By the time Mark Samonsky got to college, he had already racked up his share of injuries. Years of football and rugby, pushing himself to the limit, sparked his interest in the body’s inner workings.

“That hurts,” Samonsky remembers thinking. “Why does that hurt? How do I make it hurt less?”

Living on his own with little money and no cooking skills, he quickly learned how and what to eat to stay healthy and strong. That experience led to a degree in athletic training. Now at Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi, Samonsky says the biggest difference in how students heal isn’t some special hack but what they are (or aren’t) putting into their bodies.

“The big parts of healing and recovery…are sleep, hydration and what you eat,” Samonsky said.

For haumāna, ʻohana and anyone trying to feel just a little better in their body, here are three everyday habits he lives and teaches by:

1. “Have more food in your food.”
   What we eat every day can either help our bodies heal or make it harder to recover. Ultra-processed foods are often high in added sugars, refined oils, sodium and artificial additives — all of which can contribute to chronic inflammation. Samonsky’s advice? Stick to foods you recognize.
   “If you see something you don’t recognize and you don’t know where it came from, eat less of it. Simple as that,” Samonsky said.
   
   Whole grains, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables are all parts of eating to reduce inflammation and support healing. What you eat doesn’t need to be fancy and the habits we build around it often start at home.
   
   “Take your kids shopping with you. Cook with them,” Samonsky said. “They have to actually learn how to cook… not just once, not just twice, but consistently.”
   
   Cooking together helps keiki understand what goes into their food and how to make it nourishing and flavorful. Spices like cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, garlic, cumin, rosemary and cayenne pepper are great ways to boost flavor without relying on salt, sugar or heavy sauces. Plus, they’re zero calories and anti-inflammatory!
    
2. “Start and end the day with water.”
   When students come in with fatigue or headaches, Samonsky doesn’t reach for the tape right away. First, he checks a student’s basic needs: have they eaten and how much water did they drink? Proper hydration supports every system in the body from circulation and digestion to joint health and temperature regulation. And for student-athletes, it’s especially critical for muscle recovery and injury prevention.
   
   “Before you eat any kind of food, drink a glass of water… Not only will it help with increasing your overall intake, but it’ll also make you feel fuller, so you eat less,” Samonsky said.
    
3. “Do less bad and more good.”
   Nutrition is often made to seem complicated but according to the Keaʻau campus athletic trainer, it doesn’t have to be.
   
   “You don’t have to be a millionaire to get eight hours of rest. You don’t have to be a millionaire to drink more water. These are all doable things,” Samonsky said.
   
   Start small by checking the nutrition label, drinking more water or sleeping a little bit earlier every night. These everyday actions make a difference.

At its core, wellness isn’t about trendy diets or perfect routines but the daily choices that support our mind, body and spirit. It’s built through what we can do every day: how we rest, how we move and how we eat. For Ke Kula ‘o Kamehameha haumāna, these choices add up to better focus, faster healing and deeper resilience.

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