When you think of living a healthier life, does something like sustainability come to mind? There are not so many practices that will work for the long term, but there are practices that need to work for the long term, specifically with an environmental lens. It’s not hard to see how living a healthy life and being eco-friendly can go together.
If you check social media, you’ll find an abundance of influencers wearing beige eco-friendly athleisure, grocery tote bags filled with whole foods, vitamins with eco-friendly packaging, and gyms that promote how sustainable they are. At this point in time, they seem to go together; they seem to be coinciding with each other, right?
But do they actually? Well, you can still have a healthy life and work on the journey to better well-being without ever being eco-friendly- technically. But you should keep in mind that the choices we make in our daily lives not only affect our personal health but also the health of the planet.
By adopting eco-friendly habits and making sustainable choices, we can simultaneously enhance our well-being and contribute to a healthier planet. It’s still so important to do this, and it’s extremely vital to know and understand why it’s important and how you can do it, too. So, here’s what you need to know!
Focus More on Sustainable Nutrition
So, one thing you really need to keep in mind is that a healthy diet is the cornerstone of well-being, but it’s essential to consider not only the nutritional value of our food but also its environmental impact. There’s a difference between shopping at your major chain grocery store versus shopping locally.
Where that lettuce or where that apple comes from should be important to you. So, with that said, opting for locally sourced, organic produce reduces the carbon footprint associated with transportation and minimizes exposure to harmful pesticides and chemicals. Plus, wouldn’t you rather focus more on helping out with sustainable farming practices too for farmers? You can have both a healthy diet while helping promote better practices for farmers and helping your community (which are all intertwined heavily).
Active Transportation
So, for this one, while it’s easy to say, “Just take a bike instead of a car,” it can’t be like that everywhere. Not every town, city, county, and so on can be bike-safe. So, just keep that in mind. However, if you live in an area where walking, running, and cycling are embraced and protected, it might be better to do this than to drive.
So it’s important to keep in mind that regular physical activity is vital for maintaining a healthy body and mind, but our choice of transportation can also impact our well-being and the environment. If you want to exercise while also reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, then walking somewhere or even cycling can be a two-in-one. It really is one of the best ways to contribute to cleaner air and healthier communities- but again, if it’s not safe in your area, then don’t push this on yourself!
Little Things Add Up
It’s often a surprise that even when it comes to health, there are things that can still be not-so-eco-friendly. Think about contacts for your eyes for a moment; those disposable ones are little pieces of plastic. Plastic is still plastic, and it is usually not recyclable. In cases like that, something like LASIK eye surgery would be much better because you’re not creating waste anymore. The same can be said for buying pre-chopped garlic or onions since those are in plastic bags, and honestly, the list could go on and on.
Connection to Nature
Everyone needs that connection to nature; humans are animals, and animals thrive in nature. Chances are pretty high that you’re more than aware that spending time in nature has numerous benefits for mental and emotional well-being. There are plenty of studies, articles, and more than enough content plastered online about it, too. All of this just so happens to foster a deeper connection to the natural world and promote environmental stewardship. Again, it goes back to animals needing to be outdoors.
When it comes to being outside, it’s like a nice reminder of what people need to do collectively to make the world a better place. Also, a lot of outdoor activities are really good for the environment. These can include exercising in an outdoor gym at a park, gardening, hiking in a forest, and so on. But that connection is really needed.