wellpdx

LIFE CHOICES
The New Year is a wonderful time to sit in front of the mirror and ask yourself what kind of life you would like to live. We all want health, and success and love, but what are we doing about it today and what are our intentions for this New Year?

There are so many health fads and diets out there that it sometimes seems impossible to ever find the right one. The “right one” has to be a diet that will integrate with your life in the long run. It is no use to lose 30 lbs for 6 months only to gain it back because you couldn’t bear another day of diet food.

Swear off processed foods. That’s a good start. Well, most of them anyway. There are examples all over the world of people living into a healthy old age following various diets, but the only diet that I have come across that has been statistically analyzed is the Mediterranean diet.

The Mediterranean diet is a high fat, low (or no) sugar, refined grains, hydrogenated

oils, or commercially fried foods. Vegetables cooked and raw, whole grains, beans and legumes and proteins from non-factory farmed meats and seafood. It is very easy for us Oregonians to find beautiful vegetables and greens, nuts and fruits, salmon and properly raised beef. It really is right there in front of us.

The HALE (Healthy Aging: a Longitudinal Study in Europe) study focused on the effects of the Mediterranean diet, smoking and alcohol intake and found that “if you were an elderly nonsmoker who ate well, and exercised for 30 minutes or more daily, and drank a small amount of alcohol your risk of dying from any cause was reduced by 65%” (Miles Hassell, MD. Good Food, Great Medicine. 2009 by Mea Hassell and Miles Hassell, MD) Our diets and habits have more influence on our health than our doctors do.

Sometimes it is easier to slowly learn about new foods and new practices rather than turning your life upside down overnight and beginning a completely different life. Go get acupuncture done, eat at Abby’s Table (a soy, dairy and gluten free kitchen), give up one processed food a month. Make those life choices now so that later on in life you can look back and point to that series of small steps, which allowed you to live a healthier, fuller life.