Let's decipher it just in case. The abbreviation HLS means a healthy lifestyle. The one that is so popular in developed countries lately that it is being built almost into a cult. But we know well that any cult is fraught with exposure and it is better to understand in advance where the truth is and where the myth is, so as not to harbor groundless illusions.
WHAT IS HEALTH
It seems to us that we know perfectly well what the health of an individual person is, since most of us (hopefully) feel relatively healthy and rarely get sick. Nevertheless, there are a great many scientific definitions of health, and each of them is interesting and true in its own way. How do you like this, for example? "Health is a dynamic balance of the body and its functions with the environment." Doesn't seem very clear, right? In fact, this is a direct reference to ancient thinkers. The same Pythagoras defined health as balance and harmony, and their violation - a disease. Hippocrates also agreed with him, considering that a person whose body organs are in balance is healthy. Let's say right away that the very word "balance" used in relation to health has a very deep meaning. The ancients felt and understood him,and today's thinkers and scientists, alas, are often ignored. Be that as it may, anyone will agree that being healthy is wonderful and we need to do everything in our power to strengthen and maintain health until the very old age.
HOW IT WAS AND HOW IT BECAME
One of the most common and enduring health myths is that our ancestors were much healthier than us. Moreover, the further back into the centuries, the more and more health - so that by epic times it reaches some completely unprecedented heights and becomes literally heroic. And at all, and not only among the heroes of the squad of Prince Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko. The myth is based on factors that are difficult to refute. The first is the ecological situation. In the old days, both the air and water on the planet were much cleaner than today, and therefore people were healthier. Second, they ate natural healthy food without any "chemistry". Third, they did a lot of manual labor in the fresh air. Fourth, they had secret knowledge about the human body, which helped them avoid diseases. It would seem that everything is correct. Yes, only the facts absolutely do not correspond to these ideas. In fact, infectious and other diseases mowed down our ancestors with a dashing, sweeping scythe, which is clearly visible in the average life expectancy. From ancient times to the late Middle Ages, it did not exceed 32 years, and began to grow gradually only in the 19th century, and rose sharply already in the 20th. Today, the average life expectancy in the world is 83 for women and 78 for men. Almost three times more than in "blessed" ancient times. There is no secret here. It's all about medicine, food availability, and lifestyle. Hard work in the fresh air, associated with the extraction of daily bread, often ruins health, rather than strengthens it, and timely qualified assistance is a thousand times more effective than shamanic dances and healers' "secrets". With one you can agree. Some of our distant ancestors, who survived to old age, were indeed much healthier than we are. Because only possessing powerful natural health could one live in those days for six or more decades.
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SPORT, FOOD, ECOLOGY AND STRESS
Now let's look at other myths related to healthy lifestyle. The first is sports. Sports activities are undoubtedly wonderful and bring a lot of exciting and joyful minutes. Especially when I was young. But as far as health is concerned, this is not so. Sports often take away health. And the more results you strive for, the more health you risk losing. Any honest sports doctor will tell you about this, and an athlete too. However, there are exceptions. So, for example, the great Soviet weightlifter Yuri Vlasov regained his lost health with the help of great physical exertion, acting according to the method “what kills me will cure”. But such cases are very rare.
The second myth is healthy food. Here most of all polemical copies break down and more often there are additional myths related to the "harmfulness" or "usefulness" of certain products. It comes to the point that a person who is overly concerned about "healthy" nutrition, gets sick with nervous orthorexia, begins to choose only those food that seems to him exclusively "useful" and as a result his body does not receive those actually useful substances that are allegedly contained in " harmful "food. The most famous revelations of recent years are this or that fatty food, sugar, salt, coffee, alcohol. All this (and much more) turned out in the light of recent scientific research not only not harmful, but, on the contrary, useful. Of course, with moderate consumption.
Next is ecology. This is not entirely a myth, since breathing, for example, mountain or taiga air is much more useful than breathing the air of a metropolis, there is nothing to argue about. But with the same water, questions already arise, since the water in the water supply system of a modern developed and balanced city (for example, the same San Francisco) is much cleaner and safer than water in some forest stream, and there is nothing to say about village wells. Not to mention the fact that in ecologically clean places, as a rule, things are very bad with the availability of good medicine, and it turns out that in order to live there, one must initially have very good health.
And finally, stress. Yes, they are undoubtedly harmful, and the life of a modern person is full of them. But the desire to completely get rid of stress does not lead to anything good. The mantra “let's think positively” often ends with a person ceasing to perceive the real picture of the world, which in turn leads to self-deception and, as a result, loss of health. Simply because such a person forgets about the need to resist negative factors with action (sometimes difficult and unpleasant), and not just "positive thinking."
ABOUT MEASURE IN … MEASURE
So, even briefly running through the main "sacred cows" of ardent supporters of healthy lifestyle, we inevitably come to a simple logical conclusion. A healthy lifestyle is wonderful and undoubtedly beneficial. But! Only if you treat it wisely and not go too far in an effort to improve health at any cost. And, of course, it is advisable to carry out all experiments in this area only after consulting a doctor. Especially those that are associated with unusual or heavy loads on the body: medical fasting, exotic diets, physical activity, swimming in the ice hole, etc. Actually, nothing original and new - the great thinkers of mankind never tired of repeating about the sense of proportion, as the most necessary human quality, contributing to the preservation of health and longevity. Nevertheless,measure is also a relative concept and should not be understood as an intentional limitation of oneself in everything. Commercials, you can turn into a boring and gloomy bore that few people are interested in. Things like love and happiness do not know measure (or hardly know). Indeed, how can you limit yourself in love for loved ones, friends or work? And in general, it is probably worth sometimes exchanging a little health for joy and happiness from the goal achieved (this applies primarily to sports). However, this is a slightly different conversation. Be that as it may, let's remain reasonable thinking people and, of course, we will be healthy!how can you limit yourself in love for loved ones, friends or work? And in general, it is probably worth sometimes exchanging a little health for joy and happiness from the goal achieved (this applies primarily to sports). However, this is a slightly different conversation. Be that as it may, let's remain reasonable thinking people and, of course, we will be healthy!how can you limit yourself in love for loved ones, friends or work? And in general, it is probably worth sometimes exchanging a little health for joy and happiness from the goal achieved (this applies primarily to sports). However, this is a slightly different conversation. Be that as it may, let's remain reasonable thinking people and, of course, we will be healthy!
Akim Bukhtatov
