Top Ten Tips for a Healthy 2005

Many people dread the holiday season and the weight gain that is usually followed by a New Year’s resolution to lose weight and live a healthier life. Gym enrollment is always highest in January, but few of those people stick with their plan to get healthy.



The following are my top ten tips for living a healthier life in 2005 - and beyond. The best part of this plan is that gym membership is optional. Everyone can do the things on this list - all it takes is commitment. To make it even easier, you don’t even need to do them all at once. For January, pick one item on the list and change your lifestyle accordingly. The next month, choose another item on the list. By November of next year, you will have added all ten things to your daily life and will already be feeling the positive results.



In the spirit of David Letterman, we will start with number 10. Please keep in mind, however, that these are in order of importance, from one to ten. Even so, start where you can, and make your first few choices ones you can stick with long-term. Building a record of success is an important part of changing behavior patterns.



10. Eat Organic. Starting with your vegetables and fruit, eat organic as much as you can. Organic foods cost a little more, and the fruit isn’t as pretty, but the health benefits over the course of a lifetime will be significant. Corporate agriculture uses a variety of pesticides and fertilizers that are highly toxic. The pesticides, in particular, are very alarming. Most pesticides are filled with synthetic estrogens, which have been linked to a variety of cancers, early onset of puberty in girls (down from 11 years of age as a standard to 9.7 for Caucasian girls and 8.1 for African-American girls), and male infertility. Many of these chemicals saturate the produce we eat, especially apples, peaches, winter squashes, spinach, green beans, strawberries, and grapes.



For those of us who eat a lot of meat, we should eat grain-fed beef, free-range chicken, and open-ocean fish (especially salmon). Besides evading all the chemicals used in the meat industry, organic meat has a much healthier fat profile, often containing the ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (2:1).



9. Take Creatine. Creatine is without question the most successful and most highly studied sports supplement in history. What began as a supplement for athletes and "muscle heads" has become a supplement with potential benefits in a vast range of human health concerns. This simple amino acid has been clearly proven to aid in muscle growth and sports performance, but has also been shown to have the following benefits:



· Decreased risk for neurological diseases, such as Huntington’s Chorea, Parkinson’s disease, and Lou Gehrig’s disease. Oral creatine seems to help prevent and slow the progression of these diseases.

· Oral creatine has been shown to improve memory function and intellectual capabilities.

· Oral creatine reduces homocysteine levels, which has been implicated in atherosclerosis and heart disease.

· Evidence suggests that creatine use inhibits replication of the herpes virus, both I and II, which reduces the frequency and duration of outbreaks.

· Creatine use reduces physical and mental fatigue.



The recommended dose is five grams a day. There is no need to follow the "loading" instructions or to take it with high-glycemic carbohydrates. Just add five grams to some water and drink it with a protein and carbohydrate meal. Many studies currently underway are seeking to ascertain other possible benefits of creatine use.



8. Take a Good Multivitamin. Look for a brand that uses capsules, not tablets. Also, avoid brands that have high (more than 10 percent of daily allowance) levels of calcium. The calcium will block absorption of other minerals. Men should also choose a brand without iron, as should postmenopausal women. Our foods just don’t contain the nutrients we need to achieve optimal health, due to agricultural practices, factory meat production, and an over reliance on nutrient-deficient junk foods.



7. Eat Berries. Studies have shown that dark berries are filled with beneficial anti-oxidants. In particular, blueberries, blackberries, boysenberries, and raspberries have been shown to contain phytochemicals that can prevent cancer and strengthen the immune system. Berries make a great low-glycemic snack instead of chips or cookies, and they add flavor to protein drinks or oatmeal. Always try to buy organically grown berries, which are often available in the freezer section of large grocery chains, as well as in natural foods stores.



6. Eat Garlic. Or at the very least, take a daily garlic supplement (which may be better for your social life). Garlic has been shown to reduce cholesterol, improve insulin sensitivity, strengthen the immune system, fight some forms of cancer, reduce body fat, increase testosterone levels, and offer a host of other benefits.



5. Increase Your Fiber Intake. We all should be eating about 25 to 35 grams of fiber a day, but most of us aren’t. One of the best ways to increase fiber intake is to eat more cruciferous vegetables (including broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and their relatives). Even on a low-carb diet, these vegetables are a healthy choice. If you can’t eat enough veggies to get your fiber, other good choices are ground flax seed, whole oats, apples, and whole wheat. As a last resort, fiber supplements are cheap and easy.



A diet rich in fiber has been shown to reduce cholesterol, reduce the risk of colon cancer, and improve insulin sensitivity due to its ability to slow gastric emptying. In fact, two heaping tablespoons of a fiber supplement can minimize the insulin released when drinking a high-sugar beverage.



4. Eat More Protein. Yes, Dr. Atkins was correct. However, you don’t need to follow the Atkins diet or any similar diet to reap the benefits of higher protein intake. In general, in the absence of kidney disease, a person should eat about one gram of protein per pound of body weight each day - and more is not bad. Replacing some carbohydrate foods with protein foods will increase your metabolism, provide more even and sustained energy, reduce body fat, provide greater feelings of satiety following a meal, and improve muscle strength if you are working out. There are many other benefits as well, all of which can be found by reading articles by John Berardi (www.johnberardi.com).



3. Eat Healthy Fats. Most Americans get too much saturated fat and too many trans-fatty acids (TFAs) from fried foods and hydrogenated oils, both of which are linked to heart disease, diabetes, and high cholesterol. TFAs have also been linked to some forms of cancer. We all should be including flax oil or ground flaxseed in our diets. The omega-3 fatty acids in flax have many health benefits, including reduced cholesterol, improved insulin sensitivity, reduced inflammation (for both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis), and a reduced risk for some forms of cancer. Omega-3 fatty acids also reduce the negative impact of saturated fats and TFAs. Other healthy fat choices include fish oil (several grams a day), GLA from evening primrose oil or borage oil, olive oil, almonds, walnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds.



2. Begin a Weight Training Program. Even as little as one day a week of weight training will have profound effects on health. The earlier in life you begin to lift weights, the greater the benefit later in life, but you are never too old to begin. You don’t need to lift heavy weights, or build a lot of muscle, but you need to lift weights. Weight training has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, reduce body fat, increase collagen density in joints, reduce cholesterol, improve heart health, improve bone density in postmenopausal women, and the list goes on.



If you’ve never worked with weights, hire a trainer to teach you the basic exercises and good form. Weight training is good for your health, but if your form is bad, you can injure yourself or aggravate existing problems. You don’t need to work with a trainer for the rest of your life, but for several weeks at the beginning, or for new ideas or exercises, a qualified trainer can be very helpful. Ask about certifications and interview trainers as you would a doctor or a lawyer. It’s important to find a person you feel comfortable with and who is knowledgeable.



And now, the number one tip for a healthy 2005 is . . .



1. Exercise! It doesn’t matter if you walk the dog for half an hour a day or train to compete in your favorite sport, get off the couch and move your body. You already know that exercise will help you lose weight, reduce the risk of diabetes, lower your cholesterol, improve your heart health, and make you stronger, so we can skip the basic facts.



What you may not know is that exercise improves mood in depressed people as effectively as some prescription drugs. Or that exercise can revive a lagging libido in both men and women. Or that exercise can improve self-esteem and the sense of control over one’s life. These psychological effects may not get much press, but they are as important as the physical benefits.



So, those are my top ten tips for a healthy 2005. Choose one item on the list and add it to your life each month. Start easy if you need to, maybe with eating berries instead of junk food for snacks, but stick to each change, one at a time. By 2006 you will be healthier and thinner, and will feel more control in your life. Make 2005 the year you change your life - the year you’ll look back on as the point in your life when you made the commitment to growing older in optimal health.