Part TWO: 15 ways to be healthier in 2023
Every week on my Sunday Newsletter, I showcase one simple way to improve your mental and/or physical health. It is part of my philosophy to illuminate the ease at which it is to optimize your wellness in small ways and the compounding effect this can have on your brain and body over time. To join us in the series, subscribe here (click the link and scroll to the bottom)! Read below Part 2, and check out Part 1 here:
#16: Establish an intentional morning routine! Morning routines have become very trendy across social media. However, a big part of morning routines have to do with their impact on our mood, energy, focus, productivity, sleep, and more throughout the day. It’s not just about the aesthetic — actually, it’s not about the aesthetic at all. Morning routines (as do nighttime routines) have the powerful ability to truly transform the trajectory of your day — and as a result, completely change your life — just simply by infusing intentionality in how you structure it.
#17: Swap out your traditional white flour pasta for a pasta alternative — like legume-based pasta, brown rice based pasta, and others. We’ve come a long way since diet culture tried to convince us that ZOODLES were a GOOD, more ‘healthful',’ alternative to pasta. While balance is essential in any lifestyle, choosing a pasta that is gentler on your blood sugar and also may be loaded with more nutritional value can’t hurt! Some of my favorites are linked below — I find these to be ‘closest’ to the real deal: Bionaturae, Jovial Foods, Tolerant Organic, and Chickapea.
#18: Stop using ingredients or pantry items labeled, low cal, low fat, low sugar, natural, fresh, fat free, etc. You know exactly what I’m talking about! These are what we call ‘health halos.’ The intentional use of ‘health’ words to lead the consumer into believing the product is ‘healthier’ than it actually is. I bet you can walk into any store aisle right now and find thousands of examples of ‘health halos’ lining the shelves. They are everywhere. Unfortunately, until you become truly refine your critical consumer skill set, and truly understand how the food industry uses these phrases to deceive you, you will continue to buy these products because they appear like the most healthful option. The best foods are the foods without labeling/packaging. Keep this in mind.
Consider checking out my “Becoming a Critical Consumer Guide: Uplevel your Grocery Shop” to learn more and to better navigate the stores for the sake of your health and wellness!
#19: Count your colors, not your calories. I heard this and immediately fell in love with it! Ditch the calorie-counting mindset — adopt a color-focused mindset. Our bodies need a wide array of nutritional diversity to optimally function — which explains why we need to ‘eat the rainbow!’ Instead of focusing on your calories, prioritize your color. Integrate lots of red, orange, yellow, green, and blue/purple — each color offer your body a different nutritional composition that brings exceptional value to your mind and body!
#20: Add fresh lemon juice + a pinch of sea salt to your water for optimized hydration — this helps support mineral balance and optimizes cellular hydration.
#21: Take more deep breaths.This one may sound simple but yet the vast majority of our breaths are shallow — think about it, how often do you take a minute to just breathe? Probably not often, if at all. Taking deep, intentional, diaphragmatic breaths can have such a big impact on our physical and mental health. Take a look at the article below to understand further!
#22: Add in organ meat! This is not a joke — organ meat — is one of the most nutrient dense foods we can eat — some even refer to it as as nutrient dense as a multivitamin! I personally take beef liver by capsule daily, but if you’re up for the challenge, eating it in it’s whole form is an option too! The brand I love is Ancestral Supplements and another I can recommend is Perfect Supplements.
#23: Integrate hormetic stressors! What is hormesis? The healthy stress — sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Hormesis is the form of stress we welcome — you heard that right — hormesis, according to Dr. Mark Hyman, is small doses of adversity that activate longevity pathways in your body. It’s not about psychological stress, but more about physical stress. Hormetic stressors are the epitome of “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” — like resistance training, hot or cold therapy, intermittent fasting, and more. A healthy amount of stress has also been found to improve performance — think about having a deadline for a project versus no deadline at all — you are much more likely to feel motivated to get going on the assignment when you know the deadline is looming in comparison to an open ended due date. Hormetic stressors support a variety of different pathways and systems within the body, keeping them in check, and essential for healthy aging.
Notable forms of inducing a hormetic of state:
- hot/cold therapy (saunas, steam, hot yoga, cold plunge, cryotherapy)
- intermittent fasting/time restricted eating
- resistance training, cardiovascular training, interval training
It’s all about it the Goldilocks theory — not too little, not too much, just right.
#24: Invest in an air purifier! We are exposed to environmental toxins but heightened air pollution puts us at amplified risk and places greater burden on our bodies, especially our livers and our lungs. Consider adding this to your household to better support your health and wellness. This is the one I went with in a pinch at Target but this is one I’d like to purchase in the future!
#25: Take a few deep breaths before your meals. Be honest — how often do you dive into a meal after you’ve hopped off a call with your boss, or as you’re writing an email or watching TV, or driving, or as you’re walking out the door? Been there, done that — maybe even STILL doing that. Instead, I encourage you to start to infuse more mindfulness into your day by spending a few moments before your meal engaging in deep breathing. This is not only giving you the opportunity to slow down throughout your day, it is also incredibly supportive of your nervous system and digestion — which ultimately leads to better health.
#26: Add celery juice into your routine! I recently bought a juicer and I have been a juicing machine these past few weeks! I, in particular, have enjoyed juicing celery (alongside other greens) but find it is one of the most affordable to juice (always organic!) alongside some ginger root, lemon, green apple, and other greens. Celery juice became popularized due to the Medical Medium praising it’s benefits for detox and whole body wellness — this is going to be something I add into my routine — quite honestly, less for the health benefits, more for the fact that I just love fresh juice!
#27: Eat your greens and protein first! This can have an enormous influence on your blood sugar when you’re intentional about how you consume your meal. Simply prioritizing your greens, and/or veggies, and protein, prior to any carbohydrates can support a healthy blood sugar throughout the day. One of my favorite concepts is Kelly Leveque’s “Fab 4” — check it out here.
#28: Try tart cherry juice before bed to support sleep. Tart cherry juice, aside from it’s powerful antioxidant properties, contains tryptophan which is a precursor to melatonin. Adding it to your evening routine can support healthy sleep quality.
#29: Cycle sync your workouts! This is something I am beginning to integrate into my routine as it is a powerful way to support your body’s natural rhythm and honor your hormones as they change throughout the course of your cycle. Check out the book “In The Flo” to learn more!
#30: Get regular bloodwork! Committing to regular blood work, especially in collaboration with a functional health/integrative medicine practitioner, keeps you in the know about what is going on with your health. This is your reminder to check in with your body — the more you know, the better you can take care of yourself.
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Stay tuned for part 3.
