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How to Start Living Healthy

June 28, 2017 by Phil Carson 1 Comment

If you watch TV or surf the internet, chances are you’ve seen an advertisement for a diet or exercise program that promises significant results in very little time. Most of these focus on superficial goals like weight loss or muscle gain, and show you “before and after” photos of people who have completed the regiment. Some diets require you to take a pill, or substitute meals for shakes made with powder that often contains harmful substances. Other programs include intense exercise routines that most people who are not avid exercisers at the time they begin the program cannot handle. The majority of people who purchase these types of products don’t finish the full cycle of exercise routines or dieting requirements because the change is too drastic and the demands are too rigorous. This failure to complete what they started can be a major discouragement and create bad feelings about eating well and exercising regularly. Don’t you want to know how to start living healthy?

In his book How to Live Until You Die, Dr. Phil Carson explains that to really live life to its fullest and enjoy each day, minor changes, not major changes, need to be implemented incrementally. Dr. Phil shares his seven keys to living happy, healthy, and whole with readers and gives them concrete examples of how to improve their health and increase their quality of life by following simple steps and how to start living healthy.

In the first chapter of How to Live Until You Die, Dr. Phil talks about the importance of maintaining balance between eating, exercising, and five other key areas. He quotes the legendary basketball coach John Wooden who said “Next to love, balance is the most important thing.” Dr. Phil elaborates by explaining that being healthy doesn’t consist of replacing meals with pills and diet shakes, and that a balance of proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats should be included in each meal. He gives examples of acceptable choices for each of these categories, and provides additional resources to help you build your own food plan.

Using the method that Dr. Phil provides, anyone can improve their eating habits without making drastic changes to their everyday meals. Sometimes, simple replacements (substituting a sugary breakfast cereal for oatmeal made with steel cut oats) can deliver an immediate upgrade to our overall health.

As he says in How to Live Until You Die, “Being healthy is all about making smart choices on a daily basis and it starts with a simple five-step framework to eating clean and healthy foods.” The five steps to building a successful plan for eating healthy are covered in the first chapter of the book. The first step includes a list of the Big Seven Toxins which can be deadly if consumed regularly. Although you may not feel it right away, these toxins work through our bodies and leave us with diabetes, obesity, and worse.

Dr. Phil stresses the importance of creating a meal plan that works for you, consuming foods you enjoy eating, making smart choices, and including a balance of healthy foods rather than just following the latest fad diet.

If you’re ready to improve the quality of your life and start living healthy by following the five steps to eating healthy, order your copy of How to Live Until You Die today.

Healthy Blessings,

Dr. Phil

Why Are We Sending Our Children to School on a High?

August 21, 2015 by Phil Carson Leave a Comment

This week I started a healthy living class at my church. The class is called Fine in 49, and it’s a 49 day program for living a more balanced, healthy, and vibrant life.

Week 1 was on nutrition and healthy eating. Of course I started out teaching the class about healthy eating by making sure they knew the most important meal of the day is breakfast! So I asked them the question, “What do you think are probably the two most consumed breakfast foods every morning by adults and especially children?” They had no problem answering correctly, cereal and pop-tarts. I went on to tell them about how unhealthy these two foods are, especially for our children. Most are sugar laden, and are loaded with all kinds of unhealthy chemicals and preservatives as well. Not only do they contain an excessive amount of sugar, but they are made with processed grains that convert to sugar in the body causing our blood sugar levels to go even higher. One of the sad things about this is that we feed these foods to our children and consume them ourselves without even thinking about the nutritional value of them or the harmful effects the toxic ingredients in these foods cause to our bodies.

In preparing for my class, I visited the grocery store and strolled up and down the aisle that contained all of these harmful breakfast foods. I picked up boxes and read the labels, and I thought to myself, “If people only knew what they were really eating, if parents only knew what they were feeding their children.” The thought occurred to me that there are millions of children right now that have started the new school year and are going to school every morning on a sugar high! Millions of these kids are being diagnosed every year with ADD or ADHD, and maybe, just maybe, these kids don’t have ADD or ADHD. They’re just on a sugar high when they get to school. You see, what happens to our bodies when we consume a high sugar food like cereal or pop-tarts is our blood sugar rises very quickly and within two to three hours it takes a sudden drop. At that point our bodies usually begin to crave more sugar or something to compensate for the lack of energy or focus. I call it needing a sugar fix! Do you think, maybe, what we’re eating can be contributing to the behavior problems and the learning problems in our schools today, more than ever in the history. This article, published on NPR, highlights several studies that concluded a protein rich breakfast to be the best for helping kids learn!

As I said, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It sets the tone for the entire day. The two foods that I’ve been talking about, cereal and pop-tarts, contain no protein, only carbohydrates and fats. Our nervous system requires protein, especially in the morning! I want everyone to know that you can and you should be eating protein every morning for breakfast. Here are my suggestions for a healthy replacement for cereal. How about two eggs and a small serving of fresh fruit, or your favorite breakfast meat and a small serving of fruit? If you’re eating a pop-tart out of convenience because you need breakfast on the go, try a protein bar instead! Preferably one made with whey protein or vegetable protein, and please note that I said a protein bar, NOT a high carb cereal bar, most of which contain no protein. Yes the protein bars are a little more expensive than a cereal bar, but is your health and the health of your child not worth it to you? Another option for a healthy breakfast is peanut butter! Check out one of the first blogs I wrote and find out why peanut butter makes an excellent breakfast! One more healthy option is oatmeal topped with nuts, cinnamon, and maybe a spoonful of berries! However be sure that you eat old fashioned oatmeal, not instant oatmeal. Instant oatmeal is just as sugary and processed as the cereal I’ve warned you about.

I challenge you to try my suggestions for 30 days and see for yourself the difference in how you feel, how you think, and how well you focus, and after 30 days talk to your child’s teacher and see if they’ve noticed a difference in your child! I’d be willing to bet that you’ll notice a difference in their grades. If you’re willing to accept my challenge, I’d love to hear from you in 30 days with a report of any changes you may have noticed in yourself as well as in your children. Eating healthy, of course, takes more time and more effort, if it didn’t then everyone would do it, but I guarantee you that it is and forever will be worth it. You will be glad to you were willing to spend a little extra time and put forth a little extra effort to make lasting changes for you and for your family! You can contact me at [email protected], by filling out the contact form, or by clicking on the “Ask Dr. Phil” Microphone and leaving a voice message! I look forward to hearing from you in 30 days!

There is a product I recently discovered that you may be interested in. This product can provide a genetic nutrition and fitness assessment based upon your unique DNA and lifestyle. Click here for a short video detailing the assessment. If you’re interested in achieving a new level of wellness, then please contact me through the channels above! Also just below here is an email signup box to sign up for our monthly newsletter if you haven’t already! All you have to do is enter your email address and press enter. In our newsletter is a recap of selected blogs, a funny story, patient testimonials, product reviews and a money saving coupon code for products in our online store!

Healthy Blessings,

Dr. Phil

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Is the Cure for Arthritis in Your Kitchen?

May 21, 2015 by Phil Carson Leave a Comment

Open up the fridge, open up the pantry! The relief you’ve been in search of for your arthritis pain and prevention of arthritis all together may very well be in your kitchen! I know from my personal experience and my patients the pain and discomfort of arthritis is no joking matter. However I am not joking when I say relief may be in your kitchen. Just as there are many foods that can cause inflammation in the body there are many others that can possibly relieve or prevent that inflammation from occurring in our bodies and joints. I believe you can improve your arthritic condition dramatically, if you will incorporate these foods into your diet on a daily basis. There are various types of foods, but I want to recommend three of my favorites.

First is Fruit! There are several fruits that can help with inflammation, but the berries are the best! Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and acai berries to name a few. These berries are rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants that have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties! Here is a great post detailing the healing properties of blueberries!

Second is the vegetable family! Broccoli, onions, and garlic are considered the best for anti-inflammatory purposes. Just as with the fruit, there are numerous studies that can validate these claims. Check out this post on broccoli!

Last, but not least, and found in your pantry, are the spices, such as turmeric, ginger, cinammon, oregano, and cayenne. For those of you who may not like to spice up your food, all of the forementioned spices can be purchased in capsule form for easy and convenient consumption. Again there is much scientific evidence verifying the anti-inflammatory properties of these wonderful spices. Here is a post detailing the specifics of many of the spices listed above!

As I mentioned previously, there are also many foods that cause inflammation. For optimal arthritic symptom control, here are three common types of foods that you need to limit or avoid all together.

1. Processed Dairy and Processed Sugar – The Froyo fad could be increasing inflammation in your body through the two main ingredients: sugar and milk, not to mention those cookies or candy you put on top.

2. Processed Grains – This category includes processed breads and pasta as well. These two foods are quickly broken down in your body into sugar, and if you haven’t been keeping up with current health trends, sugar is one of the most inflammatory ingredients out there.

3. Processed Meats – According to studies, the saturated fats found in most supermarket meat causes inflammation. They can also contain a compound called arachidonic acid which triggers a natural inflammatory response in the body.

If these are some of you favorite foods, don’t be discouraged! The key with consuming these inflammatory foods is to do so in moderation. It is when your body is in a constant state of inflammation, caused by exclusively consuming these ingredients and foods, that it begins to cause problems!

If you are interested in learning about more foods that are naturally anti-inflammatory, then you’re in luck because, I will cover those in my next blog. For information on specific anti-inflammatory supplements check out my last post! If you have any great recipes using any of these ingredients please share them in the comment section below, and if you have any questions about arthritis fill out the contact form or leave a message using the “Ask Dr. Phil” Microphone!

Healthy Blessings,

Dr. Phil