No matter where we come from, we all have grown up with certain ways and traditions of living the way that we do. Every culture has its norms, customs and beliefs; of those, eating habits are a main tradition as well as a main learned habit. When it comes to our health, our way of living and cultural values may affect us without us realizing. It is important that we become proactive with our health and changing some of our lifestyle habits while keeping the respect and honor of our beautiful cultural ways and in turn helping generations to come.
Many factors come into us even reassessing our cultural traditions and the ways we’ve been brought up. It can vary from education, to our living situation, our social groups, exposure to other cultures and lifestyles, social media, or even our political situation. For the most part, we don’t ever wonder about the way we live until we are exposed to different ways of living or we feel uncomfortable in our lives. Eating habits, which are the most common in all cultures, are a very crucial part of who we are and our health path. Taking the time to understand how we eat and really think about our cultural ways is the first important step to understand who we are and what works best for our health as well as the health of those around us.
Awareness of our own ways is important to achieve positive healthy change. To understand where we come from and the ways we’ve grown up living is important in adding healthier lifestyle changes. Our cultural ways are a crucial part our identity; however when it comes to our eating habits and lifestyle we choose to live, we have to reevaluate and leave some of our ways behind. At the end of the day, your body is yours and your choices are what ultimately will lead you to the life you want.
Secondly, researching about what people from your region and background are more prone to in terms of disease and health issues, can significantly help you with deciding on changes you choose to adapt. For example, certain cultures or races may be more prone to diseases and certain illnesses. Just in the states alone, minorities have a higher percentage of getting chronic illnesses and at the same time many are underrepresented in the healthcare system. Why should we accept these statistics, if lifestyle change can help us avoid them? Learning about your background and where you come from and the diet that is in your culture can help you make alterations of certain dishes and eating habits and avoid long term stressors.
Implementing eating habits doesn’t have to be drastic. Just as it took years to create the way we eat, it will take time and effort to create new ones. Creating new habits can happen over time while preserving the respect to our culture. Taking things a step at a time, while being aware and consistent is key. A good tip is to not add anything new to your eating habits, but habitually take out from what already exists. For example, start to lessen sugary and processed foods from your current eating habits and little by little add more whole foods, such as more fruits and vegetables. Remembering that these changes don’t happen over night is important to know to avoid unnecessary stress.
Lastly, having an open mind about different cultures and traditions allows us to not only learn about our ways but to also embrace the differences. We can always discover ways that we would like to adapt to our own lifestyles from other cultures. It is also a great reminder that no one is the same, and there isn’t one right way to be healthy.
With that said, remember that life is a journey and creating your lifestyle is an ongoing process with trial and error. Take control of your life first to be able to help the generations ahead of us for a healthier mind, body and soul.
CcORE Living 