Setting SMART goals

Happy New Year! Check out my latest Instagram video about setting goals.

Setting goals is important. Personally, I think using the new year as a time to reflect and plan for the year to come is a great idea. The new year is symbolically a very powerful time as it represents a natural new beginning.

But whether you are setting them at New Year’s or any other time, remember the acronym, SMART.

S. Goals need to be specific. They have to be clearly defined. It’s not enough to say “I’m going to get more exercise in 2023.” You need to be specific about what that means. Try instead “I am going to get 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week” (which happens to be what the CDC recommends for adults.)

M. Goals need to be measurable. Have an objective way to track your goal. Instead of saying “I’m going to drink more water in 2023,” instead quantify what exactly you mean. "I am going to drink 80-100 oz of water each day” is usually a good place to start for most adults.

A. Goals must be attainable. Choose a goal that is realistic for your situation. Some people run marathons, I am not one of those people. An attainable goal needs to be doable given my situation, schedule, resources and physical abilities. For example, “I will go for a 20-minute walk at least 4 days per week.”

R. Goals should be relevant to the larger goal you are working towards. If you are focused on improving your health, managing your weight and getting better sleep then make goals that help you achieve those broader objectives. Making a goal about saving $100 each month is not relevant to your larger aim in getting healthier.

T. Goals must be time-bound. Goals should have an endpoint to assess if you have succeeded. This can also help break up a large goal into smaller ones. If you have saving for a big trip, instead of saying “I will save $8,000”, instead say “I will save $1000 this month.” Or even, “I will put $250 into my savings account this week.” The second benefit of having a time component is that it allows you to assess your progress and adjust your goal as you go along. So if I set a health and fitness goal for the whole year, I may get discouraged or distracted. Start with a portion of the year. “I will go to the gym 3 days per week for the next 2 months.” At the end of that time, you can assess if you succeeded or not and adjust your goal accordingly. This also allows your goal to vary with different seasons and circumstances. I can say personally it’s much easier to get outside and walk in the summer than doing it in the winter. So my fitness goals may vary depending on the season.

Are you setting any goals for 2023? Share below!

I’m here to help you meet your health goals in 2023! I offer free 15-minute consultation calls to answer your questions about natural medicine, my background and how I help patients achieve great health!

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Vitamin D

The winter months have arrived and I do a lot of patient education regarding Vitamin D. Here are some highlights:

• Checking your vitamin D levels every year is crucial to supporting overall health and wellness. 

• Unfortunately many providers fail to order this test and patients are left wondering what their levels are. 

• We make vitamin D in our skin from sunlight exposure but this depends on many factors - our skin tone, the time of day and the season. In northern latitudes even if you go outside naked on a sunny day in the winter, it is thought that the sun is too low in the sky and its rays are too weak to produce sufficient vitamin D in your skin.

• Going into the winter months is a perfect time to test vitamin D so that we can determine if supplementation is necessary and how much  to take. 

• Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that affects many different systems in the body - the immune system, gut health, bone health as well as mood. Low levels of vitamin D are linked to more severe Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). 

• Many patients are unaware that there is an "optimal level" of vitamin D and even if your numbers are considered "normal," they may not be "optimal."

• Vitamin D is a fat-soluble nutrient which means it needs to be taken with food for optimal absorption. 

• Make sure you are taking the active form of vitamin D which is D3. The inactive form, D2, requires conversion to D3 before the body can use it.

• Blood testing for vitamin D is the only way to know for sure if you are deficient or not.

• Vitamin D does not require fasting before the blood draw but you should not take a vitamin D supplement before you get your blood drawn.

• Vitamin D dosage should be based on your blood work, where you live and how much time you spend outdoors. Make sure you always get an individualized recommendation that takes into account these factors. 

• Vitamin D is found in food but not in a lot of them and not in high amounts. Vitamin D is found in fortified milk and juice, mushrooms, swordfish, salmon, cod liver oil, beef liver and egg yolks.

The Imitation Meat Movement

Here is a new article at She Is You where I wade into the controversy regarding meat vs. imitation meat products.

Basically, like all things, the proof is in the pudding. There are plenty of ways to make healthy meat alternatives and plenty of unhealthy Franken-meats. Some animal products are beneficial for health and some are detrimental. Sorry to disappoint anyone looking for an extreme argument here but health usually lives in the details.

I am an unashamed carnivore but I understand that not everyone needs or wants to eat meat. My issue is when either side tries to demonize the other. You can be a vegan and still be healthy but there are unique things you need to be aware of with this dietary approach. The same goes for vegetarians and omnivores - folks who eat a varied diet (which most of us are).

“You are what you eat.” Yes, very much so. But you are also whatever you are eating has eaten. I know, it’s a mouthful. If the burger you are consuming was fed grass, as cows are evolutionarily designed to eat, it will be higher quality meat than a cow fed grains. Just like with humans, grains tend to be more inflammatory, greens tend to be anti-inflammatory. So, chickens, pigs, turkey, bison, beef, venison, seafood, etc. that is eating the diet they are designed to consume and living in favorable conditions are better than animals that are eating junk or living in terrible conditions. Even some farm-raised fish are fed grains and this is not what they were meant to eat.

The same principle applies to imitation meats. Some of these Franken-meats contain upwards of 15-18 ingredients! We have all heard that eating food with fewer ingredients tends to mean less industrial processing of our food, which is a good thing. This is very different from a home-made black bean patty that might be made only with oil, egg, beans, breadcrumbs and spices. 5 ingredients, much better. As with so much in health, there are healthy versions, in-between options and downright junk food.

My final point about comparing meat and non-meat options is the nutritional comparison is often not perfect. Meat is the absolute best source for iron, B12 and cholesterol and also a great source of folate and protein. Vegans in particular have to be very conscientious about consuming enough cholesterol, iron, and B12 because non-meat sources of these ingredients are much rarer and the form of iron in plants is not as readily useable by the body compared to the form found in animals.

So if you love the occasional Beyond or Impossible Burger, it’s probably not going to derail your health journey. But just swapping a Whopper for an Impossible Whopper does not necessarily make you healthier. Always consider the health of the food you are consuming as well as the level of processing, read ingredient labels and strive to be an informed consumer.

THE LONG TERM EFFECTS OF HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP ON YOUR LIVER

New She is You article dropped on June 10th!

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a cheap sweetener that has serious ramifications for our health. It contains a higher amount of fructose than occurs naturally in foods. This influx of fructose taxes the liver as it is the only tissue that can process fructose. This can lead to fatty liver, obesity, heart disease, diabetes and metabolic dysfunction according to the National Institutes of Health.

A previous article of mine reported that Americans consume too much sugar. This article discusses that we also consume too much HFCS. According to the Illinois Farm Bureau: “In 2009, the average American consumed about 35.7 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup.”

Fatty liver is a serious disease whose major causes are alcohol consumption and consuming excess sugars. An article from Harvard Health discusses that early fatty liver can be reversed with lifestyle changes but if left to progress, can result in scarring (cirrhosis) of the liver.

If you want to see the specific biochemical process that occurs in the liver when you consume HFCS, check it out here. But the takeaway remains - avoiding HFCS is a great decision for your health!

Determinants of Health #13 Inborn factors

We have come to the end of our series investigating the naturopathic determinants of health. Ironically, this brings us all the way to the beginning of life. Each of us is born into a unique environment with an individual genetic code, which is modified by epigenetic factors. If that sounds like gibberish, let me clarify. We inherit genes from our parents but just because you have a particular gene does not mean it is “activated.” There are ways to turn on and off genes to determine which of them are expressed. This is the new field of epigenetics.

Beyond the genes, or hardware, there are many factors that we consider “inborn.” Birth order is one of them (first, last, in the middle), maternal health plays a role in baby health, genetic factors and the circumstances during your birth. Was it an uncomplicated birth, vaginal or C-section, simple or traumatic? How old was your mother when you were born? How many siblings do you have? All of these factors can impact your health.

For a deeper level of this concept, consider this: You as an egg existed in your mother when she was a baby in her mother’s womb! All of a woman’s eggs develop during gestation, which means the egg that would become you was also influenced by the health of your maternal grandmother during her pregnancy with your mother. This always blows my mind as it demonstrates an inter-generational model of health.

None of this is meant to be fatalistic – suggesting that you are doomed by your genetics. Rather these are just several more factors that play a role in determining the big picture that is you. Knowledge is power and the more we know, the better we can provide you a path toward excellent health.

Naturopathic doctors take a comprehensive look at your health. We ask about the many factors that influence health, which we term “The determinants of health.” Taking a patient-centered approach lets us build a comprehensive plan to help patients achieve their health goals.

Are you looking for a new kind of partnership with your primary care provider? If you are ready to start or revitalize your health journey, you are in the right spot! Check out my bio to get in touch. I offer free 15-minute consultation calls to answer your initial questions. Convenient telehealth appointments are available from the comfort of your own home.

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Naturopathic principles #4 Treat the whole person

I keep saying I treat the whole person but what does that even mean? That I look at your head and your toes? Not quite. More like I take into consideration the various facets of your life, your health, your reality.

 Naturopathic medicine looks at the whole picture and does not reduce patients to their particular symptoms. This includes mental, emotional, physical, genetic, environmental, social, spiritual and other factors. Stay tuned next week where I will post a series that lays out the various “determinants of health” that guide the naturopathic approach. Because we treat the whole person, we claim the mantle of “holistic” practitioners.

This is one reason why my intake is longer than what you might be used to from a conventional medical doctor. I will ask about your diet, sleep, exercise, mental-emotional state, self-care, supportive relationships, occupation, etc. We will dive into your family medical history as well as your own medical history. Working together to understand you as a complete person gives us a foundation to create a comprehensive treatment plan. 

Most of my patients find me because they are looking for a more patient-centered approach that does not reduce them to a runny nose or sprained ankle. You have probably heard the old joke about “The heart attack in room 5.” You are not your symptoms, you are an individual and deserve to be treated as such.

Does this principle resonate with your own health beliefs? Are you looking for a new kind of partnership with your primary care provider? If you are ready to start or revitalize your health journey, you are in the right spot! Check out my bio to get in touch. I offer free 15-minute consultation calls to answer your initial questions. Convenient telehealth appointments are available from the comfort of your own home.

#naturalmedicine #naturopathicmedicine #naturopathicdoctor #healing #drjesskeating #willowcnm #herbalmedicine #willowclinic #telehealth #holisticmedicine #healthjourney #foodismedicine #healthylife #health #chiropractic #acupuncture #treatthewholeperson

What is chiropractic?

You may be wondering – what does a chiropractor do? Chiropractic doctors are trained to look at the whole person to come up with a comprehensive treatment plan. We aim to prevent and treat disease using natural approaches like spinal adjusting, myofascial release (muscle work), dietary counseling, botanical medicine and high quality supplements. Chiropractors help you re-establish your healthy foundations by partnering with you on your health journey. We do not use drugs or surgery so we are a great choice for anyone who wants an alternative approach to their health concerns.

There is a wide variety of treatment options available to chiropractors depending on what sort of approach they focus on and any additional certifications they hold. Some chiropractors can practice acupuncture (like me!), some treatment pregnant women and children, some utilize a lot of rehab techniques for healing after an injury, some prefer to focus on spinal manipulation while others give more dietary and supplement recommendations. Don’t be surprised if you see a new chiropractic doctor and they have a different approach from what you are used to. It is important to communicate with your doctors what you expect and what you have experienced in the past.

If you are ready to start or revitalize your health journey, you are in the right spot! Check out my website to get in touch. I offer 15-minute complimentary consultation calls to answer your initial questions. Telehealth appointments are available at your convenience from the comfort of your own home.

#naturalmedicine #naturopathicmedicine #naturopathicdoctor #healing #botanicalmedicine #drjesskeating #willowcnm #herbalmedicine #willowclinic #functionalmedicine #telehealth #holisticmedicine #healthjourney #chiropractor #chiropractic #chiropracticmedicine #chiro #foodismedicine