4 Simple Choices That Will Help Protect You From Chronic Illness - m...

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by Chris Hardy

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May 4, 2015 4:27 AM

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4 Simple Choices That Will Help Protect You From Chronic Illness

Many of us are looking for the next magic supplement or superfood to

unlock optimal health and to prevent the chronic diseases that are
becoming so prevalent in our society. Diseases such as obesity, diabetes,
high blood pressure and heart disease are all largely preventable.
A diet free from processed food is a foundation for good health, but there
are other important components of prevention that may have slipped
under your radar. There are relatively simple things you can do to modify
your lifestyle that will have a much more powerful impact on preventing
chronic disease than the latest supplement or exotic plant extract.
1. Prioritize your gut health.
New research is showing that maintaining the health of your gut bacteria
has a profound inuence on your health.
Eat fermented foods such as kimchee, sauerkraut, or ker two to three times
per week.
Fermented foods provide natural sources of probiotics and prebiotics and
keep gut bacteria populations in proper balance.
Avoid frequent antibiotic use.
Antibiotics can be lifesaving in certain situations, but frequent unnecessary
use (such as for minor respiratory infections) can kill o large amounts of
health-promoting gut bacteria.

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2. Master your circadian rhythm; restore your sleep and increase your
productivity.
Getting adequate restorative sleep is a crucial component for good
health. Give your brain the right environmental signals to ensure youre
getting enough sleep at night which will in turn enhance alertness during
the day.
Avoid broad-spectrum articial light two or three hours before bedtime.
You can still use light at night, but switch over to a source that mimics
relight, such as the yellow bulbs sold as bug lights. This method allows
the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin to be produced naturally,
signaling your internal body clock that it is time for sleep.
Get bright light exposure rst thing in the morning.
Bright light (preferably outdoors) resets your circadian rhythm, preparing
the body and the brain for daytime activity. Thirty minutes of bright light
exposure in the morning is just as eective as coee (without the energy
crash hours later) in increasing alertness and productivity.
3. Tame your stress response.
Stress from multiple sources is rampant in modern life and truly is a silent
killer. Left unchecked, stress can physically change your brain, wreak
havoc on your body, and accelerate chronic disease and the aging process.
You can rebuild a stressed-out brain and reclaim your health through
mindfulness practice.
Aim for 30 minutes of mindfulness meditation practice daily.
Regular mindfulness practice can rejuvenate a stressed brain. This has

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huge carry-over to preventing chronic disease, as brain health and body

health are inseparable.
Throughout the day, try to be present in the moment for whatever you are
doing.
Avoid frequent rumination about the past and worrying about the future.
Living mindfully truly will have a benecial impact on your health.
4. Engage in high-intensity exercise.
All forms of exercise are benecial to some degree, but all are not created
equal when it comes to preventing (and treating) chronic disease.
High-intensity resistance and cardiovascular training is timesaving and
more eective than traditional lower intensity training.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is incredibly eective for fat loss and
controlling blood sugar in diabetes. You can use elliptical machines,
treadmills, or stationary bikes for this protocol.
1. Warm up for two to three minutes
2. Exercise as hard as possible for 20 seconds (like a bear is chasing you).
3. Rest for 10 seconds.
4. Repeat the cycle of 20 seconds of exercise and 10 seconds of rest at least 10
times (note that this is only ve minutes of exercise!).

Make sure you're cleared by your doctor before starting this type of
program, and nd an experienced trainer to help you with technique if you
need instruction.
These four interventions are incredibly powerful additions to any
prevention program. Coupled with a solid nutrition plan, they will help
bulletproof you against chronic disease.

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

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