It's easy to forget that what we consume mentally can be just as critical as what we ingest physically. Have you ever considered the striking similarities between a diet of fast food and a diet of fast news? Our choices—both on the plate and on the screen—have an impact on our overall health. In this episode, we'll explore how the stories we digest, the podcasts we select, and the people we surround ourselves with shape our well-being just as significantly as the nutrients we derive from our meals. I'll share my own realizations about the magnetic pull of negative news and the transformative power of intentionally choosing a diet for the mind that is as balanced and nourishing as the one we aim for our bodies.
As you listen, think of the subtle ways your digital diet mirrors your eating habits, and how you can establish boundaries in your virtual and physical worlds. Reflect on the importance of mindfulness in consumption and consider how a well-rounded media 'meal plan' can lead to a healthier, more harmonious existence.
It's easy to forget that what we consume mentally can be just as critical as what we ingest physically. Have you ever considered the striking similarities between a diet of fast food and a diet of fast news? Our choices—both on the plate and on the screen—have an impact on our overall health. In this episode, we'll explore how the stories we digest, the podcasts we select, and the people we surround ourselves with shape our well-being just as significantly as the nutrients we derive from our meals. I'll share my own realizations about the magnetic pull of negative news and the transformative power of intentionally choosing a diet for the mind that is as balanced and nourishing as the one we aim for our bodies.
As you listen, think of the subtle ways your digital diet mirrors your eating habits, and how you can establish boundaries in your virtual and physical worlds. Reflect on the importance of mindfulness in consumption and consider how a well-rounded media 'meal plan' can lead to a healthier, more harmonious existence.
Hello and welcome to the Cameo Show. I'm your host, cameo, and this episode is all about consumption Our food consumption and the impact it has on our bodies, in parallel with our content consumption and the impact it has on our mind. Did you know that poor nutrition contributes to almost half of all deaths associated with heart disease, stroke and diabetes Almost half from poor nutrition? Now, if we shift gears and we talk about content consumption, positive news, positive content is kind of like broccoli right when negative news is kind of the fast food equivalent. If we have poor nutrition for our minds, if we're constantly going to the fast food equivalent of content, our mental health suffers, and it's not really our fault. Our ancestors had to be hyper aware of potential threats and so they were constantly paying attention to anything that could be dangerous or going wrong. Humans are wired to negative news, to be aware, to make sure that we're safe. But we can be very mindful about what we eat, similarly to what we consume from a content standpoint for our mind.
Speaker 1:
I get stuck sometimes. I'm just bored or I'm in the car Greg's driving, the conversation has died down I grab my phone to look for something or do something and then I find myself in a mindless scroll, doom scroll. Now I have altered my feed on social media specifically to be following people and things that are teaching me something and that are positive. But every once in a while I'll get click baited into looking at something sexy not really sexy, like some sexy negative news or something celebrity related that's like oh so and so did this. And I'm like, oh, what they do? And I am sucked right in, not because of my survival, but we can blame it on that but because I'm, just as a human, drawn to that drama. So, in the same way that I don't want to rush through what I'm eating and just shovel it in and not even give myself time to digest, I need to be mindful of that. While I'm scrolling, while I'm consuming content, while I'm watching TV, a lot of times it's easy to turn on the news and just get stuck with like so and so got murdered and this is happening. It's like holy cow.
Speaker 1:
The idea is to be mindful of what we are consuming, be very present and intentional. Mindful eating isn't just for meditation enthusiasts to savor every bite and think about where every piece of food came from, although that is a nice exercise to slow yourself down and really be aware and grateful for all of the work that's gone into this simple meal that you have in front of you, sidebar. But it's really about the principle of enjoying what you're eating and giving your body a chance to digest, giving yourself a chance to breathe while you eat, and not rush through. And we need to treat our mind the same way. Instead of mindlessly scrolling and getting sucked into whatever negative or sexy story there is on TV or on our screens, we need to be very present and aware of what's coming into our brains. The beautiful part about that is that we really get to control that, just like we do with what we eat, and our mental health will Thank us, just like our bodies do when we give it the proper fuel.
Speaker 1:
Variety is the spice of life and I totally get that, like I am all about the birthday cakes and the treats, but in moderation, and I think moderation is such a buzzword and it's kind of bullshit, quite honestly. But it's really about being aware. You have a mix of veggies and proteins and dessert, just like you have a mix of documentaries and podcasts and memes. I'm not saying get rid of memes and don't have any fun. I'm just saying be very mindful of where you go, when you're scrolling or when you're consuming content for your mind. You can keep it interesting, but we're all aware of the consequences. Right, we're aware of the consequences of eating bad. Just like over half of the deaths related to heart disease, stroke and diabetes were poor nutrition related, there's a stat that says one in five deaths globally are Contributed to a poor diet. Now that could be what people eat, or great nutrition isn't available everywhere. All sorts of stories with the idea being that proper nutrition is essential for life. It's essential for the functionality of our organs and our brains and our bodies. So there's a lot of risk if you apply that to the consumption of content.
Speaker 1:
Our mental health suffers tremendously when we're consuming negative junk news, negative junk content. We need positive news, we need Stimulation, we need to learn things so that our brain function and synapses are clear. Toxic stories and negative news are Linked through research to increase stress levels, of course. I mean we're wired to be on edge and looking for danger, and if we get sucked in to sensationalized content that's negative and scary and there's no shortage of it, you can find it anywhere and on accident Then of course, our mental health is going to suffer. Our stress levels are going to rise, our blood pressure is going to rise. Our overall health, not just mental, is going to suffer.
Speaker 1:
But here's the beautiful part when it comes to food, we can read the labels. We can eat one word foods. We can understand how much we're consuming and Learn about what we should be consuming. We know that eating dessert all day isn't really a great option and that fast food, while everybody loves it and it's readily available and I am no different, I love the fries but we know what the risks are and we can determine whether they're worth it and we can make conscious decisions about what we choose to eat. We know that romaine lettuce is better than chicken nuggets. I Wish it wasn't the case, but it's totally the case.
Speaker 1:
In the same way, we can fact check our content. We can arm ourselves with information that align with what we're trying to accomplish. We can learn so much. We get to choose. We get to absolutely go in and audit our social media feed and Follow people and things that teach us something, and some funny stuff along the side. But that's the dessert, right? That's the little bit that we're consuming, because it's fun if we can become super aware. We're not always gonna get it right. I don't get it right all the time and I'm not like crazy about it where I'm not enjoying life and I'm so rigid that everything is a pain in the ass, really right but Our overall health physically and mentally depends on it, and so, if we can be very aware of it, we can audit what we consume. We need to be satisfied, we need to be fulfilled, and while every once in a while, little bit of sexy news, celebrity news, trashy food is awesome, we do have the choice to make sure that it's every once in a while.
Speaker 1:
Our pediatrician once said to Faith about what she was eating that, like pizza and fries are maybe once a week food, not once every day food, and that really stuck with me. It was something that now I think about when I eat popcorn. Popcorn is like one of my favorite things, and I'm not saying it's bad for you, but, like you know, buttery microwave popcorn is probably not a great thing to eat every single day, especially not closing down the day, and so I think about it as like a once a week food versus an every day food, and then I feel okay about it and it's maybe still not a great choice, but I'm also not overdoing it. I'm not flooding my system with a bunch of artificial stuff that I know is bad for me, just like the news. Every once in a while it's nice to turn it on and kind of get an idea of what's happening in the world. However, it's like a once a week thing for me personally, because otherwise I get overwhelmed and I go to my instinctual fear driven response patterns and I don't like to live there, much like you wanna have a nice balance of like lettuce and chocolate.
Speaker 1:
It's also important to kind of apply that idea to the news. Right, we talk about scrolling on our phones and having documentaries and memes. You can apply that to the news in the way that you might follow a news source that aligns with what you think, but then also flip the channel and follow the one that's kind of the polarized view to get an idea of what else is out there and then turn it off and then get the hell out of there. But once a week food and your choices aren't all about you. So this ripples out into content creators, news sources, making sure that it's not just about views and clicks, it's not just about click bait. It's not just about ratings for the TV, but it's about the mental landscape in our audiences that it's about being a force for good. So if you're a content creator, if you're a writer, lead with that. Create responsibly, recognize the impact that your work may have on collective wellbeing. It's an opportunity.
Speaker 1:
In conclusion, what you consume matters.
Speaker 1:
What you consume to nourish your body matters. What you consume to nourish your mind matters. We have opportunities to make sure that we take inventory all the time. We have opportunities to change what we're doing, how we're doing it, how we're consuming all the time, every choice that you make, every time you eat, every time you pick up your phone, every time you turn on the TV, every time you pick up a book or turn on a podcast when you're exercising to add to a healthy lifestyle, throw on a podcast, sometimes instead of music, to nourish your mind, while you're using the time to nourish your body. Just like we detox our bodies with fasting, detox your digital consumption.
Speaker 1:
Establish boundaries for content consumption. Set time limits, and not just for your kids, for you too. Surround yourself with good nourishing foods, good nourishing people, good nourishing content that uplifts you, that contributes to your health and inspires you rather than drains you. So the next time you're thinking about what you're consuming, there's a lot of parallels there to consider and you can treat what you eat and what you do on these things. These phones are screens the same, with the same concepts and with the same awareness. Thank you, as always, for listening. Let me know what you think. Stop by my Instagram at kamioylesbron, send me a DM. Let me know what you think about this comparison between eating food and eating consuming content.