Making Changes: Less Is More

We all want to improve our health, and it sometimes seems like it's such a big mountain to climb in order to get where we want to go. It appears as though drastic measures are necessary to get the results we seek. But what if it were possible to get those results with small and simple changes?

Actually, it turns out that small and simple changes - made consistently - are the best ones to make. Not only are we more likely to do them, they're also more effective. Understanding how our bodies make changes at the cellular level can help us to make little changes that will do a lot to improve our health.

The Cellular Level: Absorption & Utilization of Nutrients

Whenever we eat food or swallow pills, we rely on our digestive organs to extract the nutrients that we need and make them available to us. Our digestive organs, just like every organ and tissue, are made up of millions of cells that all work together to accomplish their task. As our lunch passes through our digestive organs, we are depending upon those millions of cells to be able to absorb the nutrients as they pass by. However, even when our digestion is at its best, we don't absorb all of the nutrients we consume. Our cells can only absorb so much; consuming more doesn't necessarily mean we absorb more.

Once our digestive cells have extracted nutrients from our lunch, they pass them into the bloodstream where they can be circulated to other cells in the body. As the blood travels around the body full of nutrients, other cells absorb as much as they can. Just as the digestive cells can only extract so many nutrients, so are the other cells limited in terms of how many nutrients they can absorb at any given time.

An example of this can be seen in a study of Vitamin C the National Institute of Health conducted in 1990's. At the time there was insufficient data to support the daily recommended allowance (RDA), so they measured the absorption of Vitamin C into the blood as well as Vitamin C saturation of white blood cells (immune cells). They found that taking more than 200 mg/day did not significantly increase the amount of Vitamin C in the blood, but did result in increased excretion of Vitamin C. Perhaps even more interesting was that the white blood cells became saturated at only 100 mg/day. While white blood cells are not the only cells in the body that need Vitamin C to function properly, they do help to demonstrate that what we consume does not necessarily equal what we can absorb and what we can utilize. 1

The Cellular Level: The Lifespan of the Cell

We are made of approximately 10 trillion cells, and each day, approximately 50 million cells are dying and 50 million cells are being created or born. Some cells, such as skin cells, live for only about 8 hours. Other cells, such as your digestive system cells, live for about 3 days. There are cells, such as nerve cells, that have a much longer life cycle, perhaps as long as we are alive.

In order to make sure that all of our cells are getting the nutrients they need to work properly, we need to eat the foods that contain the nutrients they need. And we need to make sure we eat enough of those foods regularly. If a cell only lives 8 hours, and we only eat broccoli once a week, several million skin cells may never get the benefit of the anti-cancerous compounds in broccoli. Just as women need to eat well throughout pregnancy to ensure the health of their children, we need to eat well regularly in order support our health at the cellular level.

Practically, this means that you would get more out of taking certain nutritional supplements by dividing them into smaller doses throughout the day rather than taking them all at once. Eating small amounts of vegetables each day or with each meal is more effective than eating a large amount of vegetables all in one meal once or twice per week. By the same principle, you can get the nutritional benefit of wine - without harming your liver - by drinking one glass of wine with dinner rather than the whole bottle. )

Disease Statistics: Proof That Less Is More

There are now many studies that demonstrate the power of nutritious foods and regular exercise to reverse or prevent disease. Below are some examples of small dietary and lifestyle changes that can make a big impact on several chronic diseases.

Cancer
Although cancer rates are declining, it is still projected that over a half million people will have died due to cancer in 2008. But dietary changes such as eating up to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day could reduce cancer deaths by 20-35%. 2,3,4

Diabetes
Diabetes is a rising epidemic affecting young and old alike. It is now projected that the number of people with blindness due to diabetes will triple by the year 2050, affecting 3.4 million people. Yet one report stated that by consuming less than one soday per day, you can reduce your risk of developing diabetes by 30% or more. 5,6

Obesity
Another epidemic on the rise is obesity. Approximately two-thirds of the US adult population is overweight. Over half of those, about one-third of the adult population, is obese. We know that diet plays a role in weight, and while there is much debate over what kind of food is best for maintaining healthy weight, there is no dispute that eating too much contributes to weight gain. However, research shows that eating more slowly is also associated with lower weight. 9

We also know that weight gain is mediated by exercise, but how much and what kind remains disputed. A fifteen-year study found that walking 1/2-hour per day decreased weight gain by up to one pound per year. 7,8 Furthermore, aerobic exercise, as well as a night of good sleep, help to keep down appetite. 10

Heart Disease
Heart disease has been one of the leading causes of death in US adults for decades. Recent statistics from the American Heart Association show that over one-third of all US adults have some form of cardiovascular disease. 11 Expensive and invasive treatments such as angioplasties and stents are neither preventing future heart attacks nor are they helping people live any longer. 12 However, research estimates that at least 90% of all heart disease could prevented with diet and lifestyle changes. 13

The Goal: Several Small Steps

There are several things we can do to improve our health, and the starting point depends on the individual. However, there are some universal guidelines or suggestions that we can all keep in mind as we work towards better health.

Take time to enjoy your food, and avoid overeating.
Digestion happens best when we are relaxed and enjoying our meal. Avoid eating if you are upset or in a hurry, and pay attention to your appetite as you eat. Take pleasure in the tastes and textures of your food as well as the satisfaction you feel from eating it.

Eat nutrient dense foods.
The best way to do this is to avoid highly process foods. When you shop at the grocery store, stick to the perimeter and shy away from the boxed and canned foods as much as possible. Spend most of your time in the produce, meat, and dairy departments, and feel free to eat an unlimited number of vegetables with plenty of butter. Use honey or other whole food sweeteners. Eat fish 1-2 times per week.

Eliminate excess starchy foods.
Starches such as breads, should be whole grain. Avoid cakes, cookies, muffins, etc. as much as possible. If you can, avoid refined flours in pasta and other noodles. Keep sugar-sweetened desserts and snacks to a minimum.

Begin exercising daily.
Start with an exercise that's appropriate for you. Perhaps walking a few minutes a day is the right start. Or consider a yoga or tai chi class. Gradually increase your level of activity, and use your breath as a guide when you are doing aerobic activity.

Schedule quiet time.
Consider meditation or prayers. Try to get some quiet leisure time each week and a few moments of quiet each day. Laugh as often as you can, and get support from friends and family when you need it.

Making the Change

The above suggestions, though simple, can still seem like a lot to implement in our hectic lives. Instead of trying to do all of them at once, use one or more of the suggestions below to approach the changes you want to make in a step-by-step process.

Make small, simple changes one at a time.
Every action - even the smallest one - makes a difference. Don't feel that the change you make has to be a big one. Sticking to a small change for a long time is more likely to produce results than making a big change once in a while. People who have been morbidly obese have reported that hundreds of pounds of weight loss began with simply choosing to get up to change the channel on the television screen rather than using the remote control.

Break bigger goals into smaller pieces.
Losing weight is perhaps the most common goal, and it's also one of the biggest. If you want to lose 20 pounds, start by first aiming for 5 pounds. Also, be specific about what actions you are going to take to accomplish this goal. This will give you more options to achieve your big goal, and you will have more opportunities to feel successful as you make progress.

Allow yourself to fall off the wagon.
This may seem counterproductive at first, and it certainly isn't helpful to fall off the wagon each day. However, if you give yourself some room to deviate from your plan, you won't feel as disappointed when it happens. If we expect ourselves to be perfect all the time, we are more likely to give up entirely. Instead, when you have the bag of potato chips for a snack, have a few extra vegetables for dinner and go back to your carrot sticks tomorrow.

Add something instead of abstaining.
Giving things up can often leave us with a sense of emptiness and desire. Instead of giving something up, add something that will improve your life. For example, instead of giving up soda, add to your day one cup of tea in the morning. The more things you add to your life that make you feel better, the easier the old habits that don't serve you will go away.

Set measurable goals.
Set a goal that you can measure. If you don't measure either your actions or your results, it's very hard to know how much progress you've made. For example, if you want to exercise more, determine what kind, how much, and how frequently. If you want to eat more vegetables, determine which ones, how many, and how often.

Don't try to overshoot your goal.
Let's say you set a goal of doing 25 sit-ups per day for four weeks beginning Monday. Even if you feel great after doing those 25, don't do any more. Save your enthusiasm for Tuesday and the rest of the week. At the end of four weeks, make a new goal based on your success with the first one.

Pick an activity that you enjoy.
We usually make changes based on what we "should" do, such as "I should run". Instead, pick something that inspires you and accomplishes the same goal. For example, take a dance class or join swim lessons.

Consider writing your goals down and keeping track of your progress.
Whether it's a food journal or an exercise log, knowing what you set out to do and comparing it to what you've actually done is perhaps the best way to keep your goals in perspective. We often quit things when we think we're not doing them well. But often times we're not doing them well because simply because we haven't applied ourselves, not because we're not able. When we track our efforts, we can see on paper whether or not we have done what we would say we would do, and we can put our feelings about our progress into perspective.

Get some support.
We are much more likely to stick to our goals when we're sharing them with someone else. You could choose to work with someone, such as a personal trainer or a health care professional. Or, you could just have a friend that you call regularly to discuss your progress. That alone may be enough to keep you on track and motivated. Getting support is especially important if your progress is plateauing. Make sure you get professional help if you're not sure if you're exercising properly, eating properly, etc.

Create a reward system to celebrate your success.
It works for children, and it can work for us too. Although we know our health is our greatest wealth, we need more than that knowledge to get motivated at times. Determine in advance what you want to do to celebrate when you reach your goal. Then, in moments when you're not motivated to stick to your plan, you'll have something to think about and look forward to. When you're feeling reluctant and uninspired, keep the big picture and your reward in mind.

Summary

Chronic disease such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are so prevalent today, and often associated with each other. Taking small steps regularly to improve your health will actually work to reduce your risk of several diseases all at once.

Small steps keep us nourished, replenished, and repaired at a cellular level. For a minimum effort we get a maximum benefit. They are easier to implement and maintain over the long run, and gradually become habits that we don't have to think about. We keep ourselves healthy at the cellular level when we get nourishment, exercise, and rest each day.

References

1. Levine, M, et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1996. Vitamin C pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers: evidence for a recommended dietary allowance. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=39676 (accessed January 10, 2009).

2. Dunham, Will. Cancer death rate down but 565,650 seen in 2008. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1926392720080220 (accessed January 10, 2009).

3. Keck, Anna-Sigrid, PhD and John W. Finley, PhD. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 2004. Cruciferous Vegetables: Cancer Protective Mechanisms of Glucosinolate Hydrolysis Products and Selenium http://ict.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/3/1/5 (accessed January 10, 2009).

4. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. October 2006. Fact Sheet: Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at HHS. http://www.hhs.gov/news/factsheet/diseaseprevention.html (accessed January 10, 2009).

5. Rabin, Roni Caryn. Diabetes Epidemic Signals an Increase in Blindness, Too. New York Times, December 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/health/research/10diabetes.html?em (accessed January 10, 2009).

6. Schulze, MB, et al. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2004. Sugar-sweetened beverages, weight gain, and incidence of type 2 diabetes in young and middle-aged women. (accessed January 10, 2009).

7. Maruyama, K, et al. British Medical Journal, 2008. The joint impact on being overweight of self reported behaviours of eating quickly and eating until full: cross sectional survey. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18940848?dopt=Abstract (accessed January 10, 2009).

8. National Center for Health Statistics. April 2006. Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adults: United States, 2003-2004 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/overweight/overwght_adult_03.htm (accessed January 10, 2009).

9. Gordon-Lawsen, Penny, et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2008. Fifteen-year longitudinal trends in walking patterns and their impact on weight change. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/89/1/19?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&author1=Gordon-Larsen&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=date&resourcetype=HWCIT (accessed January 10, 2009).

10. 10. Hagobian, TA, et al. American Journal of Physiology, 2008. Effects of exercise on energy regulating hormones and appetite in men and women. (accessed January 10, 2009).

11. American Heart Association. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics. 2008.

12. Boden, William E., M.D. New England Journal of Medicine, 2007. Optimal Medical Therapy with or without PCI for Stable Coronary Disease. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/NEJMoa070829 (accessed January 10, 2009).

13. Yusuf, S., et al. Lancet, 2004. Effect of potentially modifiable risk factors associated with myocardial infarction in 52 countries (the INTERHEART study): case-control study. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15364185 (accessed January 10, 2009).