Why self-care is critical

Invest in yourself

In times of uncertainty, self-care is critical

By LC Arisman It is always important to take care of our health, to maintain and nourish the different systems in our body and now more than ever, self-care is critical. When everything is a question mark, the best place to invest is within your own body. We owe it to each other and ourselves to stay as healthy as possible. Every action has a ripple effect on our health, either adding to or subtracting from our health reserves.

Boosting your health

A change doesn’t need to be extreme or expensive to be helpful. Due to the interconnectivity of the systems of the body, improving one area of health is like the tide that lifts all boats. That is, an improvement in one area causes improvements in other areas.

Sleep

Sleep and health go hand in hand; poor sleep makes us more susceptible to disease. Healthy adults are more likely to catch a cold when they get fewer than six hours sleep. Aim for seven-plus hours a night for adults, more for teens and children. Try this: Unwind at the end of the day with a bedtime ritual. It can include a cup of tea, a relaxing bath or shower, a guided meditation, or simply saying goodnight to your home a la “Good Night Moon.” A calming routine cues the body to downshift and prepare for sleep. Good sleep hygiene with a dark, cool room and a consistent bedtime will help your body find its rhythm.

Eat more plants

Intact plant foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains are full of antioxidants and reduce inflammation in the body. They also improve gut health, which is closely linked with immunity. No juicing, please, stick to the whole fruits with their fiber intact! Try this: We eat what we see. Put a bowl of apples or oranges in a high traffic area.

Reduce added sugars

Only the liver can metabolize fructose and if it’s busy dealing with added sugars it cannot perform its other functions of metabolizing carbohydrates, fats and protein. Added sugars increase inflamma

tion and contribute to heart disease and type 2 diabetes, which can further reduce immunity function. Try this: Added sugars are everywhere. 80 percent of the foods in American grocery stores have added sugars. Going “no sugar” is a tall order. Instead, aim for 25 grams (2 tablespoons) or less of added sugars. Having a sugar budget can be easier than going straight to zero. Fresh or frozen berries with a little bit of shaved or drizzled chocolate makes a sweet treat without breaking the sugar bank.

Get outdoors

Fresh air and sunshine are good medicine. Avoid peak hours and get some vitamin D in the morning or early evening. Being outdoors at sunset will support your body’s own release of melatonin, which should help you sleep better.

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Move it

Movement is key to proper body function. It’s good for the muscles, the brain and the soul. Exercise requires synergistic work from the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system. The circulatory or cardiovascular system also improves, raising the oxygen levels in the body. It increases lung capacity and strengthens the respiratory system. Try this: Walk your neighborhood in the morning or as a pre-dinner activity. Walk with purpose for a block and then stroll for a block. Switching up your pace is a simple way to challenge the body. Start with 10 minutes and build up to 30 to 60. Miss your health club and want something more than a walk? Check out your club’s Zoom schedule for a strength training class or take advantage of online workouts. A live-stream class will give you a chance to connect with others and recorded ones give you the flexibility of scheduling.

Flex your brain

Whether it’s a crossword puzzle, a jigsaw puzzle or sudoku, brush off those problem-solving skills to keep your brain sharp.

Let it go

Acknowledge the reality of our current situation and give yourself a thicker margin of grace. You’re doing your best. I ask my clients to consider all the other things in their life that they’re dealing with so that we set reasonable goals for lifestyle change. Right now, we all have extra draws on our energy, reducing our bandwidth. Start with something small, maybe just one practice at a time. Check in with yourself regularly to see what you can handle. When in doubt, commit to something very small, after all, you can always do more on the days that you can. We’re coming out of our cocoons and, as I learned with my preschooler, caterpillars don’t just magically become butterflies while tucked in their little cocoons. Caterpillars dissolve into a puddle of goo, keeping only certain cells that then rebuild their new life. So if you feel like a clump of ooze, grant yourself some grace, you might be transforming into a butterfly. LC Arisman is a Parkpoint Health Club personal trainer. ■

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Obesity affects people of all ages

Bariatric surgeon Scott Perryman wants to raise awareness about healthful eating habits

By Rachel Pinkstaff Despite obesity being on the public’s radar for decades, the United States has seen numbers continue to rise consistently, with no signs of slowing. In fact, among adults aged 20 and over, the rate of obesity has gone from 30.5 percent, as of the 1999-2000 census, up to 42.4 percent in the 2017-2018 numbers. In the same time, the rates of severe obesity saw an almost doubling, from 4.7 to 9.2 percent, according to the CDC. Unfortunately, in the U.S., the obesity rate in adults has continued to move further away from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s Healthy People 2020 goal of 30.5 percent. “Obesity is no longer just an epidemic, it’s a pandemic,” says Scott Perryman, MD, of Whole Health Weight Loss Institute. “We are seeing it on not just a national scale, but also a global one, affecting people of all ages.” Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., second only to smoking. It is typically the underlying cause linked to heart disease, stroke and diabetes, among others. Why has it gotten so out of hand? “Availability of food,” says Perryman. “Education, or lack of education about what is healthy. How you eat and when you eat. We need to raise our awareness and our understanding.” One thing is for sure. Behaviors linked with obesity have been on the rise for decades in America and globally. These behaviors include: more sedentary jobs and homelife, loss of connection with the outdoors and nature, stress associated with increased cortisol levels, dependence on fast food, larger portions, as well as a steady increase in consumption of high fructose corn syrup, trans fats and processed foods. Not only is the rise of obesity in adults concerning. In the U.S., the prevalence in children has tripled in just 30 years, according to a PubMed study. Obesity is calculated from Body Mass Index, or BMI, using weight

Dr. Scott Perryman

in kilograms divided by height in meters, rounded to one decimal place. A BMI of 30 or greater is considered obese, while a BMI of 40 or greater is classified as severely obese or “class three” obesity. According to Perryman, in the class three phase, working out and diet are no longer effective. This is where bariatric surgery can have especially profound benefits. Perryman explains his treatments can be helpful in earlier stages of obesity, as well. “What’s the number one thing we should be focusing on to lead happier, healthier lives, besides quitting smoking?” posed Perryman. “It’s obesity.” Perryman, who runs the bariatric weight-loss surgery program at See Perryman on Page 14

Want to stay fit? There’s an app for that! Digital applications can help keep you on track and motivated

By Rachael Dudum Holt Rise, Sweat, Noom, Zoom, Oh She Glows, MyZone, who knows? These digital apps sound like a flurry of verbs, and there’s good reason for it. They are created and designed to get you up, get you moving and, most of all, keep you on track. It’s never been easier or more convenient to download an app to your phone and customize your entire life including, but not limited to, your health and wellness routine. What do the plethora of exercise and nutrition apps have in common? The answer is accountability. Simply put, digital and social connections help people maintain structure and focus as well as enhancing accountability. Many appreciate “app-based accountability” because apps give them the extrinsic support they need. Think about a time in your life that you wanted or even needed to accomplish something. Now recall if you had support from others. Did you tell your best friend? Were your parents proud of your decision? Did others believe in you and support your choice to achieve your goal? Of course! People thrive better with interaction. In the past couple decades interactions have changed. There’s more of it than ever before! It may look, sound and even feel different, but we are inundated with CMC (computer mediated communication). At this moment in history, it’s truly never been more prevalent that we genuinely need people. We need others in an inherent and deeply rooted way. There is no comparison to your best friend pushing you up the hill when you feel weak, or your partner looking into your eyes and telling you, “You’ve got this!” There are alternatives that can help guide and help support you. They are the myriad apps that keep you on track! Tech in the fitness industry is booming, and people are using their own preferred exercise apps to help stay motivated. Let’s talk about habits. We all know what a habit is, but just in case, the dictionary.com definition is: “An acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary.” Have you ever heard the old adage, “Old habits die hard?” That’s because there’s nothing more challenging than breaking a bad habit. Good habits enhance our life and give us a fruitful existence, but can be challenging to maintain long term. Bad habits on the other hand are easy. Often times, they give us temporary pleasure. They can enable laziness, lack of motivation and can perpetuate an ongoing and unknowing desire to maintain the poor habit. Here’s where these extremely user-friendly digital exercise and nutrition apps help to hold people accountable, and give people a sense of community and comradery! I have used trackers for at least a decade.

When clients want to embark on a true weight-loss journey, I advise them to purchase a tracker or pedometer immediately. It’s imperative to know your baseline and create a realistic goal that you can track on a daily basis. People who can see their hard work in an app and join a community of peers who will help provide that support, are far more likely to adhere to a positive and productive exercise routine. I took a quick Facebook poll, asking what apps people use and it proved, undoubtedly, that digital exercise and nutrition apps are heavily utilized and enjoyed. I personally use MyZone because, in my opinion, it’s very accurate in comparison to other monitors and I love the network and challenges it provides. I prefer monitors that strap around the chest, and have multiple modalities, workouts and a robust community. I notice that when I wear my monitor, I do tend to push myself just a little bit harder, run a little farther and burn more calories than if I don’t have it on. The best part of choosing a new tracker or heart-rate monitor such as MyZone or Nike Running Club, is you get to choose what works for you and your lifestyle. If you don’t drink enough water, try Waterlogged. If you want to go learn how to run, try C25K and hit the road. Make sure to wear your new gear while checking out Zoom live with your club trainers. YouTube and Facebook Live are also great places to access real-time workouts, or click on videos to get your sweat, stretch or rest, on your time and at your convenience. This is what digital apps and online options offer - a convenient place to access a genuine support system of likeminded people to help you be the best you, you can be. Rachael Dudum Holt is a Parkpoint Health Club fitness director. ■

Continued from Page 5 “People in wine country are generally fit,” said Rainow. “But our wine consumption tends to be higher.” While Rainow credits one glass of red wine a day for women (two for men) to be protective against heart disease, he explains anything above that can heighten the risk. Women tend to develop heart disease a little later than men, around the age of 60. Thankfully there are ways we can be proactive to reduce our chances of developing heart disease. “Proper exercise. Any kind, as long as you break a sweat,” says Rainow. He recommends at least 45 minutes, five days a week. “Managing risk factors is another important component,” Rainow adds. “From blood pressure, to high cholesterol, to diabetes.” It seems getting other conditions under control can reduce our chances of a more catastrophic event.

Kaplan

Continued from Page 7

“Stay hydrated,” says Kaplan. “The single worst thing we can do to our health is not drink enough water.” Kaplan recommends healthy adults drink 2.5 to 3 liters of water per day. You might be surprised to know that most of Dr. Kaplan’s patients fall into two different age demographics. “I see a lot of 30 to 40 year-olds,” says Kaplan. “They tend to be active and dehydrated. And then the other group of patients I see a lot are the 60 to 70 year-olds, who have other chronic conditions.” And if you thought you were not at risk as a woman, Kaplan notes the amount of women coming into his practice has reached similar rates compared to men. “Historically kidney stones were more common in men, but as women have developed the same bad health habits as men, we’ve “And lastly, a proper diet,” recommends Rainow. “A Mediterraneanstyle diet rich with fish, greens and grains.” According to the Mayo Clinic, trans fats, especially artificial trans fats, formed during hydrogenation and usually listed as “partially hydrogenated oil,” are associated with heart disease. Artificial trans fats are found in margarine, packaged snacks, fried foods and some dairy and non-dairy coffee creamers. We can also protect our heart by limiting added sugars and high amounts of processed salt. Rainow emphasizes the importance of screening. And thankfully technological advances are making screening more effective than ever before. “With the ability to do high-resolution CT scans and calcium scoring to identify asymptomatic heart disease,” Rainow explains, “we are able to greatly improve the chances of early detection.” ■

Perryman

Continued from Page 12 Sonoma Valley Hospital, says treating his patients immediately and effectively is of utmost importance in helping their health. He also credits his unique approach of combining mindfulness with bariatric for lasting results. Perryman developed a curriculum to grow his patients’ emotional awareness. This process allows patients to experience emotions without judgment and, from that place of discomfort, be able to make responsible food choices. He credits this approach as the key to his patients’ long-term success. “It’s about supporting these patients,” said Perryman. “Helping them feel their emotions and not act on them with food.” What is Perryman’s favorite thing about his line of work? “The impact,” says Perryman. “There’s no greater thing. My patients come back to our follow-up appointments filled with happiness and gratitude and health. As a surgeon, I can think of nothing that’s more impactful than this. It really does change lives.” ■

seen about equal numbers.” But what if you’ve taken preventative measures and still form a stone, or have a family history of them? “The most important thing a urologist can do is run a comprehensive metabolic evaluation to assess what sort of imbalances are leading to the stone formation,” explains Kaplan. “We can reduce your risk of forming stones by 90 percent.” “We can also get into the kidneys and remove stones up to a few inches wide, with an incision the width of your finger.” Kaplan describes how he uses the industry’s most technologicallyadvanced, minimally-invasive endoscopes. “It acts as an ‘ultrasound jackhammer,’ breaking up the stones and then suctioning them out, all under direct vision.” ■