we are what we eat

is developing a chronic health condition later in life inevitable?

Hello Noosers! Happy November. How was Halloween? We had a great night, filled with lots of treats, not too many tricks, and the only tears came from the local Fire House haunted house. Perhaps some of you are already sipping coffee thanks to daylight savings. What a treat to have an extra hour, but for those who have young kids, it may feel more like a curse — our kids were up at 5am Sunday! With a little extra light in the morning, perhaps you’re more motivated to move your body first thing…Take note how much the daylight affects your habits and moods. Today we explore the impact of our food choices on our health later in life, reflect on movement as a gift rather than a chore, and map out S-R-O — a tool to interrupt unwanted habits. Enjoy today’s Noosletter, and as always, stay curious! 

Just a quick note, in case you missed it on instagram. We have been working with clients behind the scenes, and want to open up to subscribers. Respond to this Noosletter, email us (noosworthy@gmail.com), or DM us, if interested in joining the waitlist! Investing in yourself and your health will never go out of style ❤️

Nutrition

“Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es."

For all of you out there that don’t speak French, this translates to “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are," written by French lawyer and politician, Anthelme Brillat-Savarin in 1826. The basic idea behind this common cliche, “you are what you eat,” is simple, but profound: the food we consume directly affects our body's composition, health, and wellbeing. When our diet is largely composed of nutritious foods, we build and maintain a healthy body. On the flip side, a diet that is less optimal and less nutritious can negatively impact our health. 

Over the past few years, I’ve been lucky to see patients of all ages. The ones in the “back stretch” offer a common sentiment, “I wish I had known some of this sooner.” When I hear my older patients say this, it makes me think about present bias: the tendency to favor instantly gratifying temptations over more impactful long term rewards. 

Why is it so challenging to make a food choice that will help us feel good in the long run, instead of a more satisfying one right now? Well, if you’ve been reading our Noosletters, you know that our food choices are based on an array of things. The health conditions I treat often result from years of accumulated dietary choices. While symptoms may first appear in a patient's 20s, they typically worsen over time when their diet consists mainly of foods that harm rather than nourish. When my patients and I discuss their health history, the connection becomes clear. While it's easy to see how years of poor eating has led to their current health challenges, making healthy choices along the way proves much more difficult. If we can be more mindful of our choices in the present, knowing they will positively impact our future, won’t the payoff be worth it?

A staggering 80% of us will have a chronic health condition by the time we're 65. The number of people aged 60-79 living with chronic health conditions is expected to grow significantly. Furthermore, the amount of 80 and above, managing multiple conditions, is predicted to increase by more than twofold between 2020 and 2050. And what about all you middle aged females out there (us included!) — perimenopause may be knocking on our door. Good nutrition and an active lifestyle remain the cornerstone of a healthy menopause — more on this to come! It’s important to step back and take a look at how impactful our current decisions around nutrition and exercise are when it comes to our future.

The encouraging truth is that decades of poor health aren’t inevitable. Even better, we can still take steps to prevent it, no matter what age. Of course, our health and longevity are determined by much more than just diet: genetics, exercise, stress, socialization, finding purpose and connection in life are all contributors, but our diet is a very large lever that greatly impacts the prevention or development of many chronic diseases.

Take stock of your intake over the next week. I always ask my patients to do this at the beginning of working together — I guess in a way it comes back to tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are…a lot can be uncovered by reflecting on our intake. Think back to our plant challenge. Reflect on what types of foods generally make up your intake. Is it primarily whole foods? Is it composed of mostly refined carbohydrates? Are you hitting 30 plants a week? What’s your fiber intake like? 

Developing awareness around the foods we are eating, at any age, empowers us to make choices that serve our health. Next week we’ll explore a nutrient most of us are lacking.

Movement

We have been writing about motivating to workout lately because this can be a hard time of year to get outside and moving (just wait, peeps in the northeast, it will get worse 🥶)! One reframe I like to use when it comes to motivating myself to exercise is showing gratitude for my body and its ability to move. If you’ve ever dealt with chronic pain, a nagging injury, or long term illness, you know how it feels to be “out of the game.” It’s the WORST when you’re sick or injured and unable to move the way you want. You think, “if only I could get out and enjoy this beautiful day” or “I’m so bummed I can’t do X,Y or Z.”  

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had injuries and illnesses that set have me back. Many have!  When you can’t do what you want with your body, it’s not a fun phase to endure.  My knee surgeries have left me fumbling with a brace for weeks (months?), dealing with irritating stitches, swelling and pain, not to mention other injuries as I tried to return to my favorite activities!  However, I am starting to feel more like my healthy self since my last surgery in July. I am pain and swelling free (for now — I’ll take it!).

What I try to do when I am healthy is appreciate being pain-free.  Showing my gratitude for my healthy body helps me enjoy my workouts and be present with them, whether they are hard or easy, rough or enjoyable. I recognize that pain-free movement is a privilege. When my body is cooperating, I am thrilled, and I want to move it!

I have started to slowly get back into running the last few weeks, and it might sound psychotic, but if you saw me on the bike path during my 30 minute jog the other day, you would have seen me smiling ear to ear. Yes, I was panting (it’s hard getting back into shape!), yes, I was thinking about my form, about my knee, about my cadence, and listening for any whisper of pain or discomfort that would signal me to stop (my physical therapist reads this, so I am being extra careful, lol). 

But I was also very present.

I was listening to my music, looking at the changing leaves, feeling the sun on my face, feeling my heart beat and enjoying the freedom of moving a healthy body. I know that some may read this and not be in the same state. You may be sick, or injured or otherwise immobile. I’ve been there, in some way. It’s lousy, and it’s a season, and cannot last forever in that exact way. There are so many ways to move our bodies other than running (that’s just my favorite).

Find a way to move that feels good, and thank your body. Reframing with a lens of gratitude may be just the way to enjoy your next workout. Remember, you don’t have to move, you get to move.

Behavior

Last week we explored habit mapping and gave some visuals to support our theory at Noos, that if you elevate your awareness, you will elevate your health (and not eat stale popcorn). Awareness is a key factor when trying to reduce unwanted habits. As we wrote, habits can be like putting your car in cruise control — helpful when you are going in the right direction, but detrimental if they are steering you off course.

Today, we are going to take it a step further with some examples of how to become more aware and disrupt unwanted behavior loops. We’ve referenced Michael Easter (author of the two percent substack and one of our fave books, Comfort Crisis) in previous Noosletters and are highlighting him again — he writes good stuff!

Easter was struggling to lose a couple of unwanted pounds and couldn’t figure out why it was so tricky (he’s a very healthy, active guy!). He turned to Dr. Trevor Kashey, a friend and nutrition expert who introduced him to S-R-O (we aren’t talking about Standing Room Only), a way to become aware of unwanted behaviors by identifying three things: S=situation, R= response, O= outcome. Easter was visiting the pantry and loading up on peanut M&M’s (among other treats), and couldn’t stop or figure out why, but knew it was contributing to his inability to lose weight.

By drawing awareness to his actions, Easter realized he was visiting the pantry to snack when he was stressed or procrastinating from work (situation/trigger). He was eating the M&M’s to enjoy and to distract him (response). When he realized that the outcome was contributing to his inability to lose weight and it didn’t actually help him relieve stress, he became aware of the trigger and could interrupt his unwanted behavior loop.

drkashey

A post shared by @drkashey

Give it a try! Write down the unwanted behavior and play it out using S-R-O. By identifying these three key points, are you more likely to change your behavior? How about thinking about the behavior loop before it happens when you’re in the situation — does the behavior offer the outcome you want? Simply reflecting on the outcome can help you make more conscious choices in the future!

Until next time…