Wellness Wednesday Tip #5: Drink More Water

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     Hey, everybody! This week’s tip may seem simple, but it’s one of the quickest ways to improve your health without much effort – drink more water! 

     By now, most everyone knows that beverages with high sugar content (soda, energy drinks, etc) are detrimental to your health, but why is it important to drink water instead? Approximately 60% of the human body is made up of water, including muscles, skin, internal organs, and much more. When your body doesn’t have enough water to satisfy these tissues (aka dehydration), you can feel mental or physical fatigue, headaches, muscle cramps, and even constipation!

     So how much water do you need per day? The Mayo Clinic and The Institute of Medicine recommend that men consume about 3 liters per day, and women consume about 2 liters per day.(1) Remember, this amount can also vary based on physical activity, caffeine or alcohol consumption, and other health conditions you may have. 

     A recent study published in the Journal of Human Nutrition & Dietetics looked at the nation's consumption of plain water and overall caloric intake. The survey obtained results from 18,311 adults over the age of 18 from 2005 to 2015. Researchers found that increasing plain water consumption by one to three cups a day could decrease caloric intake per day by 68 to 205 calories, as well as decrease sodium intake per day by 78 to 235 grams.(2)

     So give it a shot, and let us know how it goes! Thanks again for all of the #WellfieWednesday support, be sure to post your pictures again this week and tag Patrick (@PBernerSPT) or myself (@Eric_in_AmERICa) and keep the wave of healthy change going!

#WellfieWednesday Challenge: Bring the biggest water bottle you own to work or school and try to finish it before you leave for the day. 

- Dr. Eric Uveges, PT, DPT

- Dr. Patrick Berner, PT, DPT

 

1. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256

2. An R, McCaffrey J. Plain water consumption in relation to energy intake and diet quality among US adults, 2005-2012. Journal Of Human Nutrition And Dietetics: The Official Journal Of The British Dietetic Association. February 22, 2016.

#WellfieWednesday Initiative: First Month Follow-up

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     Hey, Everyone! So after a month of pushing #WellfieWednesday and providing tips towards living a healthier life, Eric and I wanted to offer some insight behind the reason we started this project and give a summary of the tags thus far. Our mission for the Wellfie Wednesday Initiative was to help increase awareness for living healthier by showing that your efforts don’t have to be elaborate, but can be as small as going for a walk with your dog or eating a piece of salmon. We wanted to facilitate a way to share ideas with others who may be struggling with ways to start improving their health. There shouldn’t be a single rule book to follow for health; it should be individualized for everyone. So use these ideas to help build your own healthy lifestyle.  

     Up to today, we’ve had 82 #WellfieWednesday photos posted across Twitter and Instagram, each of them showing numerous variations of what wellness means to them. Check out the photos below to see what people have posted so far.

     No matter what you’ve tagged #WellfieWednesday, we appreciate your support and hope that you’ll continue to share. And for those who haven’t posted, we hope that we’ve at least got you thinking. We’ll continue to share tips, so keep an eye out for something that may help kick start your way to a healthier life.

Thanks again for reading and helping spread healthy living!

- Dr. Patrick Berner, PT, DPT

- Dr. Eric Uveges, PT, DPT

Wellness Wednesday Tip #4: Swap for Spaghetti Squash

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Happy Wellness Wednesday everyone!

     This week’s tip involves a minor swap in food groups, bringing more vegetables to the table while keeping your delicious tasting dish. I’m talking about swapping your pasta for spaghetti squash. I hadn’t started making this swap until about a year ago, and yes at first I didn’t believe it could be done. If you’re not familiar with spaghetti squash there’s no need to worry; it’s a relatively simple vegetable to cook. Once cooked, the inside of a spaghetti squash honestly looks like spaghetti, except of course for being a brighter yellow. 

     I’m sure there are many ways to cook spaghetti squash, but I’m a fan of simply poking some holes around the outside and popping it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour. Some prefer to cut it in half mid-way and place them face down to speed up the cooking time. Either way, once you’re done, you’ll scoop out the seeds and scrape the walls. The most recent hint I’ve gotten for using spaghetti squash was in a buffalo chicken casserole, where the recipe suggested using paper towels to soak up some of the additional moisture after cooking.

     Now this swap isn’t meant to limit carbohydrates or whole grain consumption. It’s intended to increase your vegetable intake and reap the numerous health benefits from doing so. Eating spaghetti squash will add dietary fiber, Vitamin C and A, potassium, and some omega-3, omega-6 to your day, providing antioxidants and cardiovascular health. So give it a try next time you cook something that typically goes with pasta. 

Thanks for reading this week!

-       Dr. Patrick Berner, PT, DPT

-       Dr. Eric Uveges, PT, DPT

Wellness Wednesday Tip #3: Try some Eggplant

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     Happy Wednesday friends! Thanks again for all of your #WellfieWednesday submissions, it’s exciting to see people joining in to not only talk the talk but walk the walk of improving their health!

     This week’s Wellness Wednesday tip deals with trying a new vegetable, which for me turned out to be eggplant. Eggplant, for me, has always been one of those vegetables that you see on a menu at a restaurant or walk by in the grocery store but never really know what to do with. So this past weekend in the spirit of Wellfie Wednesday I decided to buy an eggplant and find a recipe to use that incorporates it as the main ingredient. After reaching out to some friends on Twitter (shoutout Mike Eisenhart @mikeeisenhart, Andrew Rothschild @ARothschildPT, and Erson Religioso @The_OMPT), I found a great recipe for eggplant that was quick and easy to make, without too many ingredients or complicated techniques. It turned out to be delicious!

     Pro tip: be sure to leave the skin on in order to benefit from the phytochemicals which give eggplant its signature purple color and may assist with cardiovascular health.

     Recipe of what I cooked can be found here via Bon Appetit.

     More about the health benefits of Eggplant and other veggies by clicking here. 

     Thanks again for all of the #WellfieWednesday support, be sure to post your pictures again this week and tag Patrick (@PBernerSPT) or myself (@Eric_in_AmERICa) and keep the wave of healthy changes growing!

-Dr. Eric Uveges, PT, DPT

-Dr. Patrick Berner, PT, DPT

 

 

 

Wellness Wednesday Tip #2: Improving Willpower

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Happy Wellness Wednesday friends!

     Let me know if this scenario sounds familiar. You decide that you’re tired of feeling out of shape and want to improve your health. You drive to the grocery store and load up of fruits and vegetables, plan out your meal prepping calendar and get your Tupperware ready, dust off that gym membership that’s been hanging on your key ring for months, and curate the perfect playlist of songs to help motivate you through those tough workouts you’re going to crush 5 days a week. You’ll probably have a six-pack just in time to hit the beach next month…

     Then the weekend comes and some friends are getting together for drinks, or you’re tired of cooking all week, and inevitably you find yourself eating pizza, throwing away the fruits and veggies that went bad too fast, and regretfully feeling your six-pack dreams wash away (they’re over-rated anyway, right?)

How’d I do?

     If this sounds familiar, trust me you’re not the only one. I’ve found myself in this scenario too many times to count, which is why for this week’s #WellfieWednesday I wanted to give a tip on willpower.

     When it comes to making changes in your life, I’m a big fan of the concept of “Small Victories” – looking at daily occurrences as an opportunity to fuel positive changes. Examples include choosing not have one of those cookies someone brought in to work (victory), skipping the soda and having water with lunch (victory), going for a walk after work instead of sitting on the couch (victory), getting out of bed without hitting snooze (ehh not-so-small victory).

     Each of these small victories produces a snowball effect, creating a more powerful decision making process throughout the day and loading you up with positive reinforcement to continue to make healthier changes in the future. I’ve found this method to be much more effective because it frames the challenge of improving your life in small successive steps, rather than facing one giant abstract goal of getting “healthier”.

     Give it a shot this week and let me know what you think. Reach out on Twitter to me (@Eric_in_AmERICa) or Patrick (@PBernerSPT) and send us your selfies of you doing something to improve your wellness (aka Wellfie) tagged with #WellfieWednesday to keep the word spreading. 

- Dr. Eric Uveges, PT, DPT

- Dr. Patrick Berner, PT, DPT

Wellness Wednesday Tip #1: Try Some Blueberries

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Happy Wellness Wednesday!

     I want to start by saying thank you to everyone that joined in on the #WellfieWednesday launch last week. We hope to increase the trending of this hashtag and continue to educate on how to live a healthier lifestyle. So as a way to help out, we’ll be giving out a weekly tip that you can try to incorporate into your day. They are only meant to be suggestions, so please feel free to post your own personal accomplishments towards better health. 

     This week’s tip is to try a handful of blueberries! I’m starting with blueberries because they are by far my favorite fruit, both for taste and the handful of health benefits they provide. 

 

Blueberries are packed with (1): 
     Vitamin C
     Dietary fiber
     Manganese
     Polyphenols, specifically anthocyanins

These substances aid in tissue formation, strengthening of your immune system, bone development, and processing of cholesterol and other nutrients (1). 

 

A regular consumption of blueberries has been shown to:

Promote cardiovascular health (2)
     By reducing blood pressure and arterial stiffness (3)
     Improve lipid profile (2)
     Lower chronic inflammation (2)

More information and resources on scientific research can be found through the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council.

     Though blueberries can be found all year round. Now is the time to grab some blueberries, as according to the Farmer’s Almanac, the best time for harvest is July and August (4), so stock up! I recently bought four pints for only five bucks! And in case you didn’t know, blueberries can easily be frozen and make a great addition to any smoothie, replacing the ice in this case. 

Hope you give them a try. Let us know if you do, using #WellfieWednesday

Enjoy your day and thanks for reading!

-       Dr. Patrick Berner, PT, DPT

-       Dr. Eric Uveges, PT, DPT

References:

1.   http://www.blueberrycouncil.org/healthy-living/blueberry-nutrition/ 

2. Yang B, Kortesniemi M. Clinical evidence on potential health benefits of berries. Current Opinion in Food Science. Apr 2015;2:36-42.

3. Johnson SA, Figueroa A, Navaei N, et al. Daily blueberry consumption improves blood pressure and arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women with pre-and stage 1-hypertension: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. J Acad Nutr Diet. Mar 2015;115(3):369-77.

4.  http://www.almanac.com/plant/blueberries