3 Biggest Health Mistakes We See All the Time
Clinically, there are definitely some recurring themes in practically all my patients across the board, from those that take health very seriously to those who have ignored it their whole life. I've boiled it down to three big areas that almost all our patients need support in and would be hugely beneficial for everyone.
#1: Blood Sugar
This is such a basic part of our physiology but almost everyone that comes into our office has something not quite right about it. Every cell in our body needs fuel (sugar in the form of glucose) but you can have too much or too little.
Here's what too much looks like:
Fatigue after meals
Crave sweets
Belly can be wider than hips
Frequent urination
Increased thirst and appetite
Difficulty losing weight
Too little:
Irritable if meals are missed
Depend on coffee to keep/get going
Get light headed if meals are missed
Eating relieves fatigue
Feel shaky or jittery
Agitated, easily upset, or nervous
Poor memory between meals
Blurred vision
Simple Solutions for Both:
If you are the type who has "too little" then you need to eat more often and rely on easy proteins and fats to keep you going. You should also consider weening yourself off of coffee a bit because it forces you to deplete your blood sugar stores.
If you are some one who deals with "too much" then you need to decrease the amount of carbohydrates that you eat at one time. This can be daunting but a good start is to replace sugary drinks with something else that is still tasty like sparkling water. Also, if you do crave giant servings of rice or pasta (like I do sometimes...) then at least split it over a couple of hours.
#2: Omega 3
The Theory of Everything: the majority of chronic incurable degenerative diseases are linked to inflammation. The most critical driver of inflammation is the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats.
Americans consume far too many inflammatory omega 6's, and far too few anti-inflammatory omega-3's.
Simple Solutions:
Take Omega 3 regularly. It comes in many different varieties but you can likely find good quality Omega 3 in most stores now. I would recommend Nordic Naturals as being the highest quality common variety.
#3 Vitamin D
Vitamin D does a lot more than build healthy bones. It is critical for immune system function and for brain physiology.
Most Americans are significantly low in vitamin D levels and supplementation is necessary for almost everyone.
Simple Solutions:
Get out in the sun! 20-30 minutes of sunlight in the summer each day should do it. In the winter, even more because the sun isn't as strong. If that's not possible, you should be taking at least 5,000 IU a day unless you are deficient, in which case you should take more for a time.
If you are doing the three things in our simple list above then chances are you'll make big improvements on your overall health!
