Healthy eating and nutrition is a very important and popular topic here at Lifetime Wellness Center. One of the key aspects of great health is giving your body the best nutrition possible. We have some great tips for you on creating and maintaining a healthy, well-balanced diet.

Flip the Food Pyramid

The traditional food pyramid you’d probably recognize from your school days looks quite different from the one we recommend now. The traditional one features 6-11 servings of grains and only 3-5 servings of vegetables. We’re going to flip it!

Veggies and Healthy Fats 

This should be the largest portion of your diet! Concentrate on raw, organic vegetables and healthy fats such as coconuts, avocados, olive oil, butter and raw nuts.

Lean Proteins

The second-largest portion of your meals is grass-fed, organic meat and poultry. This can also include organic eggs, low mercury fish like freshwater Coho salmon and wild-caught Alaskan salmon, and finally, raw, organic dairy.

Fruits

While fruit can be a healthy choice, too much can actually be bad for you because of the sugar content. Eat fruit in moderation and enjoy fruits like raspberries, blackberries, strawberries citrus fruits and papaya.

Grains and Sugar

We recommend minimal to no consumption of grains and sugars. These include complex carbohydrates such as bread, cereal, pasta, potatoes, corn, rice and grain products.

How to Make Healthy Choices at the Store and at Home

It’s important to set yourself up for success—try these tips at the grocery store and at home to help support your healthy eating goals.

Healthy Choices at the Grocery Store

• Create a meal plan for the week, including lunches and dinners
• Write a detailed shopping list based on your meal plan
• Shop the perimeter. Most of the unhealthy foods at the store are found in the center aisles! If you stick the perimeter, you’re likely just going to find produce, bulk foods, meats and some dairy
• Start in the produce section
• Buy as many items without a label and without a container (cans, plastic tubs, etc.) as possible
• Look for items with five ingredients or less

Healthy Choices at Home

• Store veggies on fridge shelves, instead of bins. Yes, the bins are meant to keep fruits and veggies crisp, but it doesn’t matter if you forget about them each week and end up throwing it all out, right?! Try this useful tip and see if you and your family start eating more vegetables
• Pre-cut veggies and fruits for ease; use these for quick and easy salad prep and simple snacks like hummus and peppers
• Freeze about-to-spoil fruits and veggies for smoothies
• If you have any questions, feel free to ask for tips from Dr. Bekic as he will be very willing to help!

Call our office today at (519) 250-6288 for more information and to set up your appointment! Don’t forget to like and share this post with your family and friends.

As modern technology continues to evolve, it seems that people are sitting more and more. With smart phones and tablets such a big part of everyday life, many of the activities that used to be physical are now played out without having to move much at all. It’s not uncommon for someone to get out of bed, sit in a car on the way to work, sit all day at a desk, sit in the car on the way home, and then sit all evening watching television or playing with their smart phone. Many patient visit us at Lifetime Wellness Center to deal with back pain and related back issues, and too much sitting is one of the main culprits.

The Trouble with Sitting

Many people will look at the previous paragraph and say they have no choice but to commute to work and sit at a desk. This may be true, but excessive sitting is rough on your back and it’s also bad for your overall health. Even if your chair feels comfortable and has been deemed “ergonomically sound”, it is still a bad idea to maintain a prolonged static posture.

Even the most advanced office chairs can’t reverse the force of gravity. Aside from back pain, prolonged sitting will flatten out your butt and tighten up your hips and hamstrings, leaving you prone to injury when you exercise.  Sitting too much also promotes more serious health concerns such as increased risk of blood clots, increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and weight gain. Research has shown that these health risks aren’t improved with one workout per day if you sit for too long. You have to take matters into your own hands and start moving more.

What to Do If You Have a Sedentary Job

The reason sitting too much is dangerous for your spine is because when you sit, you’re putting almost twice the stress on your spine as you would if you were standing. If you’re the type to hunch forward slightly in your chair, the problem gets even worse. When you have your shoulders forward your back makes “C” shape removing the natural curve at the bottom of the spine.
If you are among the many thousands with sedentary jobs, you can make a few tweaks to your routine to protect your back and ward off the more serious ailments associated with too much sitting. First, try your best not to slouch forward. Sit up straight with your shoulders back and maintain your natural arch in the low back.

Next, make yourself get up and out of your chair at least once every 30 minutes. Take a walk around the office, do some light stretches or just stand, but make sure you get up. The key is to take short movement breaks everyday so your muscles, tendons, and ligaments stay loose and flexible. If you have a sore back from too much sitting, a visit to your Windsor chiropractor, Dr. Jonathan Bekic will help get things back in balance and remove your pain.

Call our office today at (519) 250-6288 for more information and to set up your appointment! Don’t forget to like and share this post with your family and friends.