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Writer's pictureCharli

Body Functions

The body functions in strange and mysterious ways. Almost as soon as anomalies and unexplained  changes can be discovered and given a name, by research and medical intervention the body will throw something up – sometimes literally – that raises eyebrows and gives us cause for consideration.

Three years ago I was suffering from feeling bloated, discomfort from trapped wind and IBS. The results of a very uncomfortable CT Colonoscopy revealed I had a long and tortuous sigmoid colon. Mother responded – “mmm much like your long and tortuous childhood” (she said it).

Fed up after decades of pain and irregularity, I decided to try the ‘Blood-Type’ diet. Partly because I have always been vain and promised myself I was never going to succumb to a ‘middle aged spread’, but really to see if it would have an impact.

I give blood anyway so knew I was A+ve. Turns out my gut instinct (!) was right: I shouldn’t eat meat, apart from chicken, turkey and fish. I should avoid dairy, sweet peppers, coconuts, chick peas…. it goes on, but the end result is that I have learned to tune in to what my body actually needs and how it responds. I will not submit you to what the combination of sweet peppers have on their way though a long and tortuous sigmoid colon but it isn’t a breath of fresh air!

Another odd facet as to how my body functions is that I have Benign Positional Vertigo. Most of the time I am unaffected but during periods of stress and exhaustion I get dizzy easily and have to take prescribed medication to ease the nausea and slight sense of having an electric shock when I walk. Recently I met a fellow sufferer and was delighted that I could name and shame the condition to one who understood.

We all have personal oddities and our bodies do respond to external pressures and internal stresses and strains. Our bodies need care and nurture, good food, the right amount of exercise as well as knowledge and understanding of what affects us and how.

During January we are bombarded with diet quick-fixes, urged to join a gym, sign up to bootcamps and be made to feel even worse about our groaning waistlines after the indulgence of the festive holiday season.

But cast your mind back 4-6 weeks: were we not being bombarded with hints and tips to eat, drink, drink some more and eat even more in order to feel festive? Marketing is fickle and designed to hook us in, proving once again that we are susceptible to parting with our money. It’s how the industry functions.

So more me, a continued rather than new year resolution is to trust myself, listen to my body and look in the mirror frequently. I am comfortable with being vain but only  because it serves to remind me to look after these ageing bones, muscles and tissues.  This is what motivates me to eat well, sleep well, exercise well and be well.

Body Functions – a poem

Pop one, take two, you ready for a third?

Eat more, eat less, juicing’s not absurd;

walk tall, run fast, bend and stretch it out;

jump, spin, cross train and shake it all about.

Think thin, be vain, your body’s where it’s at,

not doughnuts, pizza, fried chicken filled with fat.

Stop and think, tune right in, listen to yourself

Its what you do and what you don’t that will affect your health.

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