It has been about one year since we relocated to northern Michigan. When I tell people that health is my focus now, I can sense the unsaid “Uh, huh, what does that mean exactly?”
They can see I am thinner and more energetic. Some ask me how I lost weight, seeking a short answer – a ‘trick’, something simple to try. But there is no trick. It’s a whole lifestyle. I do a number of things more, better, or differently now. Here’s a summary of what I have changed in the last year for my whole-self health:
- Meditate 30 minutes a day to lessen anxiety and increase ability to focus
- Give myself permission to go to bed early, to get plenty of rest and for general brain health
- Walk and bicycle outside in nature at least 3 times a week to help my skin produce vitamin D, and reset my circadian rhythm through the production of melatonin
- Regularly practice pilates for strength
- Eat a low-lectin diet (to facilitate gut biome health)
- Do not eat any factory food – no artificial sweeteners, no low-fat dairy, no corn, no wheat, no soy – or factory-made animal protein. Beyond the ethical issues of how we treat the other sentient beings on the planet, I do not want the corn, antibiotics, and other poisons regularly fed to animals to make their way into my body.
- Eat more dark greens vegetables. A LOT more. To increase the polyphenols in my gut.
- No NSAID’s to protect the good bacteria in my gut.
- Take a daily supplement of probiotics (good gut bugs) and prebiotics (what helps the good gut bugs grow) to optimize my gut biome
- Eat less animal protein to give the mitochondria in my digestive system a break
- Read as much as I want, and on all the topics in which I am interested
- Avoid situations that stress me, as much as possible
- Take one tablespoon of MCT oil per day to increase the medium-chain triglycerides that help my good gut bacteria do their job
In addition I am committed to learning more about neurology and how to reinforce positive developments in my brain using its own neuro-plasticity. When I have the opportunity I question my doctors more about alternative approaches to Parkinson’s and make them aware of my actions.
In the next year I have a list of more items I plan to test on myself, and add to this list if they seem to have an impact.