Six Pillars of Healthy Living

Summary

A whole food, plant based diet
Regular physical activity
Restorative sleep
Stress management
Avoiding risky substances
Positive social connection

Throughout this website, and especially in the “Notes From Your Doctor” pages, you will notice that the six lifestyle habits above are mentioned A LOT! That’s because whether we are talking about promoting health & longevity, preventing disease, or even treating established conditions, recommendations will often go back to those same behaviours that make up the foundation of our health.

Poor lifestyle habits are major contributors to chronic diseases and responsible for 80% of health care visits, hospitalizations and health care costs worldwide. Lifestyle changes are listed as first line treatments for many chronic conditions like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease, even before any medication is prescribed. (Sources: 1-13)

1) A WHOLE FOOD PLANT BASED DIET

There is extensive evidence to support the use of a whole plant based diet to prevent (and even treat) diet related chronic diseases like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart, disease, diabetes, obesity, and even chronic mental health conditions. Eating predominantly plant based increases our intake of nutrient dense, antioxidant rich and fibre filled foods, while decreasing exposure to unhealthy fats, chemicals, additives and other toxins. Improving our diet, specifically moving away from highly processed foods and animal products often yield the greatest benefit for health. (Sources: 15-32)

To learn more, please see “Notes From Your Doctor: NUTRITION”

2) REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

There is broad evidence supporting the benefits of physical activity for overall health and well being. Most of us know that we feel better after exercise, but did you know that regular physical activity can also improve eating habits, sleep quality and help us manage stress? Did you know that active people are also less likely to have chronic medical conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes and heat disease? Exercise can even treat some of these conditions and in some cases even decrease your need for medication! (Sources: 33-40)

To learn more, please see “Notes From Your Doctor: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY”

3) Sleep

Most adults need 6-8 hours of sleep per night. (Infants and growing children/teenagers need more for optimal growth and development). Restorative sleep has been shown to help us make better food choices, have more energy to exercise and deal with life stressors in a healthy way. Sleeping well has even been associated with objective markers like better blood sugar control, lower blood pressure, improved pain tolerance and decreased weight gain. (Sources: 41-50)

To learn more, please see “Notes From Your Doctor: SLEEP”

4) Stress

Stress is a part of every day life for all of us. Stress can actually lead to improved health and productivity OR it can lead to anxiety, depression, obesity, heart disease, immune dysfunction and more.

It is important that we recognize when we are not dealing with stress in a healthy way. Chronic negative stress responses are what cause negative health outcomes. Finding ways to relieve stress and developing coping strategies are essential. Cognitive behavioural and other body therapies have been shown to improve immune function, cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, anxiety, and depression. Just like sleep, maladaptive stress responses also affect other lifestyle areas. (51-60)

To learn more, please see “Notes From Your Doctor: STRESS”

5) Avoiding Risky Substances

The risk of chronic diseases like chronic pain, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, asthma, and arthritis is DOUBLED in people with addiction or veruse of risky substances. Decreasing consumption can improve many of these chronic conditions. (Sources: 61-63)

To learn more, please see “Notes From Your Doctor: RISKY SUBSTANCES”

6) Social Connection

Social isolation and loneliness are associated with increased mortality and worse outcomes for most health conditions, especially for those who have lifestyle related chronic illness. Meaningful social interactions that decrease loneliness cannot only improve our sense of well-being, but can also help treat some chronic diseases. (64-70)

To learn more, please see “Notes From Your Doctor: SOCIAL CONNECTION”

So now that we know what the foundation to good health and longevity are, what does it mean? How important is it?

Skipping a meal, eating fast food or binging on cookies one day may not change our weight or how we feel. So we do it again. And again. YOLO, right?

If we don’t exercise for a few days, we probably won’t notice a change in our fitness level. So maybe we skip more workouts, or stop altogether. For a while, we don’t feel worse, do we?

Having a poor nights sleep may make us tired the next day, but we assume “it is what it is”, and we keep going.

We have a lot of stress, but don’t have the knowledge (or the time) to address it. “Besides, everyone has stress”, so we just keep going.

Having a drink or smoking makes us feel better, “and it doesn’t hurt anything”, so we have another.

If we don’t see our family or friends today, we’ll catch up with them “tomorrow or next week”. Time passes and we haven’t connected for weeks or months. “But, that’s life…”

We convince ourselves that all of our daily habits don’t matter. Besides, “I don’t have time”…”I’m so busy”…”I don’t feel sick, so I must be okay”

Well, IT DOES MATTER!

“IF YOU DON’T MAKE TIME FOR YOUR WELLNESS, YOU WILL BE FORCED TO MAKE TIME FOR YOUR ILLNESS”
-Author Unknown

READ THAT AGAIN.

All the things we do regularly determine who we are. We don’t have to make the best choice EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. But, we would do better for ourselves (and our FUTURE selves!) if we tried to make healthier choices MOST OF THE TIME. Need more information to be convinced? Read on!

In the “Staying Healthy/Preventing Disease” section, we will:

Dive into some of the evidence that shows how much these habits directly impact disease, both individually and globally.
Show how working to improve the “SIX PILLARS OF HEALTHY LIVING” can improve your quality of life and help prevent some of the most common diseases while also slowing disease progression.

LET’S GET STARTED!