Flexitarian diet is highlighted in NewsWeek

In the Health section of NewsWeek this morning is an article on the Flexitarian diet style that is rapidly becoming more popular among those individuals who are concerned with maintaining their health. Flexitarian is a word coined to describe the eating habits of people who most of the time eat a healthy, plant-based diet, and occasionally eat foods that are less than healthy.

Here at Santa Rosa Strength we follow a plant based diet and recommend it to those who are concerned with wellness. We support our clients’ efforts with a program called the “The 6 Steps to a Plant Based Diet“. This is an excellent program and can be easily integrated into a busy lifestyle. For some people though, a 100% plant based diet is too strict, and for them we suggest a more relaxed approach; Flexitarianism.

Take a look around and you will see many people walking around today that are suffering from obesity. Hidden among those individuals however, are a growing number of people trying to manage a condition, children as well as adults, called Type II Diabetes. We are looking at the tip of the iceberg however. In the U.S. today, we now have over 50% of the population experiencing some type of ill health. This is a potential health disaster unless we correct the course we are on as a culture.

Many of the health issues that people are trying manage today are diet related. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is one of the poorest examples of our contribution to the world, yet the world is following us down this disease ridden path. If you are reading this, take a moment and ask yourself this question.

“What makes me think that my experience with the SAD diet will be any different with those who have developed disease from it?”

If you continue to do the same things, you will experience the same results. This is a fundamental law. Now I know that everyone has a great aunt that has lived to be 97, who has eaten meat and potatoes everyday of her life, smokes like a chimney, and the only veggies she eats are found at the bottom of her Martini glass. “She just knows how to live”, you might say. “She laughs and smiles all the time, and has a great outlook on life” You are right of course. Your great aunt has some insight to life that we can learn from, and it plays a big part on how we age, called attitude. But, pay attention here, she is not the rule! She is what we would call an exception! People who live with no regard to their long term health, experience results called disease. This is the rule!

If one wishes to experience the potential of excellent health for the entirety of their life, there are many things to consider and diet is only one part. It is a major part, however, and we should not waste any more of our time eating the junky foods that are being passed off as healthy choices any longer. Stop eating processed foods whenever possible. Stop eating and drinking chemicals whenever possible.

The following is a list of things a person can do to follow in the footsteps of those individuals around the world who have lived healthy beyond 100 years of age.

• Eat a Plant Based Diet – Studies on centenarians have shown that consuming a plant based diet will contribute to a long healthy lifestyle. There are cultures of people in the world who do not experience heart disease, cancer, diabetes, sarcopenia, osteoporosis, macular degeneration, or any of the age related loss of function that plagues our culture.
• Strength Train – Do some form of Progressive Resistance Exercise, regularly, for the entirety of your life.
• Recreate – Take the time to enjoy the things that you love.
• Change your attitude – In some of the centenarian cultures that have been studied, the elderly are revered, and they often compliment each other on how old they look. When is the last time you thanked the person who told you, “You are looking very old today Mr. or Mrs. So and So. Are you 100 yet?”
• Love Your Family and Your Community – Strong family and community ties have been shown to be a major contributor to longevity.
• Manage Stress – Many of the oldest cultures of the world are focused on a lifestyle, free from the things that normally cause us stress. Get a massage, play music, or engage in amorous behavior with a loved one.
• Find Yourself – A strong, deeply rooted, sense of ones inner strengths (and weaknesses) will contribute towards ones self confidence and healthy lifestyle. In our culture there are many, many avenues for inner exploration.

It is our wish, here at Santa Rosa Strength, that our community can come together, work together, and help our loved ones learn the principles of living healthy to 100.