My Top 10 for 2015

As a Registered Kinesiologist, I am classified as a Regulated Health Professional in the Province of Ontario, Canada.

The scope of practice of kinesiology, as defined by the Kinesiology Act, 2007, is as follows:

“The assessment of human movement and performance and its rehabilitation and management to maintain, rehabilitate or enhance movement and performance.”

This definition reflects the idea of kinesiology not just as rehabilitative, but preventative and promoting general wellness. Kinesiology places a strong emphasis on prevention and enhancement, and utilizes exercise and improved movement to achieve a better quality of life for individuals. Proper diet and exercise not only help in recovering from illness or injury, but can also help prevent heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and many other common conditions.

I care deeply about health. Enjoy my top 10 list for 2015 and enjoy a healthier 2015 as a result. For more information on the practice of kinesiology in Ontario, please visit The College of Kinesiologists of Ontario and/or The Ontario Kinesiology Association. 

1. Get hydrated. Give up pointless other beverages for plain old water.  It does the body good and it is FREE.  Water

• Keeps your temperature normal. So, if your metabolism is slow, you may just need more water.
• Lubricates and cushions joints, and as such plain old water may be helpful to those with arthritis.
• Protects your spinal cord and other sensitive tissues. If you suffer from back pain, good old water may be just what you need.
• Gets rid of wastes through urination, perspiration, and bowel movements. If you are regularly constipated you may just be dehydrated.

Shoot for at least 2 litres per day. Especially if you are active.  Aim for closer to 3 litres if you are a bigger person or a very active person, closer to 2 litres will do if you are smaller and less active. Aim  for more if you drink a lot of coffee or tea (including Green Tea). If you are not near drinking 1 litre of water daily now, progress slowly by increasing one more 250 ml glass of water into your present regime every few days until you reach your desires amount.

2. Get more sleep. And if it is regular sleep (going to bed at relatively the same time every night) – all the better. You’ll be more alert and therefore more effectively productive.  You will also get all of the human growth hormone output your body needs to be the optimally best you. On the contrary, depriving yourself of adequate sleep wreaks havoc on your hormonal system and stress levels and as a result directly causes weight gain, mood swings and unnecessary food cravings for sugar and fat to say the least.

3. Get more fibre.  Time and time again I hear folks wanting to shed pounds, get healthier and get fitter.  But instead of seeking more fibre they want to drop carbs, perhaps depriving themselves of vital nutrients their bodies need – or they seek to add more protein – often the animal kind which causes the body to become more acidic.  Take the easy route to a slimmer, fitter and healthier you and start adding chia to your morning cereal, smoothies, lunchtime salads and soups. In “Fat Flush for Life,” certified holistic nutritionist Ann Louis Gittleman, Ph.D., names chia seeds as one of the world’s most fiber-rich foods. Unlike dietary fiber from cereal grains, the soluble fiber content of chia seeds takes more time to travel through the intestinal tract, which helps add bulk to the stool and provides a slower rate of glucose absorption making it great for diabetics. Soluble fiber can also reduce the absorption of cholesterol into your bloodstream

4. Spice it up. Move over salt and pepper. ** Spices like turmeric, ginger and cayenne have a lot to offer and are easy enough to add to soups, stews, salads and smoothies – adding flavour without the drawbacks of adding too much sodium.  Turmeric has been researched as having powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant. Current research on ginger possesses numerous therapeutic properties including antioxidant effects, an ability to inhibit the formation of inflammatory compounds, and direct anti-inflammatory effects – including alleviation of gastrointestinal distress like gas and bloating. Cayenne, is a powerful compound with many uses in alternative health practice, that may include: boosting metabolism, neutralizing acidity, reducing inflammation, aiding digestion, and migraine headache relief to name a few.

5. Lift heavy.   At some point in your 30s, you begin to lose muscle mass and function, a condition known as age-related sarcopenia or sarcopenia with aging. People who are physically inactive can lose as much as 3% to 5% of their muscle mass per decade after age 30. Even if you are active, you will still experience some muscle loss. Adding more weight to your lifts can also help you remove more fat from your body.

6. Get outside. Exposure to green space improves well-being both immediately and over time. In other words, don’t eat lunch at your desk every day. You could also decorate your office with plants which has been studied as having similar effects as getting outside on improving overall well-being of office workers.

7. Meditate. When we think of meditation, we think of relaxation and de-stressing.  However, one study has gone further into unfolding the many benefits of meditation.  A range of disease-fighting genes were active in relaxation practitioners that were not active in the control group in a study by Dr Herbert Benson, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. After two months, the meditator’s bodies began to change: the genes that help fight inflammation, kill diseased cells and protect the body from cancer all began to switch on. More encouraging still, the benefits of the relaxation effect were found to increase with regular practice: the more people practised relaxation methods such as meditation or deep breathing, the greater their chances of remaining free of arthritis and joint pain with stronger immunity, healthier hormone levels and lower blood pressure.

8. Exercise every day.  I mean it.  Every day. I once had a client argue with me that this could not possibly be safe.  Our bodies are built to move.  I am not asking you to play vigorous tennis or football daily, but to get moving enough to break a slight sweat every day has many benefits from boosting your mood, stabilizing your blood sugar, protecting you from disease, to improving your sex life. Do some dips during commercials today and some push ups before heading out the door tomorrow.  Ab work is great before bed.  Prop your feet up and crunch away! Park your car far and take the stairs instead of elevators and escalators.  Give up online shopping for a mall walk.

9. Detox. Not just with juices, fasting and sweating – although these may be great on their own, but be sure to include along with your physical detox a detox of your mind, negative thinking, redundant habits, clutter and excessive chatter. I recommend keeping a daily “Gratitude Journal”, which is best done first thing in the morning.  Simply open up a page in a notebook and start a sentence with “I am grateful for” and let the rest flow.  Some days you might just be grateful that you got out of bed without pressing the snooze, other days you might find more to be grateful for. What the “Gratitude Journal” does is it sets the tone for positive thinking throughout your day, which many studies have shown to be beneficial for overall health and wellness.

10. Well they say if you want to get your point across,
keep it simple, emotional, truthful, real and valid. To say it, say it again and then repeat it at the close. So hear I go, with my most simple, emotional, truthful, real and valid of my list. Drop the booze.  This will ensure you get through 1-9 with sheer ease. Dropping the booze or in the least reducing your intake to at least 3 alcohol free days per week will insist you be more hydrated as alcohol is a diuretic. Alcohol is known to disrupt sleep. Alcohol has no essential nutrient content whatsoever and it is only a sad cousin to the well known evil “sugar”. Alcohol may be spicy at times, but on the contrary to ginger, turmeric and cayenne it causes cancer, increases inflammation and causes the body to be overly acidic – making it easier for you to get a host of diseases. Alcohol is empty calories and as such causes unnecessary weight gain. Alcohol is a depressant and may make you housebound and unmotivated to get outside and move your body in a healthful way. Lastly, your body sees alcohol as a poison, or at least as something it doesn’t actually want inside it. Limit your intake and like I said, 1-9 will be as easy as 1-2-3.

Happy New Year everybody!  All the best for a most healthy, happy and prosperous 2015!

*Always check with your doctor first before taking any new medication, reducing or going off any medication, or when adding any natural supplements to your health plan.

**This is not a reference to mega dosing with spices and is only suggesting to a sprinkling an appropriate amount of spices on your food throughout the day. If in doubt of allergy or food-medication interaction or contraindication to any of the spices I mention herein this article, please check with your doctor.

Disclaimer:

All material on this website are provided for your information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this information; instead, readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being.

The information and opinions expressed here are believed to be accurate, based on the best judgement available to the author, and readers who fail to consult with appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries.