Making Lifestyle Changes for Optimal Health
Dr. Duke Johnson, M.D.
Medical Advisor, Nutrilite Health Institute

You have a great opportunity to start the new year by making lifestyle changes that will allow you to enjoy a new level of health and vitality. I suggest that you start making a few changes, today! When these changes become a natural part of your lifestyle in a few weeks, make a few more changes. Everything begins with a single step. Everyone can make at least one lifestyle change.

Here is a reference list for you to use to make lifestyle changes now.

• See your doctor before you begin any weight-loss program. Working with your doctor, have your homocysteine, cholesterol panel, fasting sugar, fasting insulin, triglycerides, and thyroid function checked.
• Start moving your body. Make sure to check with your doctor to see where you should start your exercise program. Park farther out at the grocery store, use the stairs instead of the elevator, or walk your pet more often. Usually, just beginning some activity will make you feel better.
• Learn to closely calculate the number of calories you are consuming per day. It doesn’t have to be exact and should only take a day or two to learn how. Enlist the professional help of a dietitian or nutritionist if you need additional education on how many calories you should be consuming per day.
• Take a serious look at how to lose weight with lifestyle changes rather than fad diets.
• Learn about the fats. Reduce the “bad” fats in your diet – high-saturated, trans, animal, and partially hydrogenated oils.
• Support optimal health by making sure you’re giving your body the essential vitamins like B, C, D, E, calcium, chromium, magnesium, and other minerals. Be sure to discuss your diet with a medical professional to make sure you’re taking the right supplements to meet your nutritional needs.
• Make fruits and vegetables a priority with five to seven servings per day.
• All carbohydrates aren’t bad, and you need to have a balance of “good” carbs in your diet to achieve optimal health.
• Consume fewer processed foods. Add fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean meats to avoid additional salt and empty calories.
• Reduce simple sugars and high-fructose corn syrup.
• Stop smoking or reduce smoking. If you can’t stop smoking, reducing your cigarettes per day is better than not reducing at all.
• Get help if you’re having trouble with stress or depression. Stress suppresses your immune function. Get help from a trained professional or lay counselor. There are many agencies that offer free or reduced-fee counseling services depending on your situation.
• Reduce your blood pressure through healthy weight loss – eating less and moving more.

Choose a couple of items on this list that you can do. The key is to take the first step! Optimal health doesn’t come in a container. It comes from making lifestyle changes. Come on, let’s get serious about our health! You and your loved ones will be glad you did.

For Optimal Health,
Duke Johnson, M.D.

Dr. Duke Johnson has been an advisor to the Nutrilite Health Institute for over five years. Dr. Johnson holds a doctor of medicine and a master’s degree from Graduate School of Kinesiology from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles Medical School.

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