Take Charge of Your Health This Year Through Nutrition

Whether you want to improve your figure, your mood, or your skin quality, the best place to start is by optimizing your nutrition. Good nutrition provides the cells that make up your skin, hair, organs, and the rest of your body with the macronutrients and micronutrients they need to function at their peak.

Unfortunately, the Standard American Diet (SAD) is woefully deficient in nutrients. And while you can find a plethora of information about nutrition online, wading through contradictory studies and misinformation can make your head swim. That’s why Dana J. Rockey, DMD, offers individualized healthy lifestyle advice and programs at his office in Newport Beach, California.

A plan just for you

Your body may have different needs and sensitivities than your neighbor’s — or even a sibling’s -- body. As part of your healthy, whole-food nutrition recommendations, Dr. Rockey evaluates your overall health and takes a medical history. He then works with you to devise an overall wellness plan that matches your needs, lifestyle, and current level of fitness.

He may also prescribe supplements to counteract nutritional deficiencies. Nutrient deficiencies don’t just exist in people. Over-farming and other poor agricultural practices have robbed our soil of important vitamins and minerals, too, which has altered the nutritional content of the food itself.

Make room for the good

Despite individual differences, however, everyone benefits by adopting a few basic nutritional principles. First, focus on whole foods — such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans — that are filled with nutrients, antioxidants, and fiber. 

To “make room” for all of the new foods that your body needs -- and to turn off the inflammation that nutritionally poor foods trigger --  you should eliminate non-nutritious foods. 

For example, it’s a good idea to avoid overly processed foods, processed meats, and fast foods. Steer clear of bakery items and sweetened beverages that contain sugar in all its forms, including high-fructose corn syrup. 

Dr. Rockey works with you to develop a realistic plan to shift away from the foods you’re most accustomed to and toward those your body needs. As you develop your new eating habits, you’ll discover more flavors, textures, and colors than you ever thought possible. Eventually the “old” foods won’t even taste (or feel) good to you anymore.

Build up muscle while burning fat

A nutritious diet makes your body feel good and helps it function at its peak. As you switch to eating more vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats, while minimizing high-glycemic starches and other types of sugar, your body starts to burn fat.

When you eat enough protein and do some weight lifting a few days a week, you’ll build muscle tissue, which is more metabolically active than fatty tissue. The fitter your body becomes, the more efficiently it burns calories and excess body fat. 

Instead of being caught in a negative cycle of feeling lethargic, which leads to creating more fat, you move into a new cycle of making muscle that makes you want to move more (and burn more fat). 

Let someone else do the work

One of the drawbacks of switching from convenience foods to whole foods is that it takes longer to acquire, prepare, and cook vegetables and high-quality meats and other whole foods. If you have a busy schedule that prevents you from spending time in the kitchen, Dr. Rockey recommends nutrition services that do some (or all) of the work for you.

Make 2021 the year you take charge of your nutrition and well-being. Contact our health coach, Peggy Anne Rockey at (949) 289-0409.