What Role Does Our Intelligence Play in Our Health?
This is a double sided coin. Does health affect intelligence?
Yes. Does intelligence affect health? Yes. This is one of those
wonderful situations where the cause and effect works both ways.
What happens in one area, will generally affect the other. It is
a known and proven fact, that the eating and health habits we
use as children, directly affects our level of development. This
includes the brain. Protein, one of the most important basic
life building blocks, works directly in the brain's development.
No protein, no proper development.
Well, it doesn't take very much intuition here, to notice if
the brain doesn't develop to optimal operation levels, you will
not have a health conscious individual. Generally, you do not
have individuals develop to become productive, prosperous
citizens, and certainly not healthy, productive, prosperous
citizens.
Past the consideration of intelligence development, our level
of education and intelligence plays a tremendous role in our
ability to educate ourselves about the health options we should
exercise. With generations prior to the 20th century, physical
energy expenditures used up whatever nutritional resources you
had provided earlier. Physical work and a real lack of
nutritional supplements kept the body in constant need of
nourishment. That is a time past. Today, with the advent of the
computer, physical activity is no longer a part of the work
equation. We no longer lack for vitamins and minerals, thanks to
the boom in the vitamin market.
Today, we must determine how much nourishment we need, how
much physical exercise we need, and how best to accomplish those
ends. Calorie needs, nutritional needs, physical needs, and
education about those needs now is information we should all
understand, at least as it applies to our individual self.
Our level of income directly affects our health. Did you know
that? How much money you make helps to determine how healthy you
will be. Doesn't really make sense, if you don't' look at the
broader picture. In the big picture, however, here is the view:
you are educated, have a degree, and are exposed to tons of
information during your college years. You are exposed to health
classes, athletes, and all sorts of professional people who
already understand the importance of health in your life.
You graduate college, your income levels are quite nice, and
you have the opportunity to purchase magazines, health and
fitness of course. Can you see how your education and
intelligence levels affect your health now? This is a
generalization that has proven itself time and again. All you
have to do is observe your developed countries versus the third
world, underdeveloped countries. Standard of living and health
are directly related.
If the evidence presented above is not enough to satisfy your
curiosity concerning the role intelligence plays in our health,
take the time to visit the US Census. This information is
available through the internet. There you will find all kinds of
statistics, from income averages in areas of the United States,
to education levels in those same places. Also available is
information related to the household. Check for yourself. You
can see a direct relationship in many areas of the country
between income levels and health statistics for that area.