8 Health Resolutions for the New Year!
At the CORE clinic, we do not only look to address the root cause of a health problem, we also advocate prevention and patient education to help our patients form habits for optimum health.
Here are 8 health resolutions that you should consider for the new year, these little habit changes can have a big impact on your lifespan and quality of life.
Health Resolution
1. Drink more water but avoid plastic containers!
Each person is advised to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day to keep you hydrated and help you eliminate toxins in your body among many other benefits. It’s best however to eliminate plastic containers including pitchers, bottles, glasses, etc. because plastics produce chemicals that mimic estrogen, affecting your hormone levels after prolonged use.
https://www.npr.org/2011/03/02/134196209/study-most-plastics-leach-hormone-like-chemicals
https://www.breastcancer.org/risk/factors/plastic
https://academic.oup.com/endo/article/138/5/1777/2987307
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222987/
Health Resolution
2. Diet better.
Dieting shouldn’t mean starving yourself; it’s good to be counting your calories but it’s important to be mindful to be mindful in choosing nutrient dense, unprocessed or less processed food that will give you energy.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/add-more-nutrient-dense-foods-to-your-diet
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/82/4/721/4607427
Health Resolution
3. Move more.
No time for a long workout session at the gym? Just move more. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk if it’s near, walk the dog. Get that heart pumping!
Ahmed Elhakeem Rachel Cooper Peter Whincup Soren Brage Diana Kuh Rebecca Hardy. Physical Activity, Sedentary Time, and Cardiovascular Disease Biomarkers at Age 60 to 64 Years. JAHA, 2018 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.117.007459
Gregory D. Lewis, Laurie Farrell, Malissa J. Wood, Maryann Martinovic, Zoltan Arany, Glenn C. Rowe, Amanda Souza, Susan Cheng, Elizabeth L. McCabe, Elaine Yang, Xu Shi, Rahul Deo, Frederick P. Roth, Aarti Asnani, Eugene P. Rhee, David M. Systrom, Marc J. Semigran, Ramachandran S. Vasan, Steven A. Carr, Thomas J. Wang, Marc S. Sabatine, Clary B. Clish, Robert E. Gerszten. “Metabolic Signatures of Exercise in Human Plasma.” Sci Transl Med , 6 May 2010 2:33ra37; DOI:10.1126/scitranslmed.3001006.
orenza S Colzato, Ayca Szapora Ozturk, Justine Nienke Pannekoek, Bernhard Hommel. “The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking.” Front. Hum. Neurosc., 2 Dec. 2013.
Psychol Health. 2018 Dec 31:1-16. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2018.1523407. [Epub ahead
of print]. Attributions for physical activity in very old adults: predicting everyday physical activity and mortality risk.
Parker PC(1), Chipperfield JG(1), Perry RP(1), Hamm JM(2), Hoppmann CA(3
Health Resolution
4. Quit smoking.
This is the single most healthy thing you can do. Enough said.
Health Resolution
5. Get Quality Sleep.
How well you sleep is just as important as how long you sleep. Each person is different just as the number of hours of sleep they need is different but it is recommended that adults get 7-9 hours; characteristic of quality sleep is that you wake up feeling well-rested and refreshed.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5449130/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022399997000044
Health Resolution
6. Prevention
You’ve heard that saying: An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Add seeing your doctor annually to the list of healthy habits, you shouldn’t wait until you get sick before getting a check-up.
We are all surrounded by risk factors that could contribute to disease- pollution, stress, junk food, sedentary lifestyle; getting an annual executive check-up will determine how efficient your bodily functions are, and help identify if there is anything abnormal even before symptoms occur. Get an annual executive check-up, have your hormones tested, etc. Your health is the best investment you can make.
Health Resolution
7. Customize your supplements to a T.
Customizing the supplements that you take, ensuring that they are targeted to your specific vitamin or mineral deficiencies will not only effectively target your health concerns, it comes out more cost-efficient too. Take out the guesswork and have your doctor customize the supplements you need.
Health Resolution
8. READ LABELS with anything you put in your body- food, drinks even toiletries and beauty products you use.
Photo credit: https://www.evitamins.com/a/decoding-beauty-product-labels-1287
Aside from being conscious about the nutrition facts and calorie content; food and drinks you ingest may contain additives and preservatives. The beauty products you use may also contain chemicals and toxins that may disrupt your hormones, and expose you to pesticides
https://www.foodmatters.com/article/22-additives-and-preservatives-to-avoid