Questions to ask yourself … to be healthier this year
How often do I move my body?
I’m not a believer in setting lofty targets or an all-or-nothing approach. There’s evidence that even if you increase your number of steps from a baseline of 1,000 a day to walk an extra 2,000 a day, it’s associated with reduced cardiovascular disease. A recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggested that doing up to four minutes of vigorous exercise a day, whether that’s walking briskly up the stairs or carrying heavy shopping, halved stroke cardiovascular disease risk in middle-aged and older women. Doing something more than you already are is a great starting point.
How am I treating my gut?
It’s about caring for these passengers living inside us, because they control multiple aspects of our health. Increase the amount of fibre you eat and have diversity in your diet, both in food types but also character – so the colour. Add in more reds, blues and deep purples, because colours are correlates of the polyphenol antioxidant capacity of the food, which are natural anti-inflammatory chemicals. Prebiotic fibres have the greatest impact on the microbiome so, for example, the common prebiotic found in an apple is pectin, while for garlic it’s inulin, and we know pectin and inulin promote the growth of bifidobacteria, allowing it to thrive. Other types of bacteria thrive on other, different types of prebiotic fibre, so getting that diversity means you can support a diverse community of microbes.
Am I prioritising sleep?
Every single system is involved in the domino effect of sleep. For example, insufficient sleep increases the hunger hormone ghrelin and reduces the satiety hormone leptin, which makes you overeat, so you gain weight, and your blood sugar spikes, affecting your energy levels. Sleeping well, meanwhile, can keep everything in tune.
How many colds do I catch a year?
It varies according to lifestyle and age, but between two and four colds a year in adults is probably average. To make sure your immune system is as optimised as possible, prioritise sleep, because sleep deprivation is linked with immune system suppression. Ensure you have an adequate intake of foods to support your microbiome, because the gut is the largest part of your immune system. Take vitamin D supplements October to March, because it helps regulate immunity. Chronic stress can affect the immune system, so think if there are any stressors in your life that you can mitigate. Stay active, and ensure that you’re adequately hydrated – a large part of your immune system, the lymphatic system, depends on hydration levels to transport all its chemicals and cytokines throughout the body. Finally, minimise exposure to pathogens, so if you know someone is unwell, don’t hang around with them, and avoid crowded places in flu season.
What am I ignoring?
Follow the rule of three: if there are new symptoms, a change in symptoms that has been going on for a while, or if there’s a combination of symptoms, you should get checked out. Most people don’t self-examine as much as they should, either. Women should be doing breast self-examinations, going for cervical screenings and mammograms, and men should be doing testicular examinations. But even checking your own stool should be a routine thing. It can tell you a bunch of things, revealing, for example, if you’re consuming enough fibre, or it might float more or be greasier if you’re intolerant to a food. The smell may give you a warning sign; the volume and colour are important, as is if there’s blood in there – and whether that’s dark red, bright red, black. If there’s a change from your baseline, get it evaluated.
Where do I get health information from?
Online, most charity websites have accurate information; similarly, any government organisations, while they’ll play it safe and it will be very basic information, will be accurate and up to date. But social media has become the search engine now and when people look something up, they’ll be met with hundreds of videos and will look at the one with most views. That’s why I’m on social media, so if someone looks up bowel cancer, they’ll see my video, not one by somebody who has no clue. Online, everyone has to do their own due diligence: who is this person, can I trust them, what’s their track record, are they affiliated with any organisations?
What do I do to protect my brain?
There’s a correlation between chronic sleep deprivation and increased risk of neurodegeneration, because the process of cleaning up the toxic proteins that accumulate in our brains happens during sleep. Social isolation has a pretty strong correlative association with depression and low mood, so keep in contact with loved ones. In studies, pets have been shown to improve mood – not just cats and dogs, but even turtles. Longer term, neuroscientists talk about your capacity to mitigate neurodegeneration, because you’ve got a vast cognitive reserve. Learn something new, such as a language, take up a hobby, read books – those are all good for strengthening your cognitive reserves.
What habits do I have that could impact my health?
Look at big things in your everyday life. We know alcohol, smoking and vaping are not good for us, but when it comes to food, people often major on the minors. In an ideal world, we’d all be cooking whole foods every day, which would be satiating, high in fibre, protein and micronutrients, and free of preservatives, but not everyone can afford that or has the time. I would say, if someone is doing all the basics – prioritising sleep, moving as much as they can, reading, cutting out smoking, reducing alcohol – but they eat the odd doughnut, that really doesn’t matter. Stop focusing on minor things, which the media and social media scare you about, such as seed oils or artificial sweeteners – that’s not going to break your health. Focus on the major lifestyle pillars.
