We made it! 2021 is here and 2020 is behind us! Reflecting on 2020 one of the major themes that Covid continuously brought to our attention was the importance of improving your health. It is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life under “normal” circumstances. In fact, many of us need to make a conscious effort to prioritize our health and well-being. One of the lessons that we can learn is that prioritizing and addressing our health is essential.
It was widely accepted that having comorbidities (presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient) left patients more vulnerable to complications from Covid. In reality that is no different than the risks for complications from the flu or pneumonia. In addition to lung conditions -obesity, diabetes and heart disease left individuals feeling as if they had a bullseye right on their head.
There are certain health factors that we do not have control over. On the flip side, there are many that we do have control over!!! What we put in our mouths is something that we do have control over. As Hippocrates said best, “let thy food be the medicine.”
We are constantly bombarded with the latest and greatest “diet”. This can become very overwhelming and leave us paralyzed as to what “diet” we should follow. News alert: nothing related to our health is one size fits all. We all have different genetics, sleep habits, stress, toxin exposure and past medical history and mindsets related to food. Let us shift our focus from weight loss to health. The main cornerstone of this is reversing insulin resistance and being mindful of our body composition (fat to muscle ratio)
Regardless of what school you may subscribe to, keto, paleo, vegan etc the common denominator that everyone agrees on is the negative affects ultra-processed food has on our health. We tend to over complicate things. It is back to basics;
If it hangs, grows, or lived – eat it; if it has bar codes or comes in a box eliminate it (let’s compromise on minimize it!)
12 tips to improve our health (and weight)
- Drink half of your weight in ounces of water a day.
- Pay attention to how you feel after you eat something. If you get tired, become more hungry, feel irritable or in a “food coma” – avoid eating that food at this time.
- Increase your vegetable intake. Aim to increase the variety as that is a tool to support your gut biome.
- If you are not hungry, don’t eat.
- Avoid processed food.
- Aim to eat healthy 80-90% of the time and it is ok to eat cake on special occasions.
- Gradual changes lead to long term success.
- Eat meals vs continually snaking throughout the day.
- Increase time between the last meal of the day and the first time that you eat. BREAKFAST IS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY.
- Have grace with yourself if you are feeling under the weather, facing extreme stress, and/or going on vacation.
- MOVE MORE
- If you are into smoothies – be aware of the amount of fruit that you put in. Although fruits have essential minerals and vitamins, we can consume more in a smoothy than we typically can consume. Commonly there is a high sugar load. Spinach is a great addition to any smoothy as it doesn’t change the taste and adds nutrients.
Remember, you are not in this alone. There are many tools that we can use to help support your journey of improving your health. Wearing a continuous glucose monitor has been invaluable for me. It provides real-time data on how food, stress, and other variables affect my blood sugar. When I see that in black and white it helps me course correct.
It is truly our honor to work with you. By providing personalized care we can help navigate the journey to optimal health and wellness – it is obtainable if we don’t give up!!
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The Doctor’s Farmacy with Mark Hyman, M.D.
