I was listening to a podcast about changing your habits and someone, sorry I can’t remember who, said,
“Bad habits take from your future, good habits take from the present moment.”
Brilliant.
We aren’t great at ignoring the immediate rewards of a bad habit, so we often borrow from our future. Our good habits don’t often come with an immediate reward. This can feel like we are sacrificing what feels good now.
Bad habits.
The funny thing about bad habits is that we know they are bad. That doesn’t mean we really want to change them.
Stopping a bad habit follows three steps to be successful. Recognizing your cues, changing the behaviour, rewarding the desired action. Sounds so simple, but it does take time and effort.
Why?
Before you start changing you really need to have a compelling reason. “Because my doctor told me” might be a good start, but it is not enough. If you don’t have a reason that matters to you, you won’t stick with it.
Even if it is life-altering. Like not taking your medications.
The American Heart Association estimates that not taking prescribed medications correctly, costs 125,000 Americans their lives and the health care system around $300 billion USD.
That is an expensive habit.
3 new reasons to change your diet.
New research has added to the evidence that our gut bacteria is critical to our health. Research published this week by the American Heart Association adds to the evidence that people can reduce blood vessel damage. Damage that is normally associated with aging can be improved with diet.
What happens in the gut after eating a meal of meat or eggs changes blood vessels.
After eating meat or eggs gut bacteria begins to break it down. This breakdown produces trimethylamine. The liver converts trimethylamine into trimethylamine-N-Oxide or TMAO and sends it into your bloodstream.
People with high levels of TMAO are twice as likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or die earlier.
What does TMAO do?
TMAO changes your arterial function by increasing oxidative stress and damage to the lining of your blood vessels. The endothelial cells line all of your blood vessels and lymphatic system. Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr, former Cleveland Clinic cardiologist and author of “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” calls endothelial cells,
“absolute life jackets of our blood vessels.”
Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn Jr.
Eating a lot of foods that produce TMAO ages blood vessels and this research also suggests that it impairs memory and learning too.
Dietary Habits
The occasional indulgence isn’t going to do much long term damage, but new research from Harvard School of Public Health shows that regular eating patterns make a big difference when it comes to longevity.
Every 2 years researchers asked over 230,000 adults about their regular eating habits. What they found was not surprising. The participants regardless of sex, race or age who had the best eating habits had a 20% reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
What were the best dietary habits?
Eating high quantities of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts, and low or no, red and processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages. These habits resulted in the lowest risk of heart disease or stroke.
Another healthy eating habit?
Eating early.
While many people eat a late dinner, this can increase blood sugar levels and reduce the amount of fat a person will burn later.
Johns Hopkins University researcher Chenjuan Gu, M.D., Ph.D. says,
“On average, the peak glucose level after late dinner was about 18 percent higher, and the amount of fat burned overnight decreased by about 10 percent compared to eating an earlier dinner. The effects we have seen in healthy volunteers might be more pronounced in people with obesity or diabetes, who already have a compromised metabolism,”
Dr. Ghenjuan Gu
A healthier future
Practicing these three eating habits can boost your future health.
Reducing or eliminating animal protein.
Increasing the amount of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts.
Eating your biggest meal earlier in the day.
Healthy eating habits can change your health, now and in the future.
Change your habits, change your health,
Shayla
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