Past and future: A year end review
Published: December 29, 2012
Time to take stock of the year's events
Here we are almost at the end of 2012 which has been a busy year for "a healthy philosophy". Since it is the time of year when many people take time review what has happened in their lives during the past year, and make plans for the coming year this article will review a healthy philosophy activity in 2012 and take a look at what is in store for 2013.
Who are we and what do we do?
We could be thought of as a magazine or library: a resource for nutrition and physical activity information. But we are more than an information centre. We like to think of ourselves as place of learning about healthy living through practicing healthy eating and physical activity.
A healthy philosophy takes the view that there is no single healthy way of living. Each of us has our own interpretation of health and how we achieve our version of health depends on our unique environment. There are many dimensions of health and we focus on nutrition and physical activity.
We endeavor to provide an environment that not only provides our readers with current and reliable nutrition and physical activity information, but which also helps readers interpret that information in a way that is meaningful to them.
For example, you can have lots of pieces of information about healthy eating such as choosing lean meat, poultry and fish, and consuming 6-7 servings of fruits and vegetables each day, but unless you know what this means in terms of the food you actually consume and your specific health goals you may not be able to achieve the health goals you have set.
The same goes for physical activity and exercise. How much exercise is enough depends on your specific situation and your health goals.
A healthy environment
We aim to provide a healthy environment for learning
It has been said that the environment in which we live is toxic when it comes to practicing healthy eating and physical activity. Toxic not only refers to chemical toxins released into the environment from a variety of sources, but also refers to food and food supplement industry advertising, body imagery, and structural obstacles that influence how we eat and how little or how much physical activity we do.
A healthy philosophy aims to provide a health orientated environment where readers can learn about nutrition and physical activity, and how to put that knowledge into practice within the toxic environment in which we live.
Our articles cover topics concerning knowing yourself, healthy eating and exercise, and gettinghealthy which aim to help you put your knowledge into practice.
These articles are presented as introductory or in-depth, studies and reviews, headlines and courses. The articles vary in length just as articles in a paper magazine vary from a couple of paragraphs to entire stories. The only sound bites you will find on this site are the tips which are randomly posted.
A review of our articles
If you have arrived at our website then you may well be thinking about making some nutritional and physical activity changes in your life. Follow the links provided below as an introduction to our site and to learn more about what we have to offer.
For our subscribers this review will take you to articles from earlier in the year and provides a review of what we have posted. If you can’t find what you are looking for let us know. Your input is vital to sustaining this website and providing you with the information that will help you achieve your goals.
Health is at the heart of our articles
In our quest to help you develop your personal healthy philosophy of nutrition and physical activity early in 2012 we released a series of articles entitled Get Healthy for life. This series of articles provides an overview of how you can improve your health by eating healthily and being physically active.
Get Healthy for life:
Nutrients
If you are interested in specific nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein, fats, minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals we have introductory and/or in-depth articles about many of the nutrients that you require for optimal health. For example we have articles that provide information about the following:
Fruit is an excellent source of fibre, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals
Other healthy eating articles consider nutrition recommendations and how to plan and practice healthy eating in relation to your specific requirements and environment. Know yourself articles include the following:
Physical Activity
Our articles about physical activity consider various types of physical activity and exercise, exercise terminology, recommendations for healthy physical activity and exercise, and how to get physical activity into your life:
Courses
Shovelling snow is physical activity
We have several courses which help you put the information that you find on this site, and from other sources, into practice. Embedded in the courses are links to all the articles that will provide you with the information you require to work through the course.
Since learning inevitably creates questions we are here to help you answer your questions which we look forward to receiving from you. When you sign up for a course you will develop a file that you can make into a hard copy or keep on-line and refer to as and when you need it. The course material is extensive and you work through the course at your own pace:
Headlines
A healthy philosophy headline features current nutritional health and physical activity related issues: We are continually adding to these articles and updating the information provided as new research provides us with a better understanding of health related nutrition and physical activity.
Looking to the future
Strive for balance in your life
Stocking our library is an ongoing process and we will be adding a recipe and menu planning section in 2013 along with a nutritional analysis service. Also to be launched in 2013 is a 30 day SMART and FITT Challenge to help you move forward on your pathway to healthy eating.
When you sign up to a healthy philosophy subscription you get access to all of the articles. Subscribers are notified when new articles are available. Access provides subscribers with the opportunity to comment on our articles, make requests for future articles and enter into healthy eating and physical activity related discussions.
Courses, challenges, menu planning, recipes and nutritional analysis are priced individually.
We look forward to hearing from you in 2013 and wish all our subscribers and visitors a healthy and happy 2013.