Can You Stomach the Truth About the Most Important Health Factor?

By Dr. Molly Casey

Let’s face it, when people say they want to get healthier, one of the most common things they will say is they want to lose weight. Folks typically think that they simply need to add exercise into their routine and the pounds will melt away. While adding regular movement into one’s daily life is important, lots of folks will do this and not see the pounds melt away ... often because they don’t have the proper balanced approach of food/nutrition in relation to exercise.

This has led to many asking the question “is diet or exercise more important for losing weight?”

This discussion isn’t only for the purpose of weight loss, it is or the purpose of creating the biggest changes in your overall health and allowing fitness to follow.

Determining Level of Importance

There are certain requirements for the body to live and function, and these include oxygen, water, food, electrical impulses, and movement (without it, muscles waste away and sores/infection come about).

How is it that we determine the level of importance of each requirement? That is done by putting them in the order of how quickly the body will stop living/functioning without it. So, if the electrical impulses from the brain to the body are of primary importance -- because life ceases immediately if you cut those off -- then oxygen is the second-most important because you can live only a few minutes without it. Following oxygen is water because you can live only days without it. Food follows water in level of importance because you can live longer without food than you can without water. And lastly is movement because you can live longer without movement than you can without food.

Looking at the level of importance through the eyes of “life requirements” allows you to understand the most profound way to affect your health in a positive manner. You do this by creating shifts or changes in the most important requirements first. Therefore, getting regular chiropractic adjustments that improve the electrical impulse communication between the brain and the body is the most important way to quickly, efficiently, and profoundly impact the health of the body in a positive way.

Following this approach, it’s easy to answer the question of whether food or exercise is more important in terms of losing weight and/or getting healthier: food and nutrition is more important.

Many people “over exercise” -- or drive the body excessively -- in hopes of dropping pounds and getting healthier. This process is like using a shovel for a job while expecting backhoe results. Oftentimes people will then reward themselves with food, driving the body excessively through exercise. It is nonsensical.

Nutrition

You can’t outrun a bad diet. Abs are made in the kitchen. A healthy outside starts from a healthy inside. All of these sayings are so darn true. The quality of your nutrition plays a direct role in your health, your weight, whether or not you struggle with disease, and your quality of life. How you feed your body and what you feed your body are more important than exercise and will have a profound effect on your health journey. This does not mean exercise is not important. Exercise is very important. But you should stop putting exercise first in the order of importance for health and weight management and expecting results that aren’t realistic.

Clarity is the first law of success. You’ve now received your education on the most important requirements for your body to sustain life and good health. It’s up to you to act responsibly and efficiently.

Our health journey takes work and we don’t always like the answers of how best to affect our health, but if it’s something we value, then we know what to do -- focus first on the food we give our body. Then we can focus on our workouts.

The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this page are for informational purposes only. The purpose of this post is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics, including but not limited to the benefits of chiropractic care, exercise and nutrition. It is not intended to provide or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your chiropractor, physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this page.