Hydration + Diet

Congratulations on the first step of taking back control of your health!  Here are some very easy to use recommendations to nourish your body so that it is cooperative with your fitness and health & wellness goals.

We go into a lot of specifics down below, but really, you should start with 1 main focus - Eat Whole Foods!  If you consume a lot of processed foods, start small with only having processed foods 2x a day for 2 weeks, then 1x a day for 2 weeks, then completely eliminating them and seeing how you feel.  Also, when you eat matters - try to have 12 hours from when the last bite of food goes into your mouth at night until the first bite of food goes in the following morning.  Again, this is not “Complicated” but it will be “Challenging”

 
 
 

Get your Gut right

It would be irresponsible for us to talk to you about hydration & diet without first talking to you about digestion.  They are all undoubtedly linked, but the focus on digestion always has to be first (it’s similar to how you have to have the soil just right before you start thinking about which crops to plant)

Have a short watch or a longer listen to Dr. Michael Ruscio chat about optimum gut health BEFORE you start to make changes in your diet. To take action here is step 1 of his Great-in-8 protocol.  First do a Modified Fast for 2-4 days then move on to a Paleo-like diet for 2-3 weeks.  If you feel better, proceed to this Paleo Low FODMAP diet for 2-3 weeks, but if you felt no change after the Paleo-like diet, try the Standard Low FODMAP diet for 2-3 weeks.

Don’t forget that gut issues don’t always present as bloating, bowel issues, reflux, etc. They can range anywhere from anxiety and depression to fatigue, joint problems, thyroid problems, and very commonly skin issues. If you have recently switched to a more “healthy” diet and are having more trouble, be sure to listen to his advice on high FODMAP foods.

To learn even more, check out this podcast with Chris Kresser, another authority in the field and also Dr. Jason Fung talking about obesity through the lens of hormones vs calories.

 

From the woman who wrote the book on hydration …

Taking the walk to the water cooler is a start to being better hydrated, but that’s not where it ends.  Everyone thinks about water as H2O and 8 cups a day, but there is growing focus on what is called “Gel Water” which is theorized to have the cell composition of H3O2.  To picture the difference think about what’s inside when you break open an aloe plant.

To find out more - drink this info straight from the source with Dr. Dana Cohen as she explains how to use thirst as a guide, how to eat your hydration (hint - soaked chia seeds, cucumbers, lychee, cactus plants and even boring-ass iceberg lettuce are dense with gel water), and also how important hydration is to everyone. Remember - Hydration is not just important for muscles, tendons and fascia, but also the lymphatic system which connects to the gut!

Water quality is equally as important so check out our personal favorite Propur Systems here

 

The Longevity Diet

Now that you have sorted out your digestion and hydration above .. let’s talk about DIET. Want to live a long and healthy life? Who doesn’t! Valter Longo is the head of USC’s longevity center and they set out to answer just that question. What they came back with is to eat mostly vegan, plus a little fish, limiting meals with fish to a maximum of two or three per week. There are other rules regarding protein & age, and which types of those foods to choose so click on the image to learn more.