On this site, I share tips and tricks for improving your life. My credentials are several degrees - in psychology, biology, public health, science journalism, and psychotherapy - as well as certification in functional nutrition counseling.
When it comes to health and wellness, everyone is a little bit different, although not nearly as different as many people like to think. There are some universals when it comes to living a high quality life (defined as a long life, largely disease free, and a fairly painless death in old age).
One of these universals is eating a healthy diet. The challenge here is two-fold. First, there is a lot of information AND misinformation out there about what defines a healthy diet. Second, because everyone is biologically and physiologically a little bit different, an ideal dietary pattern for one person may not be as ideal for another. But, again, there are some universals here too. For example, no scientific study has ever found that eating more whole food fruits and vegetables is bad for your health. Ever. The more whole, minimally processed plant foods you can eat, the better your health will be. You may not be in perfect health, but plant foods will improve your health no matter what your existing health issues.
When I do functional nutrition coaching (separate from my
marriage and family therapy counseling practice), I conduct a comprehensive intake assessment with clients to get a better understanding of their presenting health issues, life history, and nutritional patterns and deficits. There are three "non-negotiable" interventions that all clients start with. This is the removal from the diet of gluten, refined sugar, and dairy for at least a fortnight (and ideally three months, if they can manage it), followed by sequential re-introduction of these foods, to assess any health and wellness impacts from these dietary components. If health improves when these dietary components are removed, it tells a story about what is going on in the body, and leads the functional nutrition counselor (me) down the likely correct path to what the underlying health issue is.
Clients are also encouraged to add some universal elements to their nutrition plan, including, but not limited to, a source of omega 3 essential fatty acids (that the human body needs, but cannot make, and so can only be obtained from the diet, which is often deficient in these fats), B vitamins (essential for many healthy functions in the body), and magnesium (a mineral that aids digestion and sleep).
The mainstream media contributes to a lot of the misinformation the public has about nutrition. They like to simplify and sensationalize the science, which is often complex and nuanced, in order to make it more entertaining and digestible (pun intended) for their audiences. They often make leaps of logic that are not supported by the data, such as suggesting that red wine is healthy because it contains resveratrol, a substance shown to improve health outcomes in rats. First off, rats are not humans. Secondly, rats do not drink wine. Thirdly, to get the amount of resveratrol equivalent to that used in the rat studies, a person would have to drink so much red wine that they would LITERALLY die from alcohol poisoning. As it turns out, a simple apple provides an incredible amount of healthy phytonutrient antioxidants and soluble fiber that benefit health - the apple a day adage is actually based in fact.
Exercise is also universally beneficial for human health. As with diet, exercise type may vary from person to person. But universally, getting one's heart rate up daily and building muscle slows the aging process and can prevent disease.
The End.
