Good Medicine Everyday: Apples

Maybe you grew up hearing “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Which is not totally true, but also not totally untrue. Apples are amazing snacks - they’re portable, sweet, juicy, crunchy. They make good friends with all our favorite nut and seed butters. They’re full of fiber, which keeps us satiated and keeps our digestion humming along. Best of all - they’re pretty dang accessible and usually inexpensive. Oh and this time of year you can go pick them yourself, which is the most fun thing ever!

More things to know about apples (1):

• One medium apple has 14% of your RDI for vitamin C

• They contain soluble fiber, which has been shown to help lower blood cholesterol levels

• Apples contain polyphenols (plant compounds that exhibit a health benefit), which have antioxidant effects

• In one large study, daily consumption of apples was linked to a 28% reduced risk in developing type 2 diabetes

• Apples contain pectin, a type of fiber that acts as a prebiotic - which is food for good bacteria in your gut

I suggest always eating the skin of fruits and veggies, since many nutrients tend to be concentrated there. In the case of apples, I do recommend opting for organic (or at least, unsprayed - like from a local orchard that is perhaps not certified organic). Apples are on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list for 2018, which is a great guide for produce items that you should prioritize buying organic. They also have a Clean 15 list, which lists produce that is least contaminated by pesticides.

Good Medicine Everyday: Water

What’s up with us humans and water? Why is it so hard for us to drink enough, even though it’s our lifeline? Many of my clients are not drinking enough water and it’s usually one of the first things we work on. Guess what they come back telling me? Their energy is better! Fewer headaches! Less brain fog! Better digestion!

I believe one of the big problems is how hyperpalatable (and usually sweet) we’ve made most beverages today. Why drink plain boring old water when you could drink fruit juice or a vanilla latte or something else much more appealing to the taste buds? These things CAN contribute to our overall hydration, but I count how much water you drink in terms of just plain water.

Most of us are chronically dehydrated and we don’t even realize it. Here are some symptoms of chronic dehydration (1): 

• Fatigue

• Constipation

• Dry skin

• Headaches

• Brain Fog

• Muscle weakness

• Dizziness

Staying well hydrated keeps everything moving - it keeps joints lubricated, it aids in digestion, prevents constipation and helps flush toxins out of the body. Often the cure for a headache is water. It keeps our brains happy. It maximizes our physical performance. Bottom line: we’ve gotta start hydrating ourselves properly.

“In a study of young women, fluid loss of 1.36% after exercise impaired both mood and concentration, and increased the frequency of headaches. Another similar study, this time in young men, showed that fluid loss of 1.59% was detrimental to working memory and increased feelings of anxiety and fatigue. (2)”

A common question I get is, how much water should I be drinking? A general rule of thumb is half your body weight in ounces. If you’re active or live in a hot area, it’s likely you’ll need more. I usually aim for at least 64 ounces. And I mean straight water - not including coffee or tea or fruits and vegetables (thought all those things DO contribute to hydration levels). I say that simply because people start to bargain with me about what counts as “water”. Just drink water, straight and plenty of it.

I highly recommend choosing a cup or water bottle that you know the size of and find a way to track your water intake - you can do this mentally, on your phone or any other way that helps you remember. If I’m at home I like to use 32-ounce mason jars - that way I know I have to drink at least two of those to meet my daily water requirements. If I’m out and about I use my water bottle, which is 16 ounces and I know I need to drink at least four of those. I’m pretty good with mental tracking, so that’s what I do, but do whatever works for you!

It will take some practice, but as you start increasing your water intake, I promise you’ll notice the benefits. It will also become easier to drink more and more water. Give it a go! Cheers!

PS - I’m not going to get into water quality here, but you can read more about it in another post I wrote. I’m also linking my favorite water filter pitcher to ensure your water is the cleanest it can be.

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Good Medicine Everyday: Sleep

Without sleep, everything else you do for your health is pretty much for naught. Sleep is the baseline, your lifeline. I cannot stress enough the importance of sleep - not just quantity, but quality. Sleep is free and one of the most basic things we can do for our health, but feeling like we don’t have enough time is what gets most people tripped up. Some people even feel guilty for sleeping! I encourage you to drop that right now. It needs to be prioritized. You charge your phone at night, right? No one and nothing else is going to charge YOUR battery for YOU.

So what happens if you don’t get enough sleep?

• You feel tired, obviously

• Poor cognitive function and brain fog

• Elevated blood sugar...

• ...which leads you to crave carbs and sugar…

• ...which puts you on a blood sugar roller coaster all day long

• Bad mood (plus all the things associated with that - like being short with people we love, being a jerk to our coworkers, etc.)

• For some of us, anxiety and depression

• Weakened immunity, which can lead to getting sick more often

• Difficulty maintaining a healthy weight

• Increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes

So how much sleep do we need? We’ve all heard “8 hours” enough times that it’s drilled in our brains. But we also get messages like “sleep is for the weak” or “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” or hear about CEOs bragging that they only need 5 hours. The short answer - everybody’s a little different. Finding your sleep sweet spot will take a little experimentation, but it’s generally between 7 and 9 hours.

New research suggests we should view sleep by how many ninety-minute sleep cycles we get per week, rather than becoming overly focused with how many hours we get per night. We should aim for 35 sleep cycles per week. This includes naps! And this helps take some of the pressure off of always getting 8 hours every night. (which can be anxiety-inducing for some people).

I’ve personally never been a napper and find it really hard to sleep during the day, so I always prioritize my sleep at night. I generally get around 8 hours. I go to sleep between 9 and 10 and I’m usually up around 6. Even when I was younger, I intuitively knew I had to get good sleep to feel good. Fun fact - I’ve never pulled an all-nighter, not even in college. If I had a lot of work to do, I would go to sleep at a decent hour and wake up extra early to work on it. But hey, that’s just what works for me.

A few other tips to ensure the quality of your sleep:

• Sleep in a really dark room - get blackout curtains, cover up lights from devices

• Keep the room cool

• Use the bedroom for sleep and sex only

• Turn off Wifi at night, put your phone on airplane mode or even better - move it out of the bedroom

• No screens 1 hour before bed

• Write down your to-dos for tomorrow or journal to clear your brain of any thoughts that might keep you up

Here's to more and better sleep!