Five small steps toward health for the new year
Sensory overload is the term that comes to mind when I think of the all the “health tips” that bombard us every day.
Eat eggs. Don’t eat eggs. Eat cage-free – scratch that – free-range eggs.
Running is great cardiovascular exercise. Marathons are impressive. Run, but don’t run too far: It’s bad for your heart.
Rather than trying to do right by every tip, let’s start with five small ones to set us all up for healthy success in the new year.
1. Find your fitness soulmate. It is completely irrelevant how many of your friends have vowed to complete a half-marathon if you despise running, and just because Martha Stewart has declared pilates a “good thing” does not make it a good thing for you.
A few early January weeks of an intense exercise regime that you hate will do almost nothing for your long-term health goals; however, a program that you at least vaguely enjoy that yields motivating results is a different story.
If you think African dance is a great time (and it is), do that. If kettlebell exercises make you feel like one tough cookie, do that. And, if a walk to the corner is an improvement on your previous level of exercise, go for it.
2. Become a label-reader … of your toiletries. You know about reading labels to avoid fat and sodium, but what about the labels on your shampoo or lotion?
Based on scientific research, simply ditching many of our favorite cosmetic products might do wonders toward stopping some diseases, like cancer or autism, before they start by decreasing our exposure to phthalates and parabens.
Cosmetic companies are starting to get the hint, too. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has lobbied many of our biggest cosmetic companies and persuaded them to decrease or eliminate toxic chemicals from their products.
In a study published in December, phthalate exposure in pregnancy was linked to lower IQ scores.
3. Go outside. Yes, I know it’s cold, but the simple act of getting up and going outside when you otherwise wouldn’t has enormous bang-for-your-buck health benefits.
At our latitude, almost no one gets an adequate amount of vitamin D without supplementation because of our spatial relationship to the sun. If you recall, we are capable of making our own vitamin D when exposed to enough sunlight. Vitamin D is credited for more bodily operations all the time, including the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, bone density and cellular health.
Further, studies have shown that those who live near, or intentionally expose themselves to, green space report less anxiety, anger and depression as well as feeling more restored afterward.
4. Vote with your dollar for “cleaner” meat and the humane treatment of animals.Let’s just say there’s more in your piece of chicken than chicken. And, that chicken probably didn’t live its life in a five-star farm resort.
Next time you visit the grocery store, spend a few extra seconds looking at the selection of meats, and read the labels. There are a few “levels” of meat available, all the way from run-of-the-mill to organic and free-range, with a few in between.
The more “clean” your meat, the heftier the price tag, but the benefits of avoiding the chemicals introduced to animals used for meat and the meat itself are staggering, not to mention the good you do by supporting the ethical treatment of those creatures.
5. Step away from the aspartame. OK, so this one isn’t such a little step toward improving your health.
Not only is it a huge improvement, it’s also really difficult for those who have become accustomed to using artificial sweeteners.
Here’s why it matters: The issues surrounding aspartame are not the just the fodder of extremist, health-nut websites, but are, in fact, well-documented.
Seventy-five percent of the adverse reactions reported to the Food and Drug Administration are due to aspartame. That’s a seven with a five after it, meaning only a two with a five after it is left to account for all of the other food additives in the American diet, of which there are many.
The side effects are too numerous to list here but include headaches/migraines, numbness, fatigue, anxiety, heart palpitations and more serious consequences, such as seizures and the worsening of chronic illnesses.
It is perhaps the single most-debated food additive in the history of the FDA, and the objections began one month after its approval as a food additive for dry goods in the summer of 1974.
For those in love with their Diet Coke (me included), this transition takes an incredible amount of discipline.
To ease the transition, stock up on plain seltzer, teas, water filters and fabulous real food additives such as lemons, limes, berries and mint.
Here’s wishing you all a fabulous 2015.
Abigail Mackey is a registered nurse who is trying to follow her own tip number 5. For more quips and tips, follow her on Twitter at @AbigailMackeyRN.