A simple three-step strategy to improve your health and life expectancy.
The American lifespan has recently decreased for the first time in several decades. Surprisingly many Americans are susceptible to this in their own life as they are shortening their lifespan and quality of life with the lifestyle they live.
There are three simple steps you can take to dramatically improve your health and life span.
These steps are -
To improve what goes into your body
Move around more,
Get quality sleep.
As simple as it may sound many people do not eat well, ingest toxins regularly, are sedentary and not active, and don't know the basics for good sleep. In this article, I will go into each of these in more detail.
First what goes into your body is very important. There are a lot of toxic substances out there that we may consume regularly. These include pesticides in foods, chemicals/additives in food, microplastics, alcohol, toxins in the air, and chemicals in our water. While many of these alone might not be enough to disrupt our metabolic processes, together over time they can cause chronic inflammation which then induces chronic diseases. So how do you reduce these? Some simple steps are to look at the labels of the foods you eat and make smart choices. For example, compare the following ingredients:
Doritos Nacho Style chips- Corn, Vegetable Oil (Corn, Canola, And/or Sunflower Oil), Maltodextrin (Made From Corn), Salt, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Whey, Monosodium Glutamate, Buttermilk, Romano Cheese (Part-skim Cow's Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Whey Protein Concentrate, Onion Powder, Corn Flour, Natural And Artificial Flavor, Dextrose, Tomato Powder, Lactose, Spices, Artificial Color (Yellow 6, Yellow 5, And Red 40), Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Sugar, Garlic Powder, Skim Milk, Red And Green Bell Pepper Powder, Disodium Inosinate, And Disodium Guanylate.
Boulder Canyon potato chip product – Potatoes, Avocado oil, salt.
Now which is better for you to snack on? You get the idea. Apply this thinking to everything you eat, and you will be well on your way to improving your health. The best nutrition to feed your body is whole foods, with a slant towards mostly plants.
What about what you drink? The same thinking applies. I would recommend that you obtain a local water quality report from your water utility company. There are numerous items in it that the EPA states are at safe levels, but why put these chemicals and pharmaceuticals into your body when you don’t have to? Drink filtered water at some level. Even a simple carbon filter in products such as Brita, Pur, and others with carbon filters will remove some of these toxins. Many personal and home water filter systems can provide increasing levels of water filtration and toxin removal. Also, look at what is in your bottled drinks, and make sure it is what you want and nothing else.
Secondly, let's talk about moving around more. What if I told you about a pill that improves your metabolism, reduces stress, improves sleep, reduces depression, improves immune system function, reduces blood pressure, and improves overall energy? You would want to take it daily every day, right? Well, that magic comes from exercise, not a pill. Most people live a sedentary lifestyle with minimal movement or exertion. What I mean is that they sit most of the day at work and then go home and sit on a chair or couch in the evenings. Our bodies were meant to move, not to remain stationary. For the most part, the more you move or exercise, the better. So how can you change this pattern? Some simple things are getting up from your chair at work and walking around for about 5 minutes for every hour. This little change can have a big impact on your heart health. If you can do walking in place while you work, or chair exercises throughout the day helps also. When you get home don't stay reclined all evening. Going out for a 10–15-minute walk after dinner aids digestion and helps keep your body limber. I prefer to exercise in the mornings before the day can steal that time from me. You want to get your heart rate and breathing up a bit but not too much. If you can find some exercise you enjoy doing regularly and do it for 25-30 minutes every day you are well ahead of the crowd. When you go shopping park away from the entrance, thus making yourself walk more. Who knows, you may enjoy exercising!
Lastly, if you don't sleep well, you are not likely to be healthy. Sleep is the time when the body rejuvenates itself, heals from the stressors of the day, and repairs and improves cells. You have less of this happening when you don't get good quality sleep. Normal sleep patterns are about every 90 minutes going between light and deep sleep. How do you know if you are sleeping well? You have energy during the day, you do not fall asleep easily, you have a clear mind, and can function well. Many apps, watches and other devices can provide a more objective rating of sleep quality. Here are some things to improve your sleep quality. Go to bed and wake up at the same time. Reduce bright/blue or white lights in the evening and instead have warmer and dimmer lights. Have a cool quiet setting for your bedroom, and make it as dark as is reasonable. Don't go dark as you want some sun in the morning to start waking your body up. These tips will help reset your circadian rhythm. Practicing mindfulness and relaxation before sleep can improve the quality of sleep. Don’t drink alcohol or caffeine or eat within 3 hours of going to sleep as they disrupt the sleep cycle.
By implementing these three simple strategies you can make a significant impact on your health and thus your lifespan.
Fort Myers, FL Fairlee, MD
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.