stone.For a long time while I believed that nutrition was all we need to be “healthy”, I did manage what my body looked like largely with what I consumed. In fact, I didn’t have energy to do anything for exercise except walking limited distances. I restricted what I ate pretty harshly because I was trying to manage my entire health that way. A multifaceted approach could have helped in more ways than one. When we look into something like “how to lose weight” or “get healthy” you’ll find most places tell you it’s largely nutrition. However, real health should be holistic and enjoyable. One of the best changes I’ve seen in how I feel and function has been by supporting these systems consistently. I’m curious how this works out for you! I’d love to hear from you after you give it a try. 

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