The world is facing the greatest healthcare crisis it has ever seen. Chronic disease is shortening our lifespan, destroying our quality of life, bankrupting governments, and threatening the health of future generations.
Sadly, conventional medicine, with its focus on managing symptoms, has failed to address this challenge. The result is burned-out physicians, a sicker population, and a broken healthcare system.
In this interview, our special guest Chris Kresser, explains how you can reverse this dangerous trend.
Chris Kresser M.S., L.Ac., is the CEO of Kresser Institute and the co-director of the California Center for Functional Medicine. He’s also the creator of ChrisKresser.com and is the New York Times best-selling author of The Paleo Cure. Chris was named one of the 100 most influential people in health and fitness by Greatist.com, and his blog is one of the top-ranked natural health websites in the world.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
– What is functional medicine (2:56)
– How Chris restored his health (4:43)
– Two Reasons Conventional Medicine Will Never Solve Chronic Disease (7:16)
– Why American healthcare is so bad (8:56)
– The difference between acute and chronic disease (9:17)
– Why doctors are sick of their profession (11:00)
– The root cause of chronic disease (11:51)
– It’s not normal to have a chronic disease (14:00)
– How the Tsimane tribe in Bolivia have 80% less heart disease (15:37)
– These 6 Alarming Stats Show Just How Bad the Average American Eats (19:36)
– Yes, We’re All Susceptible to Food Advertising (25:10)
– How “decision fatigue” leads to poor eating habits (28:30)
– How the government supports your junk food habit (30:00)
– How Chris lives an Ancestral lifestyle in the city (32:06)
– Why you should read Chris’ book “Unconventional Medicine” (36:15)
– Why being evidence-based is important when seeking health information (41:50)
– The functional medicine approach to high blood pressure (46:24)
Resources:
Chris’ Book Unconventional Medicine
Connect with Chris:
Book Giveaway:
The first 3 people that give us a review on iTunes and send us a screenshot of the review to info@legendarylifepodcast.com will receive a copy of Chris’s book. So, go to our page on iTunes now, write us a review, and get your reading glasses ready for this amazing book!
Ted’s Takeaways:
As you heard in the interview, chronic disease is by far the biggest health challenge we face. The consequences of chronic disease are severe. Unfortunately, conventional medicine has not only failed to address chronic disease thus far, but it has no hope of ever doing so—at least in its current configuration.
So, one thing that you can do today to start reversing chronic disease is to follow an ancestral diet and lifestyle, which is something that I have been talking a lot about in the show. The fastest way to recover our natural health and vitality is to return to a way of eating and living that more closely matches what our genes and biology are designed for. Of course, there’s no need to move to the jungles of Costa Rica to emulate a Paleolithic lifestyle (unless you’re into that sort of thing) but you can make adjustments to what you’re currently doing to improve your health and ward off disease.
Follow these 5 steps below to finally take control of your health:
1. Eat real food:
Most of what people eat is not real food; it’s “edible food-like substances” that have no counterpart in nature. Our current confusion about what to eat is the result of forgetting that a healthy diet consists of REAL FOOD. Avoid anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food; eat only foods that will eventually spoil or rot.
2. Add daily movement to your life:
Unfortunately, if you spend most of your day sitting—sitting in your car on the way to work, sitting at your desk all day, sitting on the drive home and sitting on the couch to unwind after a long day—then you’re not as healthy as you might believe. Here’s what you can do it: use stairs instead of the elevator.Try a treadmill desk, standing desk or convertible desk. Get up from your desk every hour and stretch or walk for 1-3 minutes. Aim for 10,000 steps a day.
Related Post: Sitting Is Killing You Even If You Workout Regularly (Here’s What You Should Do About It)
3. Improve your sleep:
Bedtime rituals can make or break your success. The last few things you do before bed tend to have a significant impact on your mood and energy level the next day, as they often determine how well and how much you sleep. Having a sleep ritual is a great way to set up your environment for optimal sleep. Try these three steps before going to bed.
- Dim your lights and screens to minimize melatonin-disrupting blue light
- Cool your room to 66-69 degrees to get to sleep faster and deeper
- Meditate or do some light stretching to calm your body and mind
- Go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day
Related Post: The Power Of Sleep
4. Manage your stress:
A little stress is a good thing. But too much is a killer. We go to the gym to work our muscles and we work hard at our career to progress in life. However, we need to have adequate recovery to avoid physical and mental burn out. Taking a vacation, meditation, spending more time in nature and other stress-reducing activities can help us restore our bodies and minds faster while paving the way for greater accomplishments. Don’t expect stress reduction to happen on its own. It won’t. Take a proactive approach to make sure you’re getting the down time you need.
Related Post: 11 Ways To Relieve Stress That You Can Start Today
5. Have fun:
We all get caught up in our daily routine that we don’t get a chance to experience as much as we should. As a result, we live lives with less joy and happiness. Make it a point to go spend time with them as this will give you a boost of positivity and happiness through the release of the neurotransmitter oxytocin. Find some hobby or passion to take up. Travel to a fun and exciting destination. I did both when I went scuba diving in Cancun in August 2017. Think about something fun you can put on your calendar and go make it happen!
Related Post: 39 Biohacks For Fitness, Nutrition, Sleep, Stress, and Happiness (That Actually Work)
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