Diet and Lifestyle

There is no way to summarize everything important into a couple of paragraphs. However, here are the basics:
1.           Most of you are not drinking enough water. Aim for at least 2 L every day, adding another 250 ml for each caffeinated drink (coffee, tea, soda). DO NOT make bottled water a main source of your water intake. Plastic bottles (the softer they are, the worse they are) leach chemicals called xenoestrogens into the water, which can have disastrous effects on your hormones. This affects men, women and especially children. Generally the tap water in Vancouver is excellent. It contains chlorine, which can be filtered out. Or it will naturally dissipate from a water jug in a few hours. Bottom line – bottled water can be bad for your health and is terrible for the environment.
2.           Most of you are not getting enough sleep. (If this is one of the reasons you’re coming to see me, good for you for addressing it). As for the rest of you, wake up! I mean - don’t wake up, keep sleeping! Being sleep deficient means you might get sick more often, have a harder time keeping weight off, and find your memory and cognitive performance suffering.
3.           Sugar is the devil. (If you thought it was fat, welcome to the 21st century, we have a new enemy!) According to the World Health Organization, sugar/simple carbohydrates should comprise no more than 10% of your daily caloric intake. Personally, I think that’s even too high, and near impossible to accurately assess anyway. I ask all my patients to complete a personal diet diary, both to draw your own attention to what you eat, and to give me an idea of where to start. If you’d like a more in-depth one-on-one around making diet changes, I’d highly recommend making an appointment to sit down with our nutritionist, Breanne.