We’ve all heard that “you are what you eat,” but when you’re not fueling your body properly, your body has a host of subtle and more obvious ways of letting you know. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) cites poor nutrition as one of the four major risk factors that lead to chronic disease, while the other three are insufficient exercise, tobacco use, and overdoing it with alcohol.
Dr. Jacob Holdren, Dr. Steven Foley, and the Regenerative Health & Wellness Medical Center team routinely work with patients who suffer with low energy, the effects of unwanted pounds, and even mood swings that can accompany eating a poor diet.
Signs you need to improve your diet
We frequently see patients when their bodies’ cries for help can no longer be ignored. A wide range of symptoms, including a very visible one — weight gain — are messengers that give you a wealth of information about your overall health, you just have to listen.
Signals that your body isn’t being properly nourished include:
1. Digestive stress
Americans typically don’t eat enough fiber — the roughage in fruits and veggies, legumes, and whole grains that isn’t digestible — and that leads to both constipation, which also causes gut discomfort and sluggishness, and diarrhea. If your digestive symptoms fluctuate, it could be due to a fiber deficit.
2. Brain drain
Brain fog and memory issues can be attributed to nutritional imbalances, especially not getting enough omega 3 fatty acids, which keep your brain sharp. These acids are found in food sources like salmon, soybeans, walnuts, and certain seeds like flax seeds and chia seeds.
3. Less-than-lustrous skin and hair
Vitamins D, C, E, and K are important in keeping your skin healthy and help slow the signs of aging. Zinc is also important for healthy skin, and it’s plentiful in shellfish, legumes like beans and lentils, milk and cheese, nuts and seeds, potatoes, and eggs. It’s important to note, too, that your body can’t store zinc, so you need to eat it daily.
Your hair dries out and becomes brittle when you don’t get enough lean protein, essential fatty acids, vitamin C and other important nutrients. Poor nutrition and crash diets can even cause hair loss. Stick to fatty fish like salmon, eggs, a wide range of fruits and vegetables, and again, nuts and seeds for healthy hair.
4. Sexual dysfunction
Eating healthfully lowers your risk for conditions that lead to erectile dysfunction, such as cardiovascular disease and obesity. Not only can a better diet address your ED, but we offer a treatment called the ED-Shot that helps with this condition as well.
5. (Not) sweet dreams
Over a third of Americans don’t get an adequate amount of sleep each night, and what you eat — or fail to eat — can wreak havoc with your slumber. Vitamin deficiencies are linked to sleep. For example, a lack of vitamin D has been found to result in less sleep and lower quality Zzzs.
In addition to extra weight, vitamin E deficiency has been associated with obstructive sleep apnea. High-carbohydrate meals are shown to disrupt sleep quality as well. So again, balance in what you eat and vitamin-rich fruits, veggies, seeds and nuts, whole grains, and high-quality protein all contribute to a more restful night.
6. When your numbers go askew
We often talk about “knowing your numbers,” which are simple measurable indicators of your health. These include your weight, cholesterol, blood glucose level, and blood pressure. If you notice an upward trend in any of these, it’s time to reevaluate your nutrition.
7. Tipping the scales
One of the most obvious signs that your diet is problematic is when you move out of the healthy weight zone. Sustained, significant weight gain puts a strain on your body, immune system, and overall health. Weight gain is also linked to hormonal imbalances, which we treat with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
At Regenerative Health & Wellness Medical Center, we offer medically supervised weight loss services, and they’re Dr. Foley’s specialty. He takes a deep dive into your health history, the problems you’re experiencing now, and your current diet in order to devise a customized nutritional plan for you that’s healthy, practical, and attainable.
Dr. Foley provides you with a plan for improving your day-to-day lifestyle through eating plenty of nutrient-rich foods, getting adequate daily exercise, and managing stress, and he designs your treatment so it’s sustainable. Only then can you keep the weight off and say goodbye to the range of unpleasant symptoms brought on by an unhealthy diet.
Contact the Regenerative Health & Wellness Medical Center that’s most convenient to you and set up a consultation to talk about how to correct your diet so unpleasant symptoms disappear.