Chronic lifestyle disease is a broad term that covers a number of preventable diseases/conditions including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease, arthritis, eczema, back pain, osteoporosis, kidney disease and several cancers.
Sadly 3 in 5 (60%) Australians over 65 years of age have more than 1 of the above conditions and 9 out of every 10 deaths is associated with them.
Being overweight, consuming a poor diet, drinking too much alcohol, smoking, and lack of movement or exercise all increase your risk factors for developing chronic disease.
Luckily with some simple lifestyle changes you can reduce your risk factors for chronic disease and even improve and reverse symptoms of many of the above diseases. The following are some simple things you can implement yourself to reduce your risk of chronic disease.
DIET – follow a Mediterranean style diet. One of the most heavily researched diets, the Mediterranean diet includes :
* An abundance of plant foods including fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, and legumes
* Olive oil as the primary source of fat
* Cheese and yoghurt consumed daily in small amounts
* Fish and poultry, consumed a few times a week
* Red meat, consumed infrequently in small amounts
* Fresh fruit consumed for dessert with sweet foods containing sugars and honey eaten only a few times per week.
WATER – Ensure your drinking 2-3 litres of good quality water daily. Important for detoxification, digestion and the general function of the body and all its organ systems.
EXERCISE – Lack of physical exercise is associated with decreased insulin sensitivity and increased abdominal fat. Regular physical activity mends insulin function and glucose. Aerobic exercise has been found to lowers blood pressure and improves blood pressure control.
LOSE WEIGHT – a modest weight loss of between 3–9% is associated with a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure of roughly 3 mm Hg in overweight people.
What if you already have chronic disease and looking for additional support…
Metabolic Balance, a program founded in 2002 in Germany is a nutrition program that has been found to help release unhealthy excess weight, improve insulin sensitivity, improve cholesterol levels and reduce fatty liver. A metabolic balance plan is developed based on 36 different blood values revealing how much nutrition you need and then determines the foods that provide the greatest health benefits to you. Metabolic Balance is the ultimate in personalised nutrition. Free discovery calls with Kerryn are available to learn more and see if the program is suitable for you.
References
Golbidi S, Mesdaghinia A,and Laher I (2012). Exercise in Metabolic Syndrome “Oxid Med Cell Longev”. 2012 Jul 5. Exercise in the Metabolic Syndrome – PMC (nih.gov)
Meffert C, Gerdes N, (2010). Progra Adherence and Effectiveness of a Commerical Nutrition Program: The Metabolic Balance Study. “Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism” Program Adherence and Effectiveness of a Commercial Nutrition Program: The Metabolic Balance Study (hindawi.com)
