Health Guide For The New Year!

The new year can be a good time to reflect on one’s health and look forward to the opportunity to improve it.

Many people make a “new year’s resolution” to quit smoking, lose weight, or exercise more, with the best of intentions. However, sometimes, life intervenes, the initial enthusiasm fades, and the old, unhealthy habits eventually make their return.

Why is that?

For some, it may be that they’re setting themselves up to fail. Perhaps, it might work better to start with some modest changes and work up to more significant ones. When it comes to health, achieving a few small victories can build motivation for taking on greater challenges.

So, for this new year, I’d like to look at a few simple changes that can reap major health rewards. If you can master these, you just might feel up to that major health project you’ve been mulling over.

Healthy Resolutions for the New Year!

1. Move More (I don’t mean from your house!)

Exercise is a great way to increase energy, gain strength, improve cardiovascular health, balance blood sugar, and detoxify the body.

It might seem like a tall order to pick up a full exercise routine all at once. This makes it tempting to just give up on the idea of exercise entirely.

But it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing choice. Start small and work up!

Movement can start with stretching, walking, doing jumping-jacks, or simply standing up from your work desk every 30 minutes or so. Slowly increase the duration and frequency of these activities as you get used to them.

Once you feel up to it, add in brisk walking or jogging, light weights, yoga, and other more vigorous types of movement to take your exercise to the next level.

When the weather permits, get outside for some fresh air and sunlight.

2. Drink More Water

Clean, filtered water is a key ingredient to a healthy body. Our bodies need water to digest food, remove toxins, and to maintain healthy cells.

Getting enough of it is the challenge. For most of us, 2 litres of water per day is a good amount to aim for.

One of the biggest reasons people don’t get enough water in the day is that they forget to drink it. But don’t worry, there’s an answer for that – a good water bottle!

Get yourself a water bottle made from glass, stainless steel, or hard, BPA/BPS-free plastic and fill it up every morning before starting your day. Keep it at your desk or close by within view.

When you see the bottle, your mind will urge you to take a drink to break up the monotony of your task.

Before you know it, your bottle will be empty and ready for a refill. Do this with a 1 L bottle twice a day and your water intake is covered!

3. Snack More

Small snacks between meals helps maintain blood sugar and makes it easier for your stomach to digest the food by taking the load off the main meals.

Of course, I don’t mean snacking on cookies, chips, and other junk foods. I’m talking about healthy snacks, primarily ones that contain protein.

Another consideration is that snacks need to be easy to prepare and/or portable. Otherwise, we tend to skip them.

Healthy, portable snack choices include walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. If you want to make your snacks a bit more interesting, almond or hazelnut butter can be spread onto celery or apple slices.

Mix low sugar fruit, like raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and kiwi fruit with the nuts and seeds for a snack that you’ll look forward to.

4. Read More

Just like your body does, your brain also needs exercise. And your eyes need a break from the variety of screens that we shove in front of them every day.

Reading a book can help us wind down before going to bed at night and can provide a mental break during the workday.

Take the opportunity to put away the phones and tablets and read a paper book before bed. This will help your mind get ready for sleep without stimulating it with the blue light from the screen.

If you’re reading during the day, find a nice quiet spot away from your desk. In the warmer months, this can also be an opportunity to move a bit by finding a spot to read outdoors close to nature.

Reading can also keep the brain working well as we age. Consider crossword puzzles or Sudoku to help the neurons stay in shape.

5. Listen More (That includes listening to your body)

We’re often told to listen more. This is great advice for maintaining healthy relationships, which includes your relationship with your body.

Symptoms, like headaches, cough, skin rashes, and joint pain, do not present themselves to be beaten into submission. They are messages from the body that it needs help.

These signals of inflammation are telling us that the body needs to detoxify. The new year is a perfect time to consider a detox!

“Detox” may mean a program of diet and lifestyle changes for a relatively short period of time to promote the removal of toxins from the body. It can also mean daily detoxification, like drinking warm lemon water every morning and adding ground flax seed to food, to keep the body’s garbage removal routine on schedule.

Consider working with a health practitioner if you need assistance with a detox plan.

Take Home Message

Whatever resolution you make to yourself for the new year, set it ambitious enough to make a difference to your health. At the same time, be realistic so you don’t set yourself up to fail.

Even small changes in your diet, exercise, and stress-management routines can do wonders to making your new year happy and healthy!

Book An Appointment With Nardini Naturopathic

Are you interested in finding out if you have a nutrient deficiency?

Or perhaps you’d like a review of your overall diet to see where you could be doing better.

Maybe you have food allergies or intolerances and worry you aren’t getting enough nutrients because of your restricted diet.

I’m Dr. Pat Nardini, a naturopathic doctor who offers nutritional counseling services to help ensure all of those gaps in your diet are filled, and that you’re getting enough of all the important nutrients which your body needs to function at its best.

Contact me today for more information, or book a free 15-minute consultation where I will help you understand how naturopathic medicine can help you.