7 simple yet powerful things you can do now to improve your well-being
1) COLD THERAPY
Studies have shown that intermittent cold exposure, such as an ice bath, or even 30 seconds of cold water at the end of your shower can have profoundly positive impacts on your health. The cold calms your inflammation, up-regulates your vagal tone and so boosts your healing (Parasympathetic Nervous System) and down regulates the toxic Flight or Flight mode (Sympathetic nervous system). This means your blood pressure improves, symptoms like pain often improve, your mind is sharper, and your immune system is supercharged!
Action to take: At the end of your shower turn the water to COLD and focus on slow deep breathing. Do this for a few seconds and build up to a few minutes. Some people find singing and having the water on your head and face the easiest way to start.
Evidence: Some of our patients are currently participating in a new study using the Wim-Hoff method to help their autoimmune diseases. So far the results are very impressive. With true cold exposure your body naturally starts hyperventilating so it’s important to build up to such extremes gradually, and learn to slow your breathing down (this is the Wim-Hoff method in a nutshell).
According to a 1994 study cold therapy drastically decreases toxic uric acid levels while it also increases glutathione (the master antioxidant).
It also improves your neurotransmitters that boost mental health. A study found Noradrenaline and dopamine, which contribute to positive feelings increased by 530% and by 250%, respectively. While cortisol, the hormone produced by stress which usually signals inflammation, went down. A 2008 study found that it also floods the temperature receptors in your epidermis triggering an anti-depressive effect through a different pathway.
Repeated cold showers have been shown to toughen you up, increasing your resilience to stress, or what's called hardening. It’s no surprise then a study done in the Netherlands showed that just 30-90 seconds of a cold shower resulted in a 29% decrease in sick day absences for a study group of 3018 individuals between the ages of 18-65!
2) Eat more fresh blueberries and pomegranate
Eating a cup of blueberries a day dramatically reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease, inhibits colon cancer, inhibit breast cancer, and improves your brain function.
Pomegranate juice is also incredibly good for you! It reduce LDL oxidation (the bad cholesterol) by 90%, reduce antibodies against oxidised LDL by 19%, reduces systolic blood pressure by up to 21%, reduces carotid artery thickness by 30% (reversing the damage done) and boosts total blood antioxidant status by 130%, thereby protecting the entire body from damage.
Action to take: Eat a cup of fresh blueberries a day! Eat 3 table spoons of fresh Pomegranate seeds each day!
Evidence: Pterostilbene (PTE), a Resveratol derivative mainly found in blueberries has been shown to inhibit colon cancer.
Blueberry Phytochemicals Inhibit Growth and Metastatic Potential of MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells
Blueberry Anthocyanins also reduce blood pressure by up to 17 systolic and 9 diastolic points, after just 8 weeks. They also improve eye site, are generally anti-ageing and protect the brain from oxidative stress.
In a double-blind randomised controlled trial conducted over six months, researchers found sustained improvements in vascular function, cholesterol and underlying nitric oxide bioactivity after consuming one cup of blueberries per day for six months. In particular it increased cGMP levels, HDL cholesterol particle density, and apoA-I levels. “With effect sizes predictive of 12-15% reductions in cardiovascular disease risk, blueberries should be included in dietary strategies to reduce individual and population cardiovascular disease risk” the authors concluded.
According to the researchers, anthocyanins undergo extensive metabolism in the lower intestines when ingested with these metabolites serving as growth substrates for the gut microbiome and therefore likely to play a key beneficial metabolic role. This fits with another study that showed after 6 weeks of consumption participants had increased Bifidobacterium (good bacteria) levels in their gut.
3) increase your movement
Exercise has profoundly positive impacts on all aspects of health. Ideally you’d do some resistance training like weights, and something aerobic, and some flexibility and balance boosting activities. The resistance training will boost bone strength, increase your Testosterone and lower your SHBG. Aerobic training is good for mental health and will improve your blood sugar levels through a separate pathway to insulin. In fact a study found diabetics that exercise improve their HbA1c even if they don’t lose weight. Flexibility and balance are great for preventing falls in the elderly, increasing neuro-plasticity and improving your general well-being.
A large study over 8 years found people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes who walk 2 hours per week had 34% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality and 39% lower risk of all-cause mortality! The maximum benefit (lowest mortality rates) was found in those who walked 3-4 hours a week with moderate increase in heart and breathing rates.
Exercise in everyone also reduces excess cortisol (the stress hormone), promotes better sleep, increases BDNF which stimulates neurogenesis (repair), protects the memory parts of the brain, increases creativity and improves your concentration.
Action to take: Be more active! Find something you enjoy and do it regularly. When you’re ready, add in a different type of movement (like resistance training with a personal trainer) or take up dancing, Qigong or Tai Chi. Some people find setting a really really easy goal is the best way to get started, like doing 1 jumping jack a day. Others like setting targets that increase like walking to the closest telegraph pole, then the next day walking to the one after it and so on. Discuss any exercise plan with your doctor before commencing.
4) Reduce stress
Reducing your stress chemicals and producing more of the healing endorphins will be great for your mind and body. Taking at least 20 minutes out of your day to stroll or sit in a place that makes you feel in contact with nature significantly lowers your stress hormone levels. That's the finding of a study that has established for the first time the most effective "dose" of an urban nature experience.
You could also learn mediation or try the breathing exercises or the biofeedback methods discussed in my short guide that you can download HERE.
Starting your day with a meditation can dramatically improve your performance and studies have shown over time it physically improves the brain so you automatically feel more connected, grounded, mentally clear and happy. Stress makes most diseases and symptoms worse and long term causes major health problems. Prevent or reverse this by actively relaxing each day, even for 5 minutes.
Action to take: Give yourself a Nature Pill and your body and mind will thank you! Read my short guide on stress and how to beat it (download HERE)
5) Eat more magnesium rich foods
Approximately half us consumes less than the daily requirement of Magnesium from foods and water sources. Several studies suggest an association between dietary Magnesium deficiency and different diseases, such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, osteoporosis, diabetes mellitus, colon and breast cancers. Magnesium is calming and can improve sleep, relieve muscle pain, prevent or stop abnormal heart rhythms and boosts mitochondrial function.
Research has found that 6 weeks of a Magnesium deficient diet induced depressive symptoms in mice, which was associated with changes in gut microbiota and neuroinflammatory marker hippocampal IL-6.
Magnesium is essential for hundreds of reactions in the body and most tests do not accurately reflect the amount inside our cells.
A recent study showed that a higher dietary intake of Magnesium is associated with a significant increase in MRI-proven knee joint cartilage and volume, which has an important role in preventing OA, even after taking in consideration several important confounding factors. No medication can increase knee cartilage, yet magnesium food can!
For brain function magnesium threonate is the best as it crosses the blood brain barrier more easily. However for other issues like joint pain magnesium glycinate is best, as it helps lower oxalates. Getting magnesium from food is best though.
Action to take: Eat more magnesium rich foods like dried pumpkin seeds, avocado, Edamame, quinoa, dark chocolate, black beans, tofu, salmon, Bananas, kale, spinach, collard greens, turnip greens and mustard greens.
6) Optimise your omega 6:3 ratio and fat quality
Research has now shown we can predict the patients who are having symptoms, or indeed the current severity of their disease simply by looking at their omega 6:3 ratio! Omega 6 is generally inflammatory and omega 3 is generally anti-inflammatory. You do need both, but the best way is to have a 1 to 1 ratio and have the oils at the same time. This is because the omega 3 will inhibit the enzyme Delta-5-desaturase so the Omega 6 won’t be converted down to Arachidonic Acid (highly inflammatory). Many arthritis medications and “anti-inflammatories” block the arachidonic acid pathway, instead of drugs we can use food!
Other good sources of omega 3 are flax, walnut, soy, chia and hemp. Algae supplements are high in DHA which can partially retro convert to EPA. Fish oil contains DHA and EPA. DHA is the best for improving your cognition and cholesterol though EPA is also good for other things.
A recent study shows a significant inverse association of DHA, but not of EPA, with aortic calcification. (The more DHA you consume the better your artery calcium is!) Maternal fish intake during pregnancy reduces the incidence and severity of eczema, allergies, hayfever, and asthma in kids. Fish oil taken by pregnant women is associated with measurable immunologic changes in cord blood.
Flax seed can oxidise so the best way to consume it is to grind it fresh and have a tablespoon a day in water or sprinkled on your food. Then store the ground flax in a glass jar in the fridge. After 3 days throw it away and grind some more. Flaxseeds have also been shown to significantly reduce the rate of proliferation of prostate cancer cells, and have general antioxidant benefits.
Omega 6 sources are peanuts, evening primrose oil, black current seed, animal fat, dairy and most vegetable oils. The worst ones are sunflower, safflower and peanut oil (not peanuts themselves). Avoid these oils, check labels of nut milks, sauces and tins, cut them out of your diet! Research has found a causative link between these bad oils and people developing alzheimer’s dementia, type 2 diabetes and obesity! Other studies have shown those oils cause an auto immune disease of the colon called Ulcerative Colitis.
Soybean oil (not soy itself) that is often used to fry in by fast food chains, changes 100 genes in your brain to a pro inflammatory mode!
A study found that for each 1 percent of total energy derived from nuts and seeds, telomere length was 5 base pairs longer. This means that eating 5% of your calories from nuts and seeds reduces your cell ageing by the equivalent of being 1.5 years younger!
Action to take: Eat more raw nuts, and take a high quality fish oil supplement that is tested to be stable and free from mercury. Cut out all trans-fat and vegetable oil except olive oil. Trans fat is highly toxic and now banned in some parts of the world. It is usually found in things like fried foods and processed foods. Unfortunately many industrial vegetable oils get damaged when heated, and turn into transfat, so never cook with them. Better cooking choices are butter, ghee, olive oil, or coconut oil. Generally cook low temperature and in a wet way.
Book a consultation now to get your omega 3 index and lipid particle number tested so you know exactly what your current ratio is, and how much toxic trans fat or dangerous oxidised LDL is in your system.
Bonus Action tip: Dietary glycaemic load is significant linked with plasma hs-CRP (High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein) which is an inflammatory blood marker that accurately predicts the risk of heart disease. For optimal health aim to have your hs-CRP as low as possible. A high carbohydrate meal will dramatically increase your hs-CRP for around 12 hours. If your body doesn't have time to recover then damage occurs and LDL cholesterol gets oxidised to the bad form. A high carbohydrate meal also damages your endothelial glycocalyx which is the first step in atherosclerosis and heart disease. Eat less processed carbohydrate like bread, pasta and sugar. Eat more of the lower glycaemic foods like green vegetables, meat and eggs. If you want something sweet choose the healthier lower GI option like sweet potato with the skin on (instead of white potato).
7) Maximise the quality of your Sleep
Your brain’s waste disposal system, the Glymphatic System is only active during Slow Wave sleep. If you don’t have enough of this high quality sleep, the waste products build up and your brain can’t run at it’s best, not to mention you’re at increased risk of diseases like Alzheimer’s.
If you have trouble getting to sleep, wake up a lot, or wake up tired, you need to fix this ASAP!
Sleep issues cause all sorts of health problems including high blood pressure, erectile dysfunction, reduction in testosterone, increased blood sugar levels, increased visceral fat, reduced motivation, reduced ability to concentrate, learn and remember. Lack of quality sleep can even cause headaches, and makes pain worse. Different health issues and exposures themselves cause sleep issues, and so the cycle continues.
Everyone is different though generally studies show that you should be in bed before 10pm and sleep for 8 hours for optimal health. Any breathing problems need to be addressed, and your sleep environment optimised. A comfortable bed and pillow, slightly cool and as dark as possible bedroom is ideal. In the 30 minutes before bed wind down, no electronic devices, and have a calming tea or do something you enjoy to let go of the stress of the day. In the morning get into sunlight and have a cold shower or exercise to help set your circadian rhythm. The sleep you have tonight is effected by the morning you had so think of it as a 24 hour cycle not just your bedtime routine. During the day notice your energy levels and how what you eat impacts them, and what time of day you are at your most creative and most mentally sharp.
If you need help improving your sleep, book a consultation with Dr Chris Chappel now and we can work on it together, there’s a lot that can be done.