Wellness tips from Denise Coventry MS, RD, and Shad Marvasti, MD, MPH

What better time to follow-up on those personal I-O-U’s than celebrating Wellness Month? This is your cue to prioritize your health with well-deserved attention. Start with simple foundational strategies, such as:

Notice if you are getting hungry:

If you do not feel hunger signals think about other signs of hunger, like change in mood, stomach churning or an afternoon slump in energy. Next, be attentive to the cues and allow yourself to follow-through with nourishment. It is helpful to make time for your meal, slow down, be mindful, take smaller bites, set your fork down between bites and chew thoroughly.

Fuel your body with what you really need:

Have you noticed the fine line between feeling satisfied and nourished, but not overly taxed with fullness? It may be a challenge to select enough to eat that will last for about four hours between meals, but not too much at one time that it’s effects curb enthusiasm for your next meal. Including a portion of lean or plant protein, a healthy fat and carbohydrate can help balance the mix.

Choose foods that are fresh, less processed and close to how they are found in nature. Whole foods have unique and synergistic qualities that will compound health benefits. Include whole grains with intact fiber, healthy forms of fat, lean sources of protein and plant proteins whenever possible. A poke bowl with edamame, rice, greens and avocado, or grain bowl with quinoa, roasted vegetables, avocado and beans are a few examples.

Be lavish with fruit and vegetable choices:

Deep blue, purple, green and bright yellow and orange colored fruit and vegetables cover the span of nutrients that protect your ability to perform at peak. Each pigment within the fruit and vegetable has remarkable qualities that impact the amount of damage your body can recover from.

Replenish fluids with clean and safe water:

The water you drink will help usher essential nutrients throughout the body to replenish and repair while discarding remnants you no longer need. In order to stave off dehydration in our arid climate, include water breaks throughout your day. If you’ve been in a lull lately with drinking enough water, try a culinary twist by adding extra ice with mint, a few berries with fresh basil, or cucumber with lemon and thyme.

Take a short walk after your largest meals:

Not only will you help the process of digestion from movement, but you can also assist the way your body uses fuel, improve your mood and boost your energy level.

Small health-promoting changes reinforce the foundation of your well-being. It is an empowering process to influence changes that are also embraced in a collaborative setting. Integrative medicine has the tools and resources to help you optimize your health journey. As Dr. Marvasti states, “Integrative medicine uses a whole person approach to care (mind, body and spirit) that emphasizes lifestyle changes to optimize health, and prevent or treat chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and obesity.”