What defines good health? I guess it's just a balance of stuff.

Today started as a normal Saturday with a relatively early start to walk the dog followed by a trip to the butchers to get a few bits and bobs for the week ahead...including some bacon for my Saturday morning treat. My phone rang just as I entered the butchers; it was my mum. I could tell she was upset the moment I picked up the phone and all was explained very quickly. My uncle (my stepdad's brother-in-law) has been hospitalised following a stroke. Thankfully it sounds like it was minor but has still impacted one side of his body.

Credit

My uncle isn't particularly old, has never smoked, hardly drinks and eats what I would deem to be a healthy diet of mostly vegetables and limited fatty meats. He does like some cheese but eats it in moderation. He is incredibly active.

I've spent the morning thinking about a brief sharing of posts with my pal @steevc earlier this week where we discussed the 10k step target. A while ago this was the target to help one maintain a healthy lifestyle but in recent times this target has been discussed as arbitrary and has no real link to health.

My Fitbit measures ones resting heart rate and the value has been described as being a measure of heart health. Now, I'm 6'3, very overweight around the middle but have low cholesterol and a resting heart rate of somewhere between 56 - 60, this is deemed to be good, above average. A colleague is incredibly active, eats well and cycles to and from work but has a resting heart rate of 75 - 80.

Once can read lots about the benefits of a vegan diet but on the flip side you can also read about all the vital things your body needs but can struggle to obtain through such a diet. On the flip side you can read of a paleo diet which can rich in meat and high in fat from nuts and seeds.

It has occurred to me, it's bloody obvious really, it's easy to get drawn into statistics and fads as to what is or isn't a good measure of health but really it's a balance of 'stuff' and one has to take genetics into account.

There are things that aren't good for your health such as smoking and alcohol but these things on balance don't necessarily make you unhealthy. I feel you end up playing a game of health poker if you over indulge in any of these things.

I feel this post is becoming a bit 'waffly' and isn't really heading into any particular direction which is similar to how I feel about the definition of health, what defines it and what one can actually do about controlling it. On that basis I'll leave it there - I just feel better for the brain dump :)