Our health is our most important asset. Yeah, so is family, our homes, our cars, but really what is life if we don’t have health?

So often people come to me for help because they’ve just been diagnosed with having diabetes, prediabetes, or another health condition and they want to do something about it – which is fantastic! Good on them for getting the help they need to be as healthy as they can now! But really, why aren’t we doing something about it before it gets to the diagnosis?
Why are we relying on the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, rather than avoiding falling from the cliff in the first place?

Now I know that what I’m saying might be a bit hard for some people to read, especially those who have health issues, or have people close to them who do. And I know that in some cases these things aren’t preventable, however in the majority of cases they are.

New Zealand is a beautiful country with fertile soils and a growing awareness of health and wellness – which is fantastic! However we are also a country that have social “norms” that are detrimental to our health. What do I mean by that? Try answering these questions:

• Catching up with a friend, what do you do? Eat? Drink? Treats?
• Celebrating something, what do you do? Eat? Drink? Treats?
• Sad about something, what do you do? Eat? Drink? Treats?
• Stressed about something, what do you do? Eat? Drink? Treats?
  
  

I’m sure you catch my drift. So often in life we resort to food or drinks, and then these treats, the alcohol, the sugar, the takeaways, the processed foods, and the crap become part of our daily life and our bodies are NOT designed to process these things – especially in the frequency we are having them.
So then what happens? In simple terms, we get sick, and we rely on the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. That’s right, we saw the cliff, and we fell anyway.

When I say it like that, it seems so simple, doesn’t it? If we look after ourselves, nourish our bodies, keep active and look after our mental health, we should be fine. We don’t need that ambulance, and we can thrive. But why don’t we do that? Because of the social norms in New Zealand. The culture in our beautiful country has told us that we will be judged if we stray from the social norms and look after our bodies. It’s actually really sad.

Now I’m not saying we should never have treats, what kind of world would that be, but we need to redefine what a treat is. It is not a daily thing! We also need to encourage one another, rather than saying “oh come on, just one won’t hurt”. I’m sure we can all relate to a situation like that!

There are some simple things we can do in our daily lives to help make a change to these social norms and reduce the need for the ambulance waiting at the bottom of the cliff.

• Drink more water – it’s cheap, accessible, and easy. Just do it.
• Next time your work is putting on a morning tea shout, take a healthy option and add it to the table. Or request that the company supplies healthy options.
• Alternate alcohol with water if you’re in a drinking situation, or why not opt to be sober driver?
• Plant a vegetable garden – it will teach your kids and family the importance of fresh produce. And if they’re there, you’ll be more likely to eat them too!
• Choose healthier treats – like bliss balls, they are super amazing and easy to make! I have plenty of recipes for them on my website, take a look!
• Reward yourself in ways other than in food or drink – have a relaxing bath, read a book, have a massage, go for a walk, go shopping. Be creative in the ways you reward yourself! Even putting your feet up with a cuppa tea and Netflix might be what you need.
• Be open about changing your habits – people can’t support you if they don’t know you’re trying to make a change.
  
  

My challenge to you is to be mindful about what social norms you happen to just go along with because it’s the easier option. What small changes can you make to improve your health?

So June is coming up, and in the last few years “Junk Free June” has become a thing in New Zealand. I for one think it’s great!! It’s an opportunity to create better eating habits, it’s accountability to not go and eat the typical junk food that has found it’s home in our lives, and it allows us to donate to the Cancer Society when let’s be honest, we otherwise probably wouldn’t.

Here are a few reasons why we should do Junk Free June (in no particular order):

Number one: Why the heck are we (as New Zealanders) eating so much damn junk food anyway?! We have a beautiful luscious green country and yet will fill our faces with processed packaged crap. We NEED to get more vegetables into our diet. The more colours we eat (from veges, not artificially coloured junk food, obviously) means the more nutrients we are getting, the more vitamins we will be eating, and the better our health is going to be. It’s actually going to give you more energy too! See ya later sugar!

Number two: There is a reason we donate to the cancer society when cutting out junk – It has been proved that certain junk foods cause certain cancers. Processed meats have a direct link to bowel cancer. So why do we eat so much of it? Why does bacon have to be on our breakfasts every weekend? A little bit here or there surely won’t hurt us (fingers crossed), but it does not need to become staple in our diet.

We NEED to get away from overly processed foods and we NEED to get back to eating wholesome foods in their most natural source as possible.

​Number three: We as a nation, have a HUGE obesity problem. Did you know we have the third highest rate of adult obesity on the OECD?! The majority of the junk foods we are eating all have excess sugars – these will cause a spike in our insulin and promote fat storage. They also often provide more energy than we probably need, also leading to fat storage. We as a nation need to make a stand, cut the crap, and look after our health! If we continue eating junk, we will continue putting on weight, and we will continue to become sick!

Number four: Also related to number three, we as a nation have a HUGE diabetes problem!
Fun fact: The number of people with diabetes has risen from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014.
New Zealand's rate of type two diabetes is one of the highest in the world too – what the hell!? How can a country that has such a great farming culture be so bad with our food and our health? Yes it’s expensive to eat well (well, it can be, but doesn’t have to be!!), but there’s no reason we can’t have a vegetable garden in our back yard. We might even save money by not buying the junk and making our meals at home. Being prepared is a major necessity that we so easily come up with excuses for.

So! The moral of my story is,

• Try being junk free
• Eat less crap
• Be healthier
• Reduce your risk of diabetes
• Be prepared – spend more time in the kitchen at home (it doesn’t need to be heaps!!)
• Contribute your bit to the Cancer Society
• Help Nourish Me create a healthier New Zealand.

If you’d like to sign up for Junk Free June, fill out the registration form here. Let’s do it!