Kay:

Hey there, Questers. You know what, Happy World Health Day!

Shi:

Yes. A favorite celebrated holiday across the globe.

Kay:

Here on April 7th, episode 328, it is World Health Day, which means we have a quote for you today from the World Health Organization and it is a quote with a little bit of, God what do you call that? A statistic in it, and says, “Nourishment can raise national productivity levels by 20%.”

Shi:

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that’s responsible for international public health, and it has established the agency’s governing structure and principles that state in its main objective, the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. So, a pretty lofty goal for a planet with seven billion people, but we need these kinds of organizations and we need days like World Health Day to help us in this fight against illness and against disease and the things that are destroying our health because our health is ultimately one of the largest deciders of our satisfaction of life and our life’s longevity, both objectively and subjectively.

Kay:

Now, there seems to be a lot of confusion that comes around the idea of adequate nourishment. We see this in the trending fad diets. I think keto has now seen its popularity swell and wane.

Shi:

And swell again and wane again.

Kay:

As did Atkins, as does all kinds of things, these trend diets that come along. But adequate nourishment there really isn’t a lot of confusion around what will adequately nourish your body. Okay. Are you ready? Fruits and vegetables…

Shi:

Water.

Kay:

…and water.

Shi:

And that’s pretty much it. Yeah, that’s really all we need but we need large quantities of it at a regular rate. That’s what’s difficult for the global scale, certainly for those of us here in the US and in those developed countries, we don’t have issues with access to food. In fact, our issue is access to too much food, as is reflected in the rising obesity rates. So, whether we’re talking about malnourished in third world countries or obesity, raising rates in the developed world, what we need is adequate nourishment and when we can adequately nourish ourselves and our country’s productivity rising by 20%, that’s a pretty dang big jump for something as simple as fruits, veggies, and water.

Kay:

Now, national productivity levels are cool, but what about personal productivity levels? I mean, if there are five days in the workweek, 20% more productivity is like having an extra day in your workweek. I think everyone can agree that that would be helpful for our long-term goals. So, when we’re thinking about maybe how this grand globalized statistic can apply down to the individual, how might you adequately nourish yourself? Raise your own national productivity.

Shi:

The nation of Shila could use some productivity.

Kay:

Hey, that is a collection of cells and organs, and systems.

Shi:

It absolutely is. I am a community of cells, a collection of organs and biological systems and when they’re healthy, I’m able to be more productive in my life which ultimately helps my family…It helps my community…It helps my teams and my organizations, and it does the same for you. When Kay and I gave up drinking we marveled at the fact that one thing could give us so many benefits, literally just ONE thing – and this feels like one of those kinds of things. Adequate nourishment, not that hard to check that box, and increasing productivity by 20%, an extra day to your week for one thing like fruits, veggies, and water. That’s a pretty good exchange in my opinion.

Kay:

Yep. One of the things that adequate nourishment does for you. This is not about skinny, equal skinny and fat. This is not about you being overweight or your body looking in a bikini size or any of that. This is about your health and, as we’ve done a lot of work in the brain health space, particularly with Dr. Daniel Amen, we’ve now really learned how even just eating a few fruits and veggies every single day helps you think right and when you think right, you make better decisions overall in your life, which creates a better life experience for you, but that can also raise that productivity. So, this isn’t just about getting skinny. This isn’t just about, oh, you’re fat and you need to lose weight. It’s not about that at all. This is about helping your systems of your body, particularly that decision-making center of your brain, operate better so that you can get more out of life just as the World Health Organization reminds us here on World Health Day.

Shi:

Which the quote is adequate, “Nourishment can raise national productivity levels by 20%.” Side note here, it’s not pristine nourishment. It’s not 100% organic local farm nourishment every day of your life. It’s adequate nourishment. So, not asking you to make those huge leaps, just looking for more fruit, veg, and water, which surprise-surprise is part of your quest today. So, we want you to increase your productivity by eating healthy whole foods, (extra credit if it’s plant-based) lunch, or dinner if you happen to be listening in the evening. Are you ready?

Kay & Shi:

Let’s quest!