With heart disease, diabetes, obesity becoming so prevalent in our society these days education and prevention is so important. Our Family Doctors don’t have time to teach nutrition to their clients. Indeed, most Doctors today graduate medical school with very little learning about diet and nutrition.  Unless they take it upon themselves to study nutrition, they typically get less than 12 hours of education on it in all their years of study. The internet provides so much information, conflicting information, misinformation, how do you know what to read, learn about and even believe?  I’ve done the research for you. I’ve been a nurse for more than 30 years and I’ve been studying diet, nutrition and supplements for the last 10 years. I use reputable sources for information, many studies done by large universities and teaching hospitals, by researchers who are the top in their field. I also review information put out by Health Canada and the National Institute of Health in the US.

Education and prevention needs to become The Key Issue for a healthy population in North America and indeed, Worldwide.

How do I live a healthy life?

1. Make healthy food choices.   Incorporate lots of vegetables into most of your meals everyday. Eat fruit for dessert. Home made meals with basic ingredients. Many frozen foods are healthy for you - check your ingredient labels. Frozen broccoli should be just frozen broccoli. Moderate protein a few times a week.  You don’t need protein in every meal. If you are vegetarian or vegan make sure you do get enough protein from the foods you eat. Avoid ultra processed foods, anything made with white flour, heat processed vegetable oils, anything deep fried. Avoid packaged food with many unpronounceable ingredients. You don’t need chemical preservatives in real wholesome food. It’s very important to read the ingredient labels to know what you are getting.  Shop the produce isle in the supermarket. You get exactly what you see with no ingredient list necessary. Nuts and seeds also have no ingredient list, are very healthy and have lots of fiber.
2. Just get up and move. Start with a gentle walk. You don’t need a structured work out or a gym. Start where you are and build from there. A 15 minute gentle walk, then increase time and pace as you are capable. Move every day. Bike with the kids, swim, play and run with the dog. As you become more fit, incorporate strength building into your exercise routine. Put weight into a backpack and do your walk, or do squats with weight. It doesn’t take much to start making a difference. Aim for at least half an hour everyday.
3. Sleep really is the best medicine. Sleep is an essential strategy in health and longevity. Getting enough quality sleep can decrease your risk of dying from disease or accidents, increase your brain health, increase your smarts, Getting enough quality sleep can actually prevent you from becoming overweight. If you’re chronically tired, your hunger hormones can get out of balance making you hungry, thereby making you want to eat. Eating before you go to bed can interfere with the quality of your sleep. Your body is not made to digest food while you are sleeping. It can interrupt the natural circadian rhythms of your body. According to Dr. Satchin Panda PhD, who does research on circadian rhythms and longevity, every system in your body, every cell of your body has its own circadian rhythm. Interrupting that rhythm has health consequences. Insomnia is linked to high blood pressure and heart disease. Lack of sleep interrupts your bodies ability to heal itself. Over time poor sleep can lead to unhealthy habits and lack of motivation to be physically active and choose healthy foods. When you are tired convenience often beats healthy choices. It’s important to go to bed at the same time every night, weekdays and weekends. The occasional late night won’t hurt as long as it doesn’t become a habit. Good quality and quantity sleep also helps strengthen your immune system. To prepare yourself for a good sleep listen to calming music or meditate, practice gentle yoga, read a calming book. No alcohol or caffeine late in the evening, as they’re both stimulants.
4. Keep your stress levels under control. Even the best diet and exercise routine can be undermined by stress. Up to 90% of all disease has a stress component as part of the cause. Exercise and meditation are fantastic remedies for stress. Stress reduction techniques are listed on this website.

As always, get regular checkups at your doctors office, routine bloodwork, including cholesterol levels may be ordered by your doctor. Let you doctor know of any new exercise or dietary changes you’re making.  If you need to lose weight, aim for a weight that lets you operate at your best and feel great doing it.  You don’t need to match a number on the scale to be the healthiest you you can be.