Time to Tune Up Our Physical Functioning

Health challenges can gum up the works - especially when we add stress to the mix. We need to start looking at health optimizing as a priority, not a luxury or burden.

It’s easy to let things slide when it comes to health, since problems can build up slowly. This is an area I am working at improving in my own life. Wherever you are with your health right now, you can always find ways to take better care of your body.

My focus here is on things you can change or add that are not expensive, and address important areas of your overall well being.

Don’t think of this as a to-do list, or you’ll stress out at seeing it all. Look at it as a list of opportunities and resources that you can integrate into your life as you are able. Do searches on the various items listed to get more understanding about them. This is meant to be a big download of good information - there is not a lot of explanation. My goal is to point in the direction of useful things that might not have been on your radar.

Find the elements you’d like to make your personal priorities, and start working on those. Some of these things can be done immediately. Some will need time to build a habit. Other items are not so much habits as changes, like what/how you eat. Don’t try to do it all at once. Set goals, and work toward them. Whatever it takes to get the long-term change cemented.

I break this down into a few different areas, each with various ideas and resources in that area. I list out things about sleeping, eating, movement, and good general health resources.

Optimize Sleeping

I mention this first, because there is an epidemic of bad sleep. People either have sleep problems, or are cutting their sleep short to get more done. But short (or low quality) sleep affects health by making us more likely to feel foggy, forgetful, depressed, exhausted, and irritable. It also unbalances the whole system toward ill health - starting with weight gain, as well as weakening immunity.

People can vary, but we need around 7 or 8 hours of sleep. Earlier bedtimes are better than later. Do you have poor quality sleep, or wake up in the middle of the night? Try cutting device use in the evening - the blue light from device screens can mess with your body clock. (You can also try glasses like these to block the blue).

Many people are deficient in magnesium. Having enough can help with stress and sleep. You can take it orally, but I have found that the best way to directly affect my sleep is to spray 2 squirts of magnesium oil on my skin and rub it in at bedtime.

Dr. Mark Hyman, MD has a free 8-part course on sleeping better, from a functional medicine perspective.

Optimize Eating

There are two main considerations: when we eat, and what we eat.

1. Adjusting When We Eat

I will focus on the when part first, since many people are not so aware of this one. Intermittent fasting is a way of eating where you lengthen your non-eating (fasting) time. The easiest way to do this is by skipping breakfast or dinner, so that your overnight period without food is legthened. You can also throw in longer fasts of 24, 48, or more hours. Fasting helps immunity, weight loss, hormone balancing, and generally cleans out your system. Longer fasts encourage your body into autophagy (“self-eating”) where your system disposes of old cells and other garbage to renew you. Also check out a variant of fasting called OMAD - One Meal a Day.

Having longer fasting times is completely different from calorie reduction, and much more effective at lasting weight loss. As part of the hormone balancing aspect, intermittent fasting has been found to be very effective against insulin resistance. This is a common condition that has serious negative effects, and can lead to type 2 diabetes, or even alzheimers, research suggests. Dr. Jason Fung, MD has had fantastic results using fasting to turn around type 2 diabetes in his patients.

I recommend Dr. Fung’s YouTube channel, as well as his book which comes packed with the science behind fasting’s benefits. Check out his other books on fasting while you are there.

2. Adjusting What We Eat

What we eat, and its quality, both have a dramatic effect on our health - especially over time. There is so much that can be said about food, but again - my goal here is to get you good information which you can dig further into yourself.

Ingredients

Most popular food items these days are heavily processed, and contain unhealthy ingredients. When I first decided to get serious about eating healthy years ago, I began by moving toward simpler, more natural foods. Instead of processed items from a can, jar, or frozen package, I began to eat very basic, all-natural foods like beans, vegetables, healthy meat, brown rice. You don’t have to go as simple as this, but keep this in mind as a principle. You can avoid a lot of problem items by eating fewer premade foods. Plus, learning to make your own healthy and natural meals is fun and rewarding.

BUT - for the things you DO buy that are not just raw ingredients, it helps a lot to know what to avoid. The following list is a great start on things to consider avoiding.

I provide links for more info in most of the items below. I like where Dr. Mark Hyman is coming from, so I have just linked to his articles. Please research it beyond that though - you will find that many others are providing similar information.

  • CONSIDER AVOIDING: High Fructose Corn Syrup

    This is everywhere, but especially in sweet drinks. There are many reasons to avoid it.

  • CONSIDER AVOIDING: Sugar

    This is also everywhere. When you start looking at ingredient labels, you will find it in all kinds of surprising places. Mark Hyman again on why sugar is harmful.

  • CONSIDER AVOIDING: Hydrogenated oils/fats

    Hydrogenation changes how fats behave, and makes them bad for you. Healthy oils and fats are good. Hydrogenated ones - nope.

  • CONSIDER AVOIDING: Vegetable/seed oils

    Contrary to what was taught for decades, animal fats are better for you than “vegetable oil.” Olive and coconut oils are good, but corn, soybean, canola, safflower, and sunflower oils are not.

  • Other controversial items

    The following items are controversial, with a lot of debate over whether they cause harm or not. Keep in mind that some people have vested financial interest in keeping certain food products popular, while others always have an axe to grind. I encourage you to look into these and make up your own mind: MSG (monosodium glutamate), soy, GMO (genetically modified organisms), conventional milk (as opposed to raw milk), grains (but especially wheat).

Probiotics

Probiotics foster good bacteria in your gut. Gut problems affect thinking, mood, immunity, and other things. Don’t just think of “gut issues” as being gas, diarrhea, or constipation. Food allergies, anxiety, depression, and autoimmune problems can all be rooted in unhealthy gut bacteria. Fixing gut bacteria (also called your gut microbiome), can have far-reaching effects.

In days past, people used to eat more fermented foods, like sauerkraut and pickles. Maybe you are aware of kefir or kombucha. All are good options for getting healthy bacteria into your gut. For a wider spectrum of bacteria, you can also take probiotic supplements.

If you are going to eat fermented foods - make sure they are live cultures, and have not been pasteurized. Pasteurized fermented food has no live bacteria to help your gut. If you feel like experimenting with making your own fermented food, it’s much cheaper than store-bought, and it’s not hard to do. I recommend starting with a simple sauerkraut, and then maybe trying some water kefir. From there, you can move onto kombucha and kimchi.

Sauerkraut: 5 min how-to video

To make kombucha, you need a scoby and some starter. To make water kefir, you need kefir grains. “Crunchy” friends might often have extra scobies and kefir grains they can give you.

There are good options for probiotics on the Swanson Vitamins site.

Nutritional Supplements

Supplements are a whole huge world unto themselves. There are so many good options, depending on your needs. Buy quality, but don’t overpay. Big brand, mass-market daily vitamins are generally not as good as other options. I have found great success with Swanson Vitamins. They hit that price/quality sweet spot.

Top Supplements to Consider Taking

Affordable Resources

Azure Standard has affordably priced grocery products that are carefully vetted for quality, avoiding items that use unhealthy ingredients. You place your order, then meet a delivery truck at a monthly dropoff point in your area. It’s a different way to shop, but you can get quality food, buy bulk if you want (cases and 50lb sacks) and save while doing it.

We have been very pleased with Misfits Market. You save by buying slightly imperfect produce, and can get other great products on the cheap as they are available. There are also alternatives.

Optimize Movement

Flexibility Stretching: As we age, our bodies often become less flexible. This can result in aches and pains, trouble making certain movements, and even serious joint issues. Add stretching/flexibility exercises to your routine, and find real benefit in quality of life. Along with this, I have to say that it was a watershed moment when I discovered trigger point therapy, and I recommend everyone look into it for issues of pain and freedom of movement. It could be life-changing for some of you.

3o Minute Walks: Just 30 minutes a day of walking can be of real benefit. Get moving however you need to - start with strolling, and work your way up. If this gets you outside, all the better. It’s a great way to unwind the day’s stresses as well.

Bicycle/Stationary Bike: Riding a bike can be low-impact, cardio-healthy exercise, on top of working large muscle groups. You don’t need a fancy bike, just something that works. Look into the used market to save money. Places like Facebook Marketplace can be helpful here. If you’d like to cycle indoors, there’s always used exercise gear for sale affordably. We picked up an early 90s stationary bike for $20. It’s not sexy, but it does what we need, and left a LOT of money in our pockets.

Strength Training: No need to get fancy. You can start with planking and push ups, and see where you want to go from there. Some cheap dumbbells are good to have around. Better a simple routine that you regularly do, than fancy gear you never use. One note: There has been a fair bit of talk about how sit ups and crunches are not a good idea. Look into that before doing those.

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