Trying to get to the simple side of complexity with health.

The body is an amazingly wonderfully complex living organism. As we study and research the body looking for ways to improve the health of it, we can very quickly get confused with the complexity of all the different systems interacting with each other to maximize the efficiency of the body as it lives.

I like that phrase, "Simplicity lies on the far side of complexity." It means you must strive to make your way through the difficult, uncertain and often confusing part before things become clear enough to be considered simple. Let’s apply this thought to a few basic health principles:

• Exercise – We can easily get confused with magazine articles from supposed experts and antidotal information from family or friends on how often, how long, what types of exercises are best for weight loss or muscle production, what pace or exertion, high intensity versus lower intensity and debates can go on and on over many of these. But the simple side for most us is we need move more.

• Nutrition – What percent of each macro-nutrient (fat, carbohydrate, and protein) does each of us need? How many calories should I eat? Are some calories better then other calories? How many times a day do I need to eat? Do I need supplements, if so which ones? And the question list goes on and on. But the simple side is most of us need to control portion sizes and be a more balanced, nutritious eater.

• Stress – There are lots of books you can buy to help you reduce your stress, probably enough that trying to decide which one you need stresses you out!!! But the simple side is most of us need to laugh more and worry less. Also take action to walk the delicate line of hoping for the best and let positive thoughts and feelings dominate most of our emotions, but at the same time be realistic and let a small piece of us prepare for the worst.

• Overall health – How do you get healthy? This is the magic question for most of us. With so many different answers to the same question, how do you know what to believe? Everyday there is another guru or fad that we hear works for them or others to get healthier. But the simple side is most of us need to: exercise more, eat better and stress less in a way that works for us and keep working to get better at all of them.