(Updated 20. September 2009 – added a fourth pillar.)

About three years ago, I actively started caring about my own health. I had almost no clue about health, so I started running three times a week. It made me better at running, but health isn’t measured by how well you run. However, this post isn’t about that. It’s about how I presently see health.

“Four Pillars of Health” have nothing to do with the pillars of the European Union, I simply think it’s a good way of putting it. :) All four need to be taken care of, because if you neglect even one, it might come back to haunt you. (Update 23.09.09:) Note that the pillars aren’t arranged in order of importance. They were, but I realized that they are simply important in different ways. I now view them as equally important.

The first pillar: Sleep

I see sleep as the most important pillar. I have done a lot of sleep experiments, and I find that sleep is the most important pillar regarding how I feel overall. There are different ways of sleeping, ranging from the most basic ones, like free running sleep, to the most complex ones, like uberman. I have tested some, but not all. Some are so difficult that I haven’t gotten to testing them properly yet. Perhaps I never will. The ones I have had luck with are varieties of monophasic and biphasic sleep. I haven’t been able to test anything really longterm, though.

The second pillar: Food

Food is incredibly important. To many, it’s only a matter of weight – I once heard from a sports guy that exercise was so great because you could eat what you want without getting fat. To me, food isn’t about being fat or not. It’s about quality of life for myself and others. The way I see it, what does the body good tend to also do the environment good, like organic food. Good food, like fruit and vegetables, is also sustainable. So, my rule of thumb is that if it’s not sustainable, I shouldn’t eat it. Sometimes I have no choice, though. The way things are organized right now doesn’t open for much organic agriculture – vote your local green party to fix it. ;)

Remember, when it comes to food, what’s important is definitely not only what you put in – equally important is what you leave out. If your goal is to eat healthier, leaving out milk products and refined sugars is where you should start, as well as red meat. My opinion is that our ability to digest meat is simply a survival technique – we don’t really need it, and it’s not very sustainable. And yes, fish is meat as well. Concerning taste, it’s something you get used to. It is possible to eat delicious, yet healthy food – and it is possible to live a great life without chocolate and potato chips.

The third pillar: Exercise

Exercise is nice, but it’s a pillar I have little experience with. The best exercise is to keep relatively active most of the time you spend awake. That’s better than spend your time sitting on a chair and exercise occasionally, but many of us don’t really have that option. Going for walks is a nice thing to do instead – most people can do it, too. “Real” exercise is nice as well – especially if you have fun while doing it.

The fourth pillar: Love

After I first wrote this post, my dear Rose reminded me that physical health is affected by mental health as well. I have only lately come to realize what a wonderful thing love really is, but it certainly makes sense to give it its own pillar. With love, I mean all kinds of love: physically expressed love (touching, sexual…), friendship, self-love, loving what you do, emotional balance, etc. – I guess you can think of even more. :) One of the most important reasons I can think of for including the pillar of love, is because my goal is quality of life. Love improves the quality of life, as well as health. :)

Why I’m interested in health:

People often assume that my interest in health is for longevity. I even hear “I’d rather die young and happy than die old and ascetic”. This is not the case. I pursue health for quality of life (and I’ve gotten some unexpected bonuses along the way, like less body odour and a girlfriend). :) In my experience, people who say this seem to assume that I am denying myself happiness, and that, say, eating pizza, not exercise, or wake up in the morning feeling like crap will make them happy, but make them die earlier. However, eating a standard western diet won’t necessarily make you happy – maybe you’ll enjoy each meal (which I do too, even though I’m raw!), but you’ll also open the doors for all kinds of diseases as you grow older. Why go for temporary happiness when you can make it last? :)