Do you really know how intelligent and efficient your body truly is?  Sure, you know that it is an amazing vessel that can do hundreds of tasks (often at the same time) and on top of that it sustains life.  Pretty impressive.  But did you also know that your body can actually tell you when something is not totally right?  Yup, your awesome body has plenty of warning signs to let you know when something is amiss.  Unfortunately most of us don’t pay attention/don’t know how to interpret these signals.  I believe that part of a healthy lifestyle, besides eating well and exercising is being able to tune in and really listen to what your body is telling you.

I ran across this article the other day and I was amazed at some of the warning signs that your body will give you to clue you in to what’s going on.  It wasn’t until recently (the past six months or so) that I really started to try and listen to what my body needed.  Before that I pretty much only listened to the “normal” signals i.e. Go to the bathroom fool! Get some food, you’re getting hangry (hungry + angry = not a pleasant Katie), Maybe you should go to bed since you’re falling asleep while studying!  I think that most of us are pretty aware of those basic signals, but we all really need to work on some of the more subtle hints that our bodies are dropping.

Because I am interested in health, I am fascinated with all the ways that my body lets me know what I need to do nutritionally.  Who knew that cracks around the corner of your mouth could be sign of a vitamin B-deficiency? Or that cold you can’t seem to shake indicates a lack of good bacteria in your gut?  Most of us wouldn’t think much of these things, but they are important keys to your best health.

So what should you do with this information? Become a body detective (preferably of your own body… some situations could get awkward otherwise…)!  Take a few minutes each day to really assess your body.  Does it feel different than yesterday? Do you notice something a little off or have a funny feeling?  It will take time to really be able to interpret your bodies signals and know exactly what to do.  But with a little dedication and some research, you should be able to really know your own body  That is so important for your health because you only get this one body to work with.  Now it goes without saying, that if you think something is terribly wrong go and see your doctor.  I am not advocating self-diagnosis when it comes to serious illness, I just think that being able to interpret your bodies own unique signals is a healthy and helpful skill to have.

I hope that you all have a fantastic week and you are able to maybe tune into your amazing body and learn what it truly needs.  Next week I am going to talk a little about SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder and different ways to cope.  See you all next Monday!