best health AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2019 23
BEST ADVICE
I want to be healthier,
but I don’t want to
commit to an involved
plan. What should I
focus on?
THE HARPER TWINS SAY...
Creating a healthy lifestyle is
about making small changes in
your daily life. It doesn’t have to be
a huge commitment that becomes
too exhausting or unrealistic to
maintain, such as a strict diet or
an intense workout routine.
There’s plenty of nutrition infor-
mation available online. But if you
don’t know whether the material is
reliable, evidence based or valid, it
may cause you to procrastinate
and prevent you from taking fur-
ther steps to achieve your goals.
For st a r ters, re-educate you rself
about healthy eating – that is, for-
get “dieting.” You may lose weight
on a diet, but research shows that
once a diet is completed, you tend
to gain back the weight lost, plus
an additional five to 10 pounds.
Our focus is on what healthy eat-
ing really is and how to make a
realistic plan to move forward. To
achieve better health, you have to
understand the changes needed to
your daily nutrition habits and
physical activity levels and then
commit to making those changes
in small steps.
A healthy lifestyle is all about
enjoyment, f lexibility, moderationand mindful eating to help you look
and feel your best. Here are three
tips to get started on becoming a
healthier version of you.- ONE SIZE DOESN’T
FIT ALL
You are uniquely designed. There
is no “perfect” size. You have a set
point, which is your natural body
weight when you are eating
healthy and being physically active
on a daily basis, where you look
and feel your best. Know your
waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), as it’s a
much more accurate ref lection of
your overall health status than a
number on a scale. WHR is one of
several measurements to deter-
mine if you are overweight and if
that excess weight is putting your
health at risk. Divide your waist
circumference by your hip circum-
ference to determine your WHR
and review a WHR chart to assess
your health risk.
2. INCLUDE MORE
PLANT-BASED FOODS
Every day, you should choose to eat
significantly more foods primarily
from plants, such as fruits, veg-
etables, whole grains, avocado and
olive oils, nuts, seeds, beans and
legumes. This will boost your
intake of essential vitamins, min-
erals, phytonutrients and fibre, all
of which are required for optimal
health. You can still include foods
like dairy, fish, poultry and meat
throughout the week, but focus on
including more plant-based foods
in your meals.3. MAKE GUT HEALTH
A PRIORITY
Your gut is your “second brain.”
When it comes to gut health, the
key message is “You are what youabsorb.” Gut health is of utmost
importance in becoming the
healthiest version of you. Eighty
percent of your immune system is
found in your digestive tract. Most
importantly, inf lammation is
directly related to your immune
response. Chronic inf lammation
results in many common diseases.
To help improve your gut micro-
f lora, take a high-quality probiotic
every day, increase your daily
intake of prebiotic fibre (such as
berries, citrus, bananas, apples,
pears, asparagus, garlic, onions,
leeks, whole grains and legumes)
and include fermented foods (such
as sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, kom-
bucha and tempeh), which are rich
in living bacteria. bhIS
TO
C
K
REBECCA AND REISHA HARPER
are twin sisters and registered
dietitians with a special focus on
nutrition for health, beauty and aging
well @harpernutrition_twins