In today’s blog post, we touch a common subject and a word known by all but understood differently by each of us. Health. When we hear this word, images come to mind; others picture someone energetic with no traces of diseases, others correlate health to happiness, and others understand health as coping with their daily life unobstructed by their physical limitations (pain, uncomfortable physical & mental states) etc. But try this. Go and ask someone you know, maybe even yourself, this simple question: “What is health?”, perhaps even add “What does it mean for someone to be healthy?”. Will you get an answer? Will the answer always be the same. You guessed it right. No.

So what is health after all? And why do people define it differently? To answer these questions, firstly, let us provide you with a definition of health. According to the World Health Organization: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity”. Ok, so that clarifies things a bit. Therefore, being healthy is not only not having a disease, disability or a state of physical weakness. It’s also how you feel. Therefore, health has two logical aspects: the physical and the emotional, and those two aspects are linked together. 

Ok, wait, so what about well being? Are health and well being the same? 

Well…yes and no. To maintain your well being you have to maintain your health. But wellbeing is commonly perceived as having six to seven states, sometimes called by the abbreviation SPECIES (Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Career, Intellectual, Environmental, Social). Wellness is a bit broader in this sense and has much more aspects than those two (physical and mental) of health. Wellness is not a medical term unanimously defined by practitioners or universally considered the same by all people. However, the National Wellness Institute provides us with a definition of wellness being: “an active process through which people become aware of, and make choices toward, a more successful existence”. If we accept that, that means wellness includes everything, from yourself to your surroundings, daily life, environment, and the actions you take to become happier, successful, and feel better overall. Therefore, as a natural process, first, you need to focus on achieving better health and then better wellbeing. 

Ok then, since wellbeing is step 2, let’s focus on step 1. How do you get healthy or maintain better health? In our eyes, it all comes down to balance. Of course, sadly, people are influenced by genetics, bad luck, environmental factors, and other factors that lead them to face severe disabilities, diseases, and unhealthy states. Having said that, you should never give up since there is nothing more precious in your life than your life itself. Trying to maintain good physical and mental health (of course, each one to their capabilities) should be your goal. Balanced nutrition, meditation, a better lifestyle and more exercise are some excellent ways to maintain your health. In this article, we won’t start giving endless tips on becoming healthier (The internet is full of those guides today anyway). 

Here are at Rooby, we mainly focus on one thing: Better nutrition through better snacking. Yeah, we get it, we all crave our favourite pizza flavour, and we all like our chocolate cookies too much to give up on them. That doesn’t mean, though, you have to overdo it. Of course, you don’t have to give up on them (this could even influence your mental health at the expense of your physical health, and once again, perfection lies in balance), but you have to be careful. Balanced nutrition means getting vitamins, adequate fibre, minerals and tons of other nutrients in reasonable amounts. So maybe, next time, instead of indulging yourself with a chocolate cookie, try a Rooby Bar instead. Plus, if you are facing menstrual problems, there is the extra added value that Rooby offers. Our bars have ingredients known to help to balance your cycle naturally.