Enjoying your retirement for many years to come does not just happen. The best retirement is an active one, feeling strong, healthy, energetic to fully enjoy your expedition to advanced old age.
Optimal health, function and fitness is created with daily physical activity, regular exercise, consuming healthy foods that prevent disease called “Lifestyle Medicine”.
Lifestyle medicine involves the use of evidence-based lifestyle therapeutic approaches, such as a predominantly whole food, plant-based diet, regular physical activity, adequate sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substance use, and other non-drug modalities, to prevent, treat, and, oftentimes, reverse the lifestyle-related, chronic disease that's all too prevalent.
About 80% or more of all healthcare spending in the U.S. is tied to the treatment of conditions rooted in poor lifestyle choices. Chronic diseases and conditions—such as hypertension, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, multiple types of cancer—are among the most common, costly and preventable of all health conditions.
Like Your Life Depends On It
If we do not take care of our body, where otherwise are we going to live? Adopting healthy lifestyle habits is a choice we make. Research shows that we can prevent and reverse lifestyle-related chronic disease. So, if you are fed up with having high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, sick of tired of taking increasing medications that do not help heal and just manage the condition may be try a different approach by taking the true health initiative and realize that it’s time to live like your health and your life depends on it.
Six Guiding True Health Initiative principles
1. A diet comprised mostly of minimally processed, generally plant-predominant foods in balanced combinations (e.g., traditional diets of certain Mediterranean populations, certain Asian populations).
An optimal diet exerts far-ranging effects on the body and stands to reduce the risk of all chronic disease. Your diet affects your health and environment.
2. Routine physical activity at moderate intensity, frequency, and duration.
Physical activity is associated with weight control, reduced inflammation, enhanced immune function, and reduced cancer risk specifically.
3. The avoidance of toxins, particularly tobacco and excess alcohol.
4. Sleep adequate in both quality and quantity.
The quality and quantity of sleep has profound effects on psychology, immunology, and neurology.
5. The effective mitigation of psychological stress.
Undue stress can contribute to hormonal imbalances and inflammation that propagate cancer.
6. The cultivation of meaningful, supportive relationships and strong social bonds.
Clinical trials demonstrate that those with loving relationships are far less vulnerable to chronic disease and death than those without.
The emerging science of epigenetics–changes in gene expression–shows that 80% of how we age is related to our behavior and the choices we make every day regarding food, sleep, exercise and how we manage stress all have a profound impact on how we feel and function.
Creating and Re-building a Body that Functions Efficiently
While aging is a fact of life, the good news is that we can repair our DNA and rejuvenate our body’s cells through healthy habits and lifestyle choices. Studies show that the incidence of chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, could be reduced by as much as 80% with Lifestyle Medicine with exercise as a key component. We can slow the aging process by adopting an early and regular commitment to exercise, to improve strength, balance, overall conditioning and well-being. It is time to take back what you have lost over the years.
Exercise as Medicine
The benefits of regular physical exercise can be more powerful than any pill, procedure or surgical intervention. Physical fitness has an unparalleled optimizing effect on health by reducing or reversing the risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, hypertension, depression and anxiety. A regular exercise program boosts immunity and cognitive function, strengthens bones and joints and reduces the risks of falls, all with the benefit of increased well-being and self-esteem.
When you are not sure how to implement either appropriate physical activity, exercise and more whole food plant based nutrients to your daily lifestyle habits, our health coaches and personal trainers will be able to get you started in just a few sessions.