Category: Wellness

Spring is near. In New York City, yellow, white, and purple crocuses have raised their cup-shaped flowers above the ground for all to see. In California, western buttercups, ground pink, and bush lupine have begun to bloom. Humans, too, are awakening to the glory of a new Spring.

For most species, Winter is a time of rest and recovery. A time of renewal. When the clock strikes Spring, oak trees, azaleas, prairie dogs, red-tailed hawks, salmon, and butterflies are ready to go. But people are often out-of-touch with the rhythms of their home planet. We struggle against the elements, dreading Winter and battling cold, sleet, and snow for three or four long months.

When Spring finally comes we’re often too stressed out from our Winter blues to enjoy what’s unfolding right in front of us. We didn’t use our Winter time to build new reserves of strength. But Spring signals a new year, full of new possibilities. We have a new opportunity to grow and develop, just like every other species with whom we share our beautiful planet.

We can allow ourselves to be inspired by the subtle news of a new Spring. The sun is higher in the sky and the days are longer. The air is fresher, carrying the scent of revitalized soil. Fresh water sparkles, glinting and glistening in dancing sunbeams.^1,2

It’s time for us to join the party. As humans, we don’t grow new branches, twigs, and leaves. We don’t grow new antlers or a new coat of fur. What we can do, though, is grow new cells, particularly muscle cells. And we can make the cells we already have much healthier and much stronger.

Being active provides the access to this process of renewal and rebirth. For many of us, this will be a brand-new way of being. Three-quarters of American adults do not get enough physical activity to meet public health recommendations. This data directly correlates with the associated facts that two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese.³

We want to be healthy, fit, and well. This new Spring is the time to begin taking small steps toward reinventing ourselves as people who really are well, who really are physically fit, and who really manifest abundant, vibrant health. Consult your chiropractor for professional advice and guidance in designing your new fitness-and-exercise programs. We will provide expert assistance and support you in your wellness journey. In modern society, lack of good health is the norm. It takes time and effort to ensure we restore ourselves to the abundance of good health that is our birthright.

¹Colston KW: Vitamin D and breast cancer risk. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 22(4):587-599, 2008
²Bener A, et al: High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in type 1 diabetes mellitus and healthy children. Acta Diabetol 2008 Oct 10
³Spiotta RT, Luma GB: Evaluating obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents. Am Fam Physician 78(9):1052-1058, 2008

We’re all familiar with the highway driving experience of being behind a person who is continually braking for no apparent reason. This is especially problematic if you’re in the left-hand lane. You’re zipping along at the posted speed limit and suddenly the brake lights of the car in front go on. You have to immediately react and hit your brakes. If this happens more than a couple of times, you look for the first opportunity to pass this unskilled driver. The person riding their brakes may thoughtlessly cause a serious traffic problem or worse. Metaphorically, you may be physiologically “riding the brakes” without knowing it, creating ongoing problems for your long-term wellness and well-being.

For example, many of us are not aware that lack of regular vigorous exercise results in a slowing down of our metabolism. Without such exercise, our daily metabolic processes simply do not operate at peak levels. In the absence of critical energy demands imposed by regular vigorous exercise, a low level steady state takes over. Fat cells accumulate, reflexes dull, and our overall sense of awareness deteriorates. But your body is a finely crafted machine and it is designed to fulfill very high performance metrics. The aphorism, “what you don’t use, you lose” applies specifically to human physiological performance. Without regular vigorous exercise, you’re riding your physiological brakes and your body systems will degrade accordingly.

The good news is that these entropic effects can be reversed. Our bodies are dynamic and remarkably adaptive. Beginning or renewing an exercise program will quickly result in noticeable benefits. Many people will begin observe such benefits within four to six weeks. The important health benefits derived from regular vigorous exercise include slowing of the heart rate, increased capacity of the heart to pump blood, increased capacity of the lungs to take in oxygen, accumulation of lean muscle mass, increased creative abilities, increased ability to focus and perform useful work, and improved restful sleep.

These benefits all derive from any basic exercise program that includes some form of strength training and some form of cardiovascular exercise. Thirty minutes per day, five days a week, is the recommended standard. A program that incorporates three days of cardiovascular exercise and two days of strength training, or three days of strength training and two days of cardiovascular exercise, will be sufficient to derive maximum results. Cardiovascular exercise includes walking, running, swimming, bicycling, cross-country skiing, and sports such as basketball and lacrosse. Strength training should comprise routines including exercises for the chest, back, shoulders, arms, and legs. Certain forms of exercise such as yoga simultaneously incorporate strength training and cardiovascular exercise.

Most important is the consistency of exercise. What works for one person may not work for another. Find the types of exercise that you like to do and want to do and keep going. There will be times when you need to take a break for a week or two. Trust your instincts and return to your exercise program as appropriate. Encourage your family members to participate so that everyone can achieve peak performance, health, and wellness.

In the language of statistics, health is a continuous variable. A person’s health can be expressed as an infinity of values ranging from abundant well-being to terminal states approaching death. If health were a discrete quantity you could assign a number to it. You could say that someone had 95% health or 32% health. You’d be able to measure health on an exact scale. But of course health is much more complex. Health status requires intermediate descriptive states for a more complete understanding of a person’s level of wellness.

The practical outcome is that health is an expression of many factors, not merely one kind of activity. A person who has an extraordinarily healthy diet but has very high levels of stress may still suffer from cardiovascular disease, regardless of the amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and fresh fruits and vegetables he consumes.¹ A person may be a champion athlete, such as a ballet dancer or a figure skater, and yet have type 2 diabetes owing to a lifetime of unhealthy nutrition.²

There are many such cautionary tales, including that of a famous runner, author, and fitness expert who died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 52.

Like an archeological dig, good health has many layers. It’s always a mistake to stop digging (even though you think you completely understand a process), because a little more effort and a little more thought will reveal new patterns and new connections. This is the major problem with medications. You take a drug to stimulate one thing or inhibit another thing, but there always more layers to consider. Side effects result from trying to manipulate one layer of effects while ignoring the consequences to other important layers.

Statins are a good example of this process of failing to consider the layers of health. These drugs lower blood cholesterol levels by inhibiting the production of a liver enzyme that is part of the pathway of cholesterol synthesis. But statins have many side effects, including Lou Gehrig’s disease, memory loss, liver damage, nausea, diarrhea, and muscle pain.³

In contrast, chiropractic care is designed to pay attention to all the layers. Chiropractic care, in fact, is a layer-optimization process. By restoring full functioning of a person’s nerve system and improving the mechanical functioning of the musculoskeletal system, chiropractic care enables the body’s layers of health to interact in the way they were designed to interact. Chiropractic care is a natural, efficient method of restoring and maintaining good health.

¹Knoepfli-Lenzin C, et al: Effects of a 12-week intervention period with football and running for habitually active men with mild hypertension. Scand J Med Sci Sports Feb 2, 2010 (Epub)
²Fuemmeler BF, et al: Weight, dietary behavior, and physical activity in childhood and adolescence. Implications for adult cancer risk. Obes Facts 2(3):179-186, 2009
³Sharma M, et al: Systematic review: comparative effectiveness and harms of combination therapy and monotherapy for dyslipidemia. Ann Intern Med 151(9):622-630, 2009

Whether we rent or own our home, all of us pay some form of monthly living expenses. Even if we have paid down a mortgage and own our home outright, we still pay monthly utility bills in order to keep our homes functional and livable. We also pay property taxes as part of our participation in various services provided by local government. But, although we’re familiar with the concept of monthly maintenance for our brick-and-mortar home, many of us forget to consider that comparable maintenance is required for our metaphorical home, that is, our physical bodies.

Part of the difficulty is that we apparently have received our bodies for free. None of us actually did anything in order to obtain such a precious gift. Yet here we are, and part of being “here” is that we are seemingly equipped in advance with these amazing flesh-and-blood machines. Just as remarkably, it appears there are no fees or charges associated with the use of our bodies. But, as many of us eventually come to realize, such beliefs are false. The failure to recognize our actual responsibilities in the matter of our physical selves can lead to great pain, suffering, and loss. On the other hand, when we recognize the appropriate methods of “payment” that are required for the “rent” of our human forms, we gain a sense of joy, satisfaction, and well-being that was previously unattainable. By taking on the responsibility for the care of our gift, we are specifically acknowledging our part in the bargain of our participation in the process of living.

A primary component of such a maintenance program is regular vigorous exercise.^1,2 Many national guidelines recommend 30 minutes of exercise done five days a week.³ Some people find it easy to exercise consistently and have done so for years. Others experience difficulty in setting aside the time required for exercise, finding their lives already so busy that there’s no room for any additional activities. Each of us must come to our own terms with the notion of personal responsibility for exercise. No one can tell another what he or she must do.

The relationship between regular exercise and long-term health and wellness is clear and highly correlated. But knowing something is not sufficient. Motivation to take action is personal, and each person will ultimately be successful or not in identifying such ongoing motivation. For all of us, it may be helpful to recall that everything in life is associated with a cost. We live in a cause-and-effect world. All of us, given the choice, would likely choose to be part of the “cause” of our own health, wellness, and well-being. If we choose to be part of the “cause”, finding the time to engage in regular vigorous exercise may then become astonishingly easy.

¹DeFina LF, et al: Physical activity versus cardiorespiratory fitness: two (partly) distinct components of cardiovascular health? Prog Cardiovasc Dis 57(4):324-329, 2015
²Lavie CJ, et al: Exercise and the cardiovascular system: clinical science and cardiovascular outcomes. Circ Res 117(2):207-219, 2015
³Street SJ, et al: Windows of opportunity for physical activity in the prevention of obesity. Obes Rev 16(10):857-870, 2015

In “Out of the Past”, one of the greatest film noir ever made, Robert Mitchum’s past inevitably catches up with him and dire consequences ensue for all involved. Are we, in terms of health and disease, also in danger of having our past – that is, our genetic inheritance – track us down and interfere with our life plans?^1,2,3

Our past is our past – the things we’ve done can never be changed. Likewise, our genetic inheritance is fixed – we can’t alter the genetic makeup of our 46 chromosomes. But genetics is a complicated field of study. Scientists are beginning to piece together many small pieces of the puzzle, yet the big picture is very slow to emerge. It seems the genes you’ve inherited from your parents are only the starting point of who and what you are. It’s not the genes so much, but rather the expression of those genes that determine your physical characteristics and capabilities. Gene expression leads to the final product – a never-finished final product, of course – that is you.

In some cases, genetic inheritance is absolute. If a child inherits two copies of the genetic defect that causes sickle cell anemia – one from each parent – she will become ill with sickle cell disease. If a boy has inherited a copy of a particular sex-linked mutation (carried on the X chromosome) from his mother, he will develop Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe muscle wasting disease.

But most diseases result from combinations of genetic factors and variabilities in genetic expression. Cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, which together account for 60% of all deaths in the United States, are all caused by complex combinations of altered physiologic processes. In turn, gene expression is impacted to a significant extent by environmental factors. Environmental factors include the quality of your diet, the amount of regular exercise you do, the amount of rest you get, and many other factors that are a part of your daily life.

Importantly, gene expression is also based on the quality of information flowing through your nerve system. The final common pathway of gene expression is protein manufacture. Proteins are the workhorses of all physiologic mechanisms. Protein production depends, as do all other cellular processes, upon receipt of accurate and timely instructions from the nerve system.

Acute and chronic irritation to the musculoskeletal system – particularly irritation and injury affecting the spinal column – can interfere with normal flow of nerve system information. Chiropractic care removes these irritations, restoring normal biomechanical function to your body and in turn restoring optimal functioning of the nerve system.

The result is improved functioning of all body systems. With a healthy diet, plenty of regular exercise, sufficient rest, and fulfilling family and personal relationships, gene expression is directed toward productive, rather than destructive, pathways. What’s written in your genes cannot be unwritten. But you can control, to a great extent, the quality of the expression of your genes.

¹ Levin BE: Synergy of nature and nurture in the development of childhood obesity. Int J Obes (Lond) 33(Suppl 1):S53-S56, 2009
²Ezzat S: Chromatin remodeling: the interface between extrinsic cues and the genetic code? Clin Invest Med 31(5):E276-281, 2008
³Elder SJ, et al: Genetic and environmental influences on factors associated with cardiovascular disease and the metabolic syndrome. J Lipid Res 50(9):1917-1926, 2009

Not too long ago, the Eighth Joint National Committee (originally commissioned by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) released a new set of evidence-based guidelines for evaluation and treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure). The guidelines committee, comprised of 17 academics, spent five years reviewing evidence as preparation for developing the new recommendations.

The committee’s report represents nothing less than a sea change in the treatment of patients with higher-than-normal blood pressure readings. The primary shift is from a long-held standard of implementing treatment when a person’s blood pressure is higher than 140/90 mmHg. The new guidelines recommend beginning treatment only when blood pressure readings are higher than 150/90 mmHg. The new standard is a huge modification of decades-old practice methods, and has generated substantial controversy.^1.2 Of course, a good portion of the pushback is from those who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, such as physicians who dispense medications from their office and earn substantial income from selling antihypertensive drugs at multiples of their wholesale costs. In addition to physicians who act as pharmacies, drug companies who manufacture antihypertensive medications also stand to lose significant revenue. But aside from considerations related to the practice of medicine as a business, the real issues should be focused on the benefits and harms to patients. In this context, it may be reasonably stated that fewer medications are, by and large, a good thing.

The new blood pressure guidelines have two primary impacts. First, for people over age 60, treatment for presumed hypertension should be initiated when blood pressure readings are higher than 150/90 mm/Hg. More than 7.4 million Americans over age 60 will be in the new safe range. Many of these millions of people have been taking antihypertensive medication for years, possibly needlessly as implied by the new guidelines. Next, for all those under age 60, there is insufficient medical evidence that a systolic blood pressure (the first number in the reading) threshold exists that would dictate treatment. In other words, for many years the systolic threshold had been 140 (as in 140/90 mmHg). Higher systolic readings virtually mandated antihypertensive treatment. Although the committee expressed its opinion that the systolic threshold of 140 mmHg ought to be maintained for those younger than age 60, even though evidence for such a threshold is weak. Thus, it may be that many millions more people have been taking antihypertensive medication without such recommendations being backed by sound scientific research.

The point here is not that people should stop taking their blood pressure medication.³ All such types of decisions should be made in consultation with the prescribing physician. The main consideration is having the ability to make informed choices. Some medication regimens may be appropriate. Some may not. Some may need to be reevaluated. As always, regular chiropractic care is of value by providing you with the best opportunity to achieve maximum good health.

¹Mitka M:Groups spar over new hypertension guidelines. JAMA 311(7):663-664, 2014
²Kieldsen SE, et al: Hypertension management by practice guidelines. Blood Press 23(1):1-2, 2014
³Sheppard JP, et al: Missed opportunities in prevention of cardiovascular disease in primary care: a cross-sectional study. Br J Pract 2014, Jan;64(618):e38-46. doi: 10.3399/bjgp14X676447

Being an informed patient is an empowering concept.¹ In the modern healthcare marketplace, the doctor-patient relationship has become a two-way street. It’s no longer a situation in which the doctor tells the patient what to do. Today, patients can be full partners in managing their care and well-being.²

What does it take to be an informed patient, one who can participate in a meaningful way and not be merely the passive recipient of the doctor’s instructions and recommendations?

The first key is to identify a doctor – a chiropractor or family physician, depending on the circumstances – in whom you have confidence. Here are a few essential points to consider

• The doctor has spent enough time with you on the first visit
• The doctor has focused on you, and has not been distracted by all the other things happening in the office
• The doctor has satisfactorily answered all your questions
• The doctor’s recommendations are clear, and you understand what the next steps are going to be

The questions you ask are not just to keep talking and capture more of the doctor’s time spent with you. An informed patient does some preparation – some homework – before the actual office visit. The Internet offers a lot of valuable information on both chiropractic and medical treatment. And, it’s important to remember that not all information is accurate and authoritative – consider the source of the “information”.

• Consider the author’s background and affiliations
• Consider the potential for bias
• Is the site itself up-to-date – for example, are there “dead links” on the site

Do your best to evaluate the doctor’s recommendations. First, what are the expected results? How quickly should you begin to feel better? Are there potential side-effects of the recommended treatment? What are the alternatives?

Alternatives may include other forms of therapy within the doctor’s office and may also include consultation with another specialist. The main point is not to be left with a confusing array of choices, but to have enough information to go forward with a treatment plan that makes the most sense, both to your doctor and to you.

If a prescription is involved, make sure you write down the exact spelling of the medication and the exact dosage and frequency. Prescriptions are usually scribbled, and both doctors and pharmacists can make a mistake. Don’t let your doctor simply hand you an illegible piece of paper. Insist on ensuring that you understand what is being prescribed, and be sure to ask your doctor about potential side effects, risks, and interactions with any other medicines you may be taking.

As in all relationships, the doctor-patient relationship is based on clear communication and mutual trust and understanding. You can help your doctor help you by being informed and participating in the decision-making process.

¹Informed Consent. “Ethics in Medicine”. University of Washington School of Medicine. http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/consent.html#ques1
²“Be an active healthcare consumer”. Agency for Healthcard Research and Quality. http://www.ahrq.gov/path/beactive.htm

In the field of statistics, a five-point rating scale is commonly used to evaluate all sorts of personal responses, feelings, and assessments. This frequently used tool is known as the Likert scale, and most people have completed such a rating device on numerous occasions, most typically in consumer after-sales surveys. The Likert scale asks a person to respond to a statement such as “I would recommend this restaurant to my friends”, choosing from the predetermined answers of “strongly disagree,” “disagree,” “neither agree nor disagree,” “agree,” and “strongly agree.” The Likert scale was developed in 1932 and has been consistently validated over many decades of use. We can effectively apply this rating system to our own state of health by answering the statement, “I enjoy high levels of health and well-being.” We can than employ our truthful answers to make sound decisions on our own behalf regarding future health-promoting activities.

If your truthful response is “strongly agree,” you probably have been engaged for a year or more in a regular, vigorous exercise program and consistently follow a nutritional healthy eating plan. You do at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise five times a week, on most weeks. You are probably at or very near your target body weight (based on a calculation of your body mass index, readily done at numerous online resources) and consume an appropriate amount of calories on a daily basis. Overall, you feel fit. You sleep well and wake up refreshed. You have abundant energy to do all the things you need to do for yourself and your family, every day.

At the other end of the Likert rating system, if your truthful response is “strongly disagree,” you probably haven’t done any form of exercise for some time. Of course, such a circumstance might be the result of a serious illness. But if your lack of engagement in regular exercise and healthy eating is related to apathy or some other form of ennui, or in itself is a personal choice, it’s useful to consider the consequences of such inaction. Or, rather, it could be personally beneficial to consider the value in taking on new habits that result in your becoming a person who responds “strongly agree” to the statement, “I am healthy and well.”

How do you get to “strongly agree”? The solution is three-fold. The first part is to make a choice that you want to enjoy high levels of health and well-being. No one is ever going to make such a commitment because someone else told him or her they should, no matter whether that someone is a spouse, other family member, or a physician. The decision must be a personal choice. The second and third components are to begin an exercise program¹ and a healthy eating plan^2,3. Exercise needs to be vigorous (“vigorous” is relative, based on your age, overall health status, and other considerations) and done five times per week. Healthy eating encompasses a wide range of selections and options. One of the key elements is to consume at least five servings of fresh fruits and vegetable every day.

The good news is that every person who begins and stays with such a course of healthy living will soon reap the benefits. And not too long after that, you’ll find you’ve become a person who sleeps better, has more energy, and has, day by day, more fun in living. This is what healthy eating and exercise is really all about.

¹ Chilton WL, et al: Acute Exercise Leads to Regulation of Telomere-Associated Genes and MicroRNA Expression in Immune Cells. PLoS One 2014 Apr 21;9(4):e92088. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092088. eCollection 2014

² Michas G, et al: Dietary fats and cardiovascular disease: Putting together the pieces of a complicated puzzle. Atherosclerosis 2014 Mar 27;234(2):320-328. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2014.03.013. [Epub ahead of print]

³ Yoon U, et al: Efficacy of lifestyle interventions in reducing diabetes incidence in patients with impaired glucose tolerance: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Metabolism 62(2):303-314, 2013

The scientific concept of complexity is only a few decades old, but like many powerful ways of looking at the world it has spread rapidly throughout the public consciousness. Anyone who has watched even a couple of episodes of “The Big Bang Theory” would have heard multiple references to chaos theory, complex systems, and emergent phenomena. Remarkably, these very interesting topics from the fields of physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology have special importance for human health and wellness.

Examples of complexity and chaos abound in the natural world. For example, weather systems are complex systems, which is why weather is notoriously difficult to predict even in the short-term. And long-range weather forecasts are not much better than guesswork, because the basic structure of a weather pattern can change in an instant. Study of avalanches has helped to advance chaos theory. And the flocking behavior of birds, especially the well-studied starlings, represents ever-shifting outcomes of a huge number of factors.

An emergent phenomenon is one that cannot be predicted from studying the various parts that make up the whole. Emergent phenomena include flocking behavior, in which large flocks create beautiful, always varying, dynamic patterns in flight; the architecture of beehives; and the World Wide Web. Even human consciousness may, from a certain perspective, be considered an emergent phenomenon.

From a health perspective, the relative wellness of any specific individual is an emergent phenomenon.1,2,3 For example, fighting off an infection is a dynamic process with many complex and chaotic interactions taking place before the final outcome is determined. We’re not aware of these specific processes per se. We are aware of how things are going, that is, the sum total of the cellular and subcellular activities, based on how well or not well we feel.

Looking at one key area as an example of flocking behavior, are our white blood cells being effective in combating the infection? Is their behavior organized? Do they know where to go to battle the invading forces? Or is their behavior random and uncoordinated and are we not well and even sick as a result?

Long-lasting good health emerges from a variety of inputs, including nutritional balance, regular exercise, and sufficient rest. These activities are known as healthy behaviors or healthy lifestyle choices. As the interactions are complex, we can never predict a specific outcome. But we can base our choices on historical data and an analysis of facts. This information tells us that the outcomes we want – health and wellness – are likely to emerge from a set of healthy behaviors, i.e., healthy lifestyle choices taken consistently over the long-term.

¹Koonin EV: Are there laws of genome evolution? PLoS Comput Biol Epub August 25, 2011

²Jayasinghe S: Conceptualising population health: from mechanistic thinking to complexity science. Emerg Themes Epidemiol 8(1):2, 2011

³Parkes MW, Horwitz P: Water, ecology and health: ecosystems as settings for promoting health and sustainability. Health Promot Int 24(1):94-102, 2009

In chess, checkmate occurs when a player’s king is under attack and has no safe place to go. The king is threatened and every possible escape route is blocked. Such an existential condition, an allegorical “no exit,” is known as checkmate.

In life, a person may be similarly threatened by a serious illness. For example, a person may receive a diagnosis for which there is no effective long-term treatment. Short-term, temporary solutions may be available, but these usually require enormous expenditures of resources, both financial and personal. Most often, when the temporary fix has run its course, the illness persists and the long-term outlook remains the same. Optimally, we would prefer to avoid such medical “checks” and avoid being faced with an untimely “checkmate.” As in chess, obtaining success with respect to our health and well being depends in large part on having a sound strategy in place.

Successful chess players think several moves ahead. High-level chess players such as grand masters have the ability to envision combinations involving ten or more future moves. Fortunately, being successful at the game of promoting personal health and well being is much less complicated. There are only a few elements involved in developing a strategy that works.

These elements are well known and include (1) regular, vigorous exercise; (2) a healthy diet¹; (3) sufficient rest; and (4) a positive mental attitude. But despite being well known, only the minority of people actually implements these critical “moves.” The evidence for such lack of action may be seen in the United States, for example, where one-third of Americans are overweight and additional one-third are obese. Merely knowing something is not sufficient to obtain a result.

What is required is actual action.² In terms of exercise, evidence-based guidelines agree that 30 minutes of vigorous exercise, done five days a week, will provide a sound foundation for health. Optimally, such exercise consists of both cardiovascular and strength training sessions, but the most important point is to do five 30-minute sessions per week. With respect to diet, all the evidence affirms that men, women, and children should follow specific calorie-intake guidelines.³ For example, a moderately active man, aged 31-50, should consume, on average, 2500 calories per day. A moderately active woman, aged 31-50, should consume, on average, 2000 calories per day. A man intending to lose weight, and then maintain an ideal weight, should take in about 1800 calories per day. A woman intending to lose weight, and then maintain an ideal weight, should consume about 1600 calories per day. Regarding daily food intake, the most important rule to follow is to consume at least five portions of fresh fruits and vegetables per day. It is also important, on a daily basis, to eat foods from all the major food groups. In terms of rest, most people require seven to eight hours of sleep a night. This may not be possible every night, of course, but over time people need to obtain the right amount of rest for them. The criterion is simple: if you do not feel rested after a night’s sleep, then you did not obtain sufficient sleep. Obtaining sufficient rest is an often-neglected component of a well-rounded health and wellness strategy.

Our strategy for helping ensure our long-term health and wellness contains only a few components, and involves many less moves than does a winning chess strategy. It should be easy to put such a strategy into place. What is required is a commitment and dedication to ourselves, our families, and our loved ones.

¹Voeghtly LM, et al: Cardiometabolic risk reduction in an intensive cardiovascular health program. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 23(7):662-669, 2013
²Carson V, et al: A cross-sectional study of the environment, physical activity, and screen time among young children and their parents. BMC Public Health 2014 Jan 21;14:61. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-61
³Wang YC, et al: Reaching the healthy people goals for reducing childhood obesity: closing the energy gap. Am J Prev Med 42(5):437-444, 2012