Healthy Lifestyle…One Step at a Time
Thanks for visiting LifestyleSteps.org, where you’ll find simple and effective ways to take action for a healthier lifestyle.
We now know that lifestyle accounts for a large percent of our risk for developing many common diseases. Lifestyle factors like our diet, our activity level, if we are overweight, and if we smoke account for the following risks:
- 70 percent of our risk of having a stroke or getting colon cancer
- 80 percent of our risk for developing coronary heart disease (heart attacks)
- 90 percent of the risk for developing type 2 diabetes
That should make your doctor drop everything and say, “What? That’s amazing! Tell me more.”
But what does that mean to the average person? Click on this brief video link to watch: Turning the Clock Back 14 Years, by Dr Micheal Greger.
Fortunately there is a growing awareness of the important role our lifestyle plays in determining our physical and emotional health.
A great way to get started on a healthy lifestyle journey is to watch one of the many fascinating documentaries available.
Encourage your friends and family to watch them too. Or even better, watch them together.
Documentaries:
Forks Over Knives is a classic documentary that has helped millions of people to discover how a healthy lifestyle can treat many common medical conditions. It follows everyday people as they learn to use a whole-food, plant-based diet to improve their health and reverse the underlying causes of their medical conditions.
Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones is a four part Netflix series chronicling Dan Buettner’s quest to unlock the secrets of the longest living and happiest cultures in the world
The Game Changers documentary explores how a plant based diet can be part of the quest for ultimate athletic performance. The Game Changers Website is also an excellent resource.
Another resource for taking meaningful and lasting healthy lifestyle steps are these websites developed by leading lifestyle experts.
Websites:
nutritionfacts.org This website has thousands of free, evidence based videos about the science behind healthy and not so healthy lifestyle choices. All thanks to Dr Michael Greger, MD and his team.
(Here is an Introduction to Dr Greger’s videos.)
pblife.org Plant-Based Life, led by Dr. Rosane Oliveira, educates people to live happier and healthier lives through positive habit change that includes the adoption of a plant-centered diet and the development of daily wellness practices.
lifestylefacts.org This website has many free videos on lifestyle as the foundation for better health thanks to Dr Marc Braman .
forksoverknives.com This website provides recipes and articles on a whole foods plant based diet. Also the documentary Forks Over Knives can be accessed here.
bluezones.com This website, inspired by the world’s longest-lived cultures, strives to help people live longer, better lives by improving their environment.
gamechangersmovie.com The Game Changers Website is also an excellent resource. And like the documentary, it explores how a plant based diet can be part of the quest for ultimate athletic performance.
ggia.berkeley.edu The Greater Good in Action website has instructions for dozens of practices to develop mindfulness, gratitude, forgiveness, self-compassion and more.
Strong4Life.com Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Strong4Life helps families raise healthy, safe, resilient kids.
lifestylemedicine.org The American College of Lifestyle Medicine website provides general information and helps to find a lifestyle medicine provider in your area.
There are several books that provide valuable insights into making healthy lifestyle changes.
Books:
The Alzheimer’s Solution and The 30 Day Alzheimer’s Solution by Dean and Ayesha Sherzai are excellent guides to lifestyle changes that greatly reduce our risk for Alzheimer’s Disease and other types of dementia. They show how we can make changes proven to slow or sometimes even improve the symptoms of cognitive decline. Since what is good for the brain is good for the rest of our body, it is a great resource for an overall healthy lifestyle.
How Not to Die , How Not to Diet, How Not to Die Cookbook, and the How Not to Diet Cookbook by Dr Michael Greger, MD are a great addition to any healthy lifestyle library. All the profits from sales go to support the Nutritionfacts.org website.
Various books by Dr Joel Fuhrman, MD provide a good summary of how lifestyle, especially excellent nutrition, can be useful in treating and reversing many of our chronic diseases.
The Blue Zones and The Blue Zones of Happiness by Dan Buettner explore the secrets of the longest living and happiest cultures in the world.
Here are a few more resources for specific lifestyle issues.
Brain Health: (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy)
Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai (The Brain Docs) remind us that great brain health starts at home and in the community. Through their NEURO PLAN, they have provided us the tools we need for building healthy brains together.
The Ending Parkinson’s Disease book co-authored by four leading experts in neurology provides an action plan to prevent, care for, and treat Parkinson’s disease. The Long Road to Hope is a documentary based on this book.
League of Denial is a special two-hour FRONTLINE investigation that reveals the early story of the NFL and brain injuries that eventually lead to the NFL acknowledging a link between playing football and the degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Here is a related article on the potential Risks for Brain from Youth Football.
Chronic Pain:
Oregon Pain Guidance Patient Education Toolkit is a collection of videos and handouts that provide pain management education which is largely lifestyle focused about how to improve health and better manage pain.
Click here for more specific ideas for making Healthy Lifestyle Steps.
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Ted Nyquist, MD
American Board of Family Medicine
American Board of Lifestyle Medicine
Lifestyle Steps 