Hi All!
Here is your monthly dose of health updates.
Time to check your conscience – Stalled weight loss? Go back to basics
This one is short – most people don’t need to count calories.
What do they need to count then? Plastic packages and protein.
Why plastic packages? Well, if your food comes in one then its likely got an ingredients list full of endocrine (hormone) disrupting toxins along with preservatives and highly toxic vegetable oils – and there is a fair chance its a high carbohydrate food too.
Why protein? Most people don’t get enough for efficient body function, including metabolic processes and digestion. If you aim to get 1.5 to 2grams of protein per (target) lean body weight (in lbs), then along the way you’ll likely be consuming enough healthy fats and all the minerals you need to function properly too.
Should I count calories or fat at all? Iif you’ve cleaned up your diet to meat proteins and fats, all home cooked, and little (or no) carbohydrates (sugars), THEN you may need to check that you’re generally not overeating. For most people however, its really hard to over eat real food. Both protein and saturated fat trigger satiation signalling in the body and you will usually feel full before you’ve eaten too much. This process is disrupted when consuming vegetable (seed) oils and carbohydrates. Some people do need to eat leaner cuts of meat or fewer calories over all for a period to restart fat loss.
So the basics – eat until you are comfortably full, in one or two meals per day, prioritising animal proteins and fats. Avoid all packaged foods, snacking and carbohydrates. If you’re honest with yourself about your consumption habits your weightless will likely restart.
If you haven’t already, get your hands on The Health Fix’s (free) Simple Guide to Clean Eating and other helpful resources here.
Zoom out to Zoom in . . . on your health
Question #1 – When was the last time you had an ailment, be it a minor irritation or a serious case of ‘dis’ease, and whether you consulted your physician or just asked Dr. Google the suggestion was the same? Buy this cream, take this pill, use this device? Sounds familiar?
Second question – at the start of the winter your heating system stops working, you call the technician, and he tells you he topped up the pressure in the pipes, charges you a call out fee and says goodbye. Three weeks later the same thing happens, and then three weeks after that. After paying the call out fee 3 times in as many months it dawns on you that the engineer keeps topping up the pressure, but isn’t fixing what ever is causing the pressure to drop. This time you’re angry with the technician, and demand better service. You demanded it right?
Third question – when was the last time you demanded from your doctor(s) that they don’t offer you a quick fix but rather look into and then convey to you the root cause of your ailments and deterioration in health, and then offer practicable and safe solutions to improve or fix your condition?
Sometimes, (perhaps more often than not), we need to zoom out in order to asses the bigger picture of our overall health. Stop blaming things on genes alone. Epi-genetics is the expression of a gene (the switching on or off) based on external influences – mainly environmental and lifestyle factors, meaning that the things we do have a huge a effect on whether we trigger a nefarious gene.
Whilst you can demand better of your doctor, you are also complicit in your health status. Fix the habits that don’t respect our human biology and you’ll go a long way to reversing your conditions without the need for poisonous and expensive medication.
Does this mean that medication is always unnecessary? – no not at all. For some conditions and some people there may be no alternative for enabling a quality of life. For many (or most) people however, the path to real health comes from tackling the root causes of ill-health whilst adopting the habits of those that maintain optimal health, longevity and quality of life.
Would you rather exercise for an hour a day or be dead for 24 of them?
Most western governments recommend a minimum of 30 minutes easy-moderate exercise 5 times a week. Most western people don’t even attain that.
Furthermore, as this is a minimum, do you really expect to do the bare minimum and maintain vitality?
Of all interventions that one can try in order to maximise health and longevity, exercise (and more specifically strength training) comes out on top with the best return on investment of time and effort. That doesn’t negate the need to fuel yourself with the right nutrition, but it does set your body up to deal with hormetic stressors in a more resilient way than all other options.
Whatever your current level of ability, you can always make incremental and beneficial progress that will contribute to overall improvement and or the prevention of decline.
What are you going to do in your self care hour each day?
Only 5.6% of medical interventions have high quality evidence supporting their efficacy
A large scale review and meta analysis revealed that 94% of medical procedures have little to no evidence supporting their efficacy or safety.
Perhaps more concerning, the study highlighted that potential or known harms or risks of most interventions are rarely measured or grossly under reported.
“ . . . patients, doctors, and policy makers should consider the lack of high-quality evidence supporting the benefits and harms of many interventions in their decision-making . . . “
This report should serve as a reminder to question everything your medical provider is suggesting down to the last details before undergoing any dangerous, or costly procedure.
New study discusses the relevance of statin therapy in the context of healthy lifestyle behaviours
Adding to the already large body of evidence suggesting statins are over prescribed, ineffective for their desired purpose and have high incidence rates of unpleasant side effects, this review paper explains how the medical establishment’s misunderstanding and mismanagement of lipids (cholesterol) regularly results in doctors giving poor advice to patients that have already taken control of their health.
Conflicts of interest for members of the U.S. 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
95% of the committee members had financial links to the food and pharmaceutical industries.
This article serves to further inform the public that the guidelines that purport to protect them are skewed in favour of the companies selling poisonous products for their consumption – BUYER BEWARE!
Every month we’ll recommend some of our favourite resources for additional learning or inspiration in the fields of Health, Fitness, Lifestyle and Self Development. If you’ve found a book that has made a positive impact on your life, do let us know!
Here’s this months selection! . . .
The Obesity Fix: How to Beat Food Cravings, Lose Weight and Gain Energy – by Dr James DiNicolantonio – https://amzn.to/3Rghzdf
Sacred Cow: Why Well-Raised Meat Is Good for You and Good for the Planet – by Diana Rodgers – https://amzn.to/3ToYrLM
The Clot Thickens: The enduring mystery of heart disease – by Dr Malcolm Kendrick – https://amzn.to/3PUJi23
Every month we share tips, motivation and points to consider in order to achieve and maintain optimal health along with a few health related news and science updates that you may have missed.
Often we’ll share the answers to questions frequently asked by our private coaching clients and online course participants.
If there’s a topic you’d like us to explore next month we’d love to hear from you! Simply reply to this email with your idea or request.
