1
00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:06,400
Speaker 1: Welcome to Wellness sun Mass. I'm doctor Nicole Sapphire and

2
00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:10,400
Speaker 1: this is the last episode of twenty twenty five. Here

3
00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,680
Speaker 1: at Wellness sun Mass with Doctor Nicole Sapfhire. We launched

4
00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,280
Speaker 1: in the spring I think it was late spring early

5
00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:19,759
Speaker 1: summer of twenty twenty five. It has been a steep

6
00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:25,040
Speaker 1: learning curve figuring out this whole podcast thing. I am young,

7
00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:27,800
Speaker 1: and I feel like I'm even more young at heart,

8
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,360
Speaker 1: but I'll tell you I am not the most technologically savvy.

9
00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:34,479
Speaker 1: So heading into twenty twenty six, I have big goals

10
00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:39,159
Speaker 1: for myself of continuing to evolve on this platform and

11
00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,800
Speaker 1: trying to bring you as much real and honest content

12
00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:46,159
Speaker 1: as possible, making sure to get some fantastic guests that

13
00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:50,600
Speaker 1: only expands your knowledge and horizons, but mine as well,

14
00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:54,080
Speaker 1: because there's always more for us to learn. But I

15
00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,200
Speaker 1: wanted to for this last twenty twenty five episode just

16
00:00:57,560 --> 00:00:59,760
Speaker 1: talk to you a little bit about what we can

17
00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:01,720
Speaker 1: all do to get to a little bit of a

18
00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,760
Speaker 1: healthier place. I for one, I hate New Year's resolutions.

19
00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,559
Speaker 1: I really do, because they fail. But let's be honest,

20
00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:11,920
Speaker 1: we all head into twenty twenty six, we have big

21
00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,320
Speaker 1: goals big plans come February, come March. Do you even

22
00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:19,480
Speaker 1: think about those resolutions anymore? Probably not, because it's hard

23
00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,959
Speaker 1: for a lot of us too. So listen, there's a

24
00:01:22,959 --> 00:01:26,119
Speaker 1: familiar pressure in the air, a new year, a new year.

25
00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,640
Speaker 1: You're seeing all of the things online on TV, people

26
00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,600
Speaker 1: are talking about it. But let me be very clear

27
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,640
Speaker 1: right from the start, you do not need to reinvent

28
00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,040
Speaker 1: yourself to live a healthier and happy life. You just don't.

29
00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,880
Speaker 1: Every January I really see the same pattern. Extreme diets,

30
00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:47,800
Speaker 1: unrealistic workout goals, supplement overload, and a whole lot of

31
00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,080
Speaker 1: guilt by the time that February March rolls around. And

32
00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:54,200
Speaker 1: as a physician, I'm going to tell you this approach,

33
00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:58,720
Speaker 1: this extremism, it's going to fail. It is so this year,

34
00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,680
Speaker 1: I would like to challenge you to do something different.

35
00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,560
Speaker 1: I know you've heard me talk about this before because

36
00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,760
Speaker 1: I feel strongly about it. Instead of a total overhaul,

37
00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,680
Speaker 1: let's just focus on some small, strategic and science backed,

38
00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,560
Speaker 1: of course, shifts that could actually move the needle on

39
00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:24,440
Speaker 1: health physically, mentally, metabolically, all of those things. So let's

40
00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:29,360
Speaker 1: talk about it. Research consistently shows that over eighty percent

41
00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,760
Speaker 1: of New Year's resolutions fail by February. I mean, that's

42
00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:35,600
Speaker 1: that's pretty big. February. Really, we couldn't even get to

43
00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:39,920
Speaker 1: like Q two April. Nope, it's February. And it's not

44
00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:43,440
Speaker 1: because people are lazy, but because the goals sometimes they

45
00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:45,800
Speaker 1: are too vague. Most of the time, they're way too extreme,

46
00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:50,520
Speaker 1: and they're rooted in punishment instead of progress, like lose

47
00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,919
Speaker 1: thirty pounds in six months, work out every day, never

48
00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:57,880
Speaker 1: eat sugar ever ever ever. Again, that's not behavior change.

49
00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:01,320
Speaker 1: That's like burnout. But on a calendar. Your brain and

50
00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:06,200
Speaker 1: your body, they're wired for consistency, not shock therapy. You'd

51
00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:10,160
Speaker 1: think we learned from the seventies sixties. Shock therapy doesn't work.

52
00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:15,119
Speaker 1: So we need to actually make some you know, more manageable,

53
00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,560
Speaker 1: consistent things that are better for long term because when

54
00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:22,480
Speaker 1: we go too hard, too fast, cortisol, you know, our

55
00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,800
Speaker 1: stress hormones are fight or flight cortisol, epinephrine or apper

56
00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:30,960
Speaker 1: nephrin those all spike. And while it's great in the

57
00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,960
Speaker 1: short term for those brief burst of energy we need,

58
00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:35,960
Speaker 1: like if we see a black bear and we need

59
00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,560
Speaker 1: to run, but it's terrible for the long term for

60
00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:45,160
Speaker 1: your health because your sleep suffers, your inflammation increases because

61
00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:48,720
Speaker 1: cortisol makes those blood sugar spikes. And that's not just

62
00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:52,600
Speaker 1: for diabetics, that's anyone makes your blood sugar spike. We

63
00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:56,760
Speaker 1: know blood sugar rise, and blood sugar increases our bodily inflammation,

64
00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:01,840
Speaker 1: and bodily inflammation increases, auto immune disease, poor gut health,

65
00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:06,920
Speaker 1: poor sleep, feeling, sluggish, cancer, just about everything, heart disease, dementia,

66
00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:11,880
Speaker 1: you name it. It's caused by inflammation. And ironically, when

67
00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,320
Speaker 1: you do stuff like that, weight loss and metabolic health

68
00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,560
Speaker 1: get much worse, not better. So you may be doing

69
00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,320
Speaker 1: this like shock therapy, thinking you're doing something good for

70
00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:25,440
Speaker 1: your body, but it's not, especially not in the long term.

71
00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,479
Speaker 1: So instead of asking yourself, what do I want to

72
00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,680
Speaker 1: change about myself? Ask what does my body need more of?

73
00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:36,520
Speaker 1: What does it need less of? That shift alone can

74
00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,200
Speaker 1: reframe health from punishment to partnership. I mean, think, if

75
00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,320
Speaker 1: your body as a vessel, you have one vessel for

76
00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:45,520
Speaker 1: this life, you better do all you can to take

77
00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:48,440
Speaker 1: care of it. For me, I've really had to just

78
00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,799
Speaker 1: stop drinking wine altogether. And that's not because I said

79
00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:54,560
Speaker 1: all right, that's it. I need to lose ten pounds

80
00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:58,040
Speaker 1: and so therefore I'm not drinking wine anymore. I haven't

81
00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,200
Speaker 1: done that. What I have done is is I've noticed

82
00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,839
Speaker 1: over the last year, if I were to have a

83
00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:07,560
Speaker 1: glass of wine that night, I would get like night sweats.

84
00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:09,520
Speaker 1: I'd almost wake up like I felt like I had

85
00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,360
Speaker 1: a fever. Like my body was like, Uh, get this

86
00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,400
Speaker 1: out of me. These toxins are awful. And I don't

87
00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:17,919
Speaker 1: know if it was the sugar, the tannins, whatever is

88
00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,640
Speaker 1: about wine. It wasn't making me feel good. I was.

89
00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:23,960
Speaker 1: It was keeping me up at night. I was waking

90
00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:25,960
Speaker 1: up in the morning feeling like I had a bottle

91
00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,960
Speaker 1: instead of a glass. So I made the conscious decision

92
00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:31,120
Speaker 1: to say not that, oh, you're never allowed a glass

93
00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,240
Speaker 1: of wine again. It's just why would I continue to

94
00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:36,760
Speaker 1: drink wine if it makes my body feel this way?

95
00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:39,520
Speaker 1: And I really, for the most part, cut it out.

96
00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:43,279
Speaker 1: So those are kind of the meaningful shifts that I

97
00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,240
Speaker 1: want you to focus on. What makes your body feel good.

98
00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:48,760
Speaker 1: If it feels good, maybe you should do some more

99
00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:50,840
Speaker 1: of it. And now I'm not talking about, you know,

100
00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,680
Speaker 1: things that make your body feel good in a harmful way.

101
00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,640
Speaker 1: I'm talking about good things. You know what makes you

102
00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,760
Speaker 1: feel bad? Are there certain foods that you find yourself

103
00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:03,000
Speaker 1: just not doing well at night? You're having hard time

104
00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,200
Speaker 1: falling asleep, staying asleep. When you wake up, you don't

105
00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:08,640
Speaker 1: feel very well. Maybe keep a little bit of a

106
00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:12,160
Speaker 1: food diary that you can mention some of the foods

107
00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:14,560
Speaker 1: and drinks and even things that you do during the day.

108
00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,039
Speaker 1: You know what makes you feel good, what makes you

109
00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,120
Speaker 1: feel bad. And if you do that for I don't know,

110
00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:22,600
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks, even a month, you can look

111
00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:24,760
Speaker 1: back at that and you can find some patterns and

112
00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:28,160
Speaker 1: figure out what your body really wants. And so, you know,

113
00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,240
Speaker 1: we talk a lot about food and exercise and that

114
00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:34,440
Speaker 1: directly affects our sleep. But sleep, I know you've heard

115
00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:38,280
Speaker 1: me say this at nosum. Sleep is so crucial because

116
00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:42,800
Speaker 1: poor sleep disrupts just about everything. It disrupts insulin sensitivity,

117
00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,640
Speaker 1: increases hunger hormones, It lowers our leptin, which is a

118
00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,320
Speaker 1: hunger hormone, and it drives cravings for sugar and processed food.

119
00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:54,600
Speaker 1: It also weakens immune function and worsens anxiety and depression.

120
00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,200
Speaker 1: It does I know, I keep talking about get your sleep,

121
00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:00,760
Speaker 1: and it's not just because I want you to feel

122
00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,440
Speaker 1: awake the next morning. I'm telling you your body rests

123
00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:08,640
Speaker 1: and restores while it's sleeping. So I think one of

124
00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,680
Speaker 1: the big goals should be protect your sleep like it's medicine,

125
00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:16,400
Speaker 1: because it absolutely is, and simple realistic steps like aim

126
00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:18,920
Speaker 1: for a consistent bedtime because the reality is, it's not

127
00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,720
Speaker 1: just how long you sleep every night, it's how consistent

128
00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:25,640
Speaker 1: you are with your sleep patterns. Because your body, the

129
00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,640
Speaker 1: hormones go on a cycle, so you want to maintain

130
00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,040
Speaker 1: your circadian rhythm. So if you like to go to

131
00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,040
Speaker 1: sleep at ten o'clock, I personally like to go to

132
00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,440
Speaker 1: sleep at nine o'clock, but I'm an early bird and

133
00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:37,680
Speaker 1: that's okay. But if you like to go to sleep

134
00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:39,360
Speaker 1: at ten o'clock, just try to go to sleep at

135
00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:41,920
Speaker 1: ten o'clock every night, not just Monday through Friday and

136
00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:44,200
Speaker 1: then party hardy on the weekends. Try to go to

137
00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,800
Speaker 1: sleep at ten o'clock Monday through Sunday, and fine, if

138
00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:49,880
Speaker 1: that's too early for you, make it eleven o'clock. But

139
00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,400
Speaker 1: your body really does want at least seven to nine

140
00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:55,280
Speaker 1: hours asleep. You know, eight to nine hours is that

141
00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,880
Speaker 1: golden magical number. But Equally as important is getting to

142
00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,480
Speaker 1: sleep around the same time every night. You want to

143
00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,920
Speaker 1: stop scrolling at least thirty minutes before bed. Honestly, you

144
00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:08,360
Speaker 1: should try to stop scrolling three hours before bed, but

145
00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:12,640
Speaker 1: for some people that's impossible. Keep your room cool and dark,

146
00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,160
Speaker 1: sleeping when it's colder in your room, you know, sleeping

147
00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:19,520
Speaker 1: without clothes on. That actually helps boost your metabolism. While

148
00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:22,000
Speaker 1: you're sleeping, when you're just feeling a little bit chilly,

149
00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,080
Speaker 1: your body kind of kicks into gear and you never know,

150
00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:27,680
Speaker 1: you might be burning calories while you sleep. Wouldn't that

151
00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:30,720
Speaker 1: be the perfect way to burn some calories. And if

152
00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,160
Speaker 1: you find yourself like your mind is racing at night

153
00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:35,800
Speaker 1: and you're just laying in bed, don't turn on the TV,

154
00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,080
Speaker 1: don't grab for your phone, because that light is going

155
00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:42,160
Speaker 1: to completely disrupt your circadian rhythm. It's going to stop

156
00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:45,520
Speaker 1: what's happening with your melatonin and your serotonin and all

157
00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:48,040
Speaker 1: of that. So you really want to keep that light away.

158
00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:50,240
Speaker 1: You can grab a book if you want that. You

159
00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:53,680
Speaker 1: can also start writing things down. If you find yourself

160
00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:55,560
Speaker 1: like coming up with the list I have to do this,

161
00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:57,800
Speaker 1: I need to do this, and so and so forth.

162
00:08:58,280 --> 00:08:59,920
Speaker 1: Instead of trying to keep it all in your brain,

163
00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:01,920
Speaker 1: and take it out of your brain and write it

164
00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:03,920
Speaker 1: down on a piece of paper. It'll be there in

165
00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,120
Speaker 1: the morning. You can focus it on in the morning.

166
00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:09,240
Speaker 1: But try to remove some of that stress physically from

167
00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:12,920
Speaker 1: your brain by writing it down, because all that does

168
00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:16,600
Speaker 1: is just stress you out. And chronic stress is one

169
00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:21,400
Speaker 1: of the most underestimated health threats we have. Stress it's

170
00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:25,439
Speaker 1: not just emotional, it's physiological. It raises our cortisol. We

171
00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:29,960
Speaker 1: talked about that, which drives inflammation, disrupts our digestion, and

172
00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,760
Speaker 1: it increases cardiovascular risk. It also increases the risk for cancer,

173
00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:37,560
Speaker 1: for dementia and other things. Inflammation is bad. Stress causes

174
00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:40,559
Speaker 1: inflammation bad bad. So I'm not going to tell you

175
00:09:40,559 --> 00:09:44,880
Speaker 1: need to eliminate stress, because obviously that's impossible, but you

176
00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:49,320
Speaker 1: can change how your body responds to it. So sometimes

177
00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,160
Speaker 1: this is hard for me, but I do try to

178
00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,520
Speaker 1: just take a pause and some of the daily stress

179
00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:58,360
Speaker 1: reset tools that I find that actually work. Ten minute

180
00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,400
Speaker 1: walk outside, getting outside. Did you know that just being

181
00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:04,600
Speaker 1: in nature and being surrounded by nature has shown to

182
00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,360
Speaker 1: decrease cortisol levels. I know that sounds silly, but just

183
00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,000
Speaker 1: get yourself outside. Not only does it give you that

184
00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,560
Speaker 1: little bit vitamin D, which we are all low on

185
00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:17,000
Speaker 1: during the winter time, I guess, except if you're living

186
00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:19,640
Speaker 1: in the Southwest, they seem to have unseasonably warm and

187
00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:22,080
Speaker 1: sunny temperatures right now. But for the rest of us,

188
00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:24,360
Speaker 1: we're living in some state of fifty shades of gray

189
00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:26,680
Speaker 1: and not the sexy time. So we're all low on

190
00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:30,560
Speaker 1: vitamin D, which affects our bone health. It also affects

191
00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:33,160
Speaker 1: our brain health, and it affects our mental health. So

192
00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:36,160
Speaker 1: getting outside, rolling up your sleeves a little bit, trying

193
00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,160
Speaker 1: to get that vitamin D, maybe even taking vitamin D

194
00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:42,199
Speaker 1: supplements that can help with that. But just being outside

195
00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,679
Speaker 1: not only helps with vitamin D, but it can decrease

196
00:10:44,679 --> 00:10:49,360
Speaker 1: your cortisol. Deep breathing exercises where you really just focused,

197
00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:53,000
Speaker 1: You close your eyes, you take a big deep breath in,

198
00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:56,000
Speaker 1: you hold it for a minute, not a minute. Excuse me,

199
00:10:56,480 --> 00:10:58,199
Speaker 1: don't do that. I have a hard time holding it.

200
00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:02,840
Speaker 1: Hold it for a few seconds, and then slowly exhale.

201
00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:06,520
Speaker 1: Because when you are exhaling, not only are you getting

202
00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,640
Speaker 1: rid of that carbon dioxide and making more room for

203
00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:13,920
Speaker 1: the oxygen that's going to now supply much needed nutrients

204
00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:16,719
Speaker 1: and oxygen throughout your entire body. But you can think

205
00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,880
Speaker 1: of your exhale as just some of that stress leaving

206
00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:24,040
Speaker 1: your body. Deep breathing really does have a physiological effect

207
00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:27,360
Speaker 1: on your body. It could decrease blood pressure, it can

208
00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:31,360
Speaker 1: improve your mood, and it can really help decrease those

209
00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:34,480
Speaker 1: cortisol levels. So stopping for a few minutes a day,

210
00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,600
Speaker 1: just put yourself into a quiet area, just trying to

211
00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:41,680
Speaker 1: focus and recenter on what's going on with you and

212
00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:44,199
Speaker 1: focus on your breathing instead of the chaos around you

213
00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:48,720
Speaker 1: can be helpful. Also, finding some creative hobbies, listening to

214
00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:52,520
Speaker 1: music or just quiet time without stimulation, that can all

215
00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:55,880
Speaker 1: be a good thing. I personally absolutely love reading a

216
00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:59,200
Speaker 1: good book. I'll be honest, I haven't done leisurely reading

217
00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:02,040
Speaker 1: in almost a year because I have been writing a book,

218
00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:04,680
Speaker 1: and that's one of my things. When I'm writing a book,

219
00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:07,520
Speaker 1: I can't be leisurely reading. I have to focus on

220
00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:10,800
Speaker 1: what I'm writing. So I just turned something in to

221
00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,400
Speaker 1: my editor within the last week, and I'm so excited

222
00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:16,760
Speaker 1: to get back to reading because I miss it so much.

223
00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:19,920
Speaker 1: I already have about eight books picked out that I

224
00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:23,160
Speaker 1: plan to read hopefully in the next few months. More

225
00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:29,480
Speaker 1: coming up on Wellness Unmasked with doctor Nicole Sapphire. I

226
00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:31,840
Speaker 1: also listen to music when I'm at work. When I

227
00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,839
Speaker 1: walk into my office in between seeing patients, my music

228
00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:36,760
Speaker 1: is playing and it does just give me that little

229
00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:39,720
Speaker 1: bit of sense of relaxation. I love to pick up

230
00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:41,840
Speaker 1: a hobby. I really know what it is. I did

231
00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:44,440
Speaker 1: start my chickens in the last couple of years. I

232
00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:48,200
Speaker 1: created an amazing vegetable garden this last year. You know,

233
00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:49,679
Speaker 1: I don't know what twenty twenty six is going to

234
00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:52,280
Speaker 1: hold for me. Maybe I'm going to expand on my

235
00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:54,640
Speaker 1: gardening or something. Whatever it is, I just hope it

236
00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:57,920
Speaker 1: brings me outside because we just do not get outside enough.

237
00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,360
Speaker 1: So you know, I'm still thinking about it. I don't

238
00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:04,240
Speaker 1: know what it is yet. But another thing, well, when

239
00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,199
Speaker 1: we talk about trying to feel better, you know, as

240
00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:09,920
Speaker 1: I talk about my chickens, I have chickens because I

241
00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:13,160
Speaker 1: want fresh, healthy eggs. I have a vegetable garden and

242
00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:15,200
Speaker 1: an herb garden because I like to bring that in

243
00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:19,360
Speaker 1: directly to my family to feed my family. There. Nutrition

244
00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:22,160
Speaker 1: is obviously very important heading into the New Year's So

245
00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:25,400
Speaker 1: instead of stepping into twenty twenty six saying, all right,

246
00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:27,120
Speaker 1: I need to cut out my carbs, I need to

247
00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,360
Speaker 1: cut out my calories, I need to cut out my sugar.

248
00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:32,160
Speaker 1: I basically just need to cut out joy from my diet.

249
00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:34,720
Speaker 1: That's not what I'm telling you to do. I want

250
00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:38,120
Speaker 1: you to start by adding, let's talk about things. Am

251
00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:41,720
Speaker 1: I getting enough protein? Am I getting enough fiber? Uh? No?

252
00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:43,800
Speaker 1: I can answer that for you. You're not getting enough

253
00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:47,720
Speaker 1: fiber because Americans never get enough fiber. We've talked about

254
00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:50,200
Speaker 1: this before. We've talked about things you can do to

255
00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,800
Speaker 1: increase lean protein, increase fiber, other micronutrients. I'm telling you,

256
00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,160
Speaker 1: whatever you think you're doing, you could be doing more

257
00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,880
Speaker 1: and your body will truly thank you. Protein essential for

258
00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:06,560
Speaker 1: muscle metabolism, your overall metabolism, blood sugar stability, and especially

259
00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:11,000
Speaker 1: as we age. Fiber supports gut health, hormone balance and

260
00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:15,160
Speaker 1: inflammation control, and our micronutrients are needed all throughout our

261
00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,400
Speaker 1: bodies to help our muscles, help our bones, help our brain.

262
00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:21,160
Speaker 1: So if your plate is if you're looking at your

263
00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:24,080
Speaker 1: dinner plate, your you know your lunch plate, your breakfast plate.

264
00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,680
Speaker 1: There should be half vegetables or half fruits, a solid

265
00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:33,640
Speaker 1: protein source, some healthy fats. If you have that, you

266
00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:38,320
Speaker 1: are already witting. And now this doesn't require perfection, but

267
00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:41,360
Speaker 1: I am a big believer in the whole eighty twenty approach.

268
00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:44,920
Speaker 1: You eat well most of the time, like eighty percent

269
00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,480
Speaker 1: of the time, and then twenty percent of the time

270
00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:49,400
Speaker 1: you know you can have like I don't know, I

271
00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,120
Speaker 1: was eating some Hershey kisses earlier. I love chocolate, what

272
00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:54,240
Speaker 1: can I say? But I also make sure that I

273
00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:57,800
Speaker 1: had a healthy breakfast this morning, full of eggs and blueberries,

274
00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:02,080
Speaker 1: and I had a fiber rich smoothie. So I'm ready

275
00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:03,480
Speaker 1: to live the rest of my life. And if I

276
00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:06,920
Speaker 1: want to have some chocolate this afternoon, I golly, I

277
00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:10,880
Speaker 1: did because I want to. So we've heard and learned

278
00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:15,040
Speaker 1: a lot about ultra processed foods recently the Make America

279
00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,920
Speaker 1: Healthy Again movement with RFK Junior. Obviously they've talked a

280
00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:20,920
Speaker 1: lot about it. And maybe you never heard that term before,

281
00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:23,640
Speaker 1: but now I mean it's everywhere. And no, they didn't

282
00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:26,800
Speaker 1: just happen. They're just finally being talked about. We don't

283
00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:29,800
Speaker 1: need to be obsessive over it, but Reducing the amount

284
00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:32,280
Speaker 1: of ultra processed foods is one of the most important

285
00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:37,080
Speaker 1: powerful health moves you can make. These foods are engineered

286
00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:42,640
Speaker 1: to override the feeling of fullness and disrupt metabolic signaling.

287
00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:46,120
Speaker 1: They are honestly designed for you to eat them and

288
00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:48,880
Speaker 1: then make you want to continue eating more. No wonder

289
00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:51,200
Speaker 1: we have an obesity crisis here in the United States.

290
00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:54,200
Speaker 1: Our food's designed to make us do that. It's horrible.

291
00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,920
Speaker 1: So what are these ultraprocessed foods? It's pretty much everything

292
00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,520
Speaker 1: in this center of the grocery store. If it can

293
00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:03,040
Speaker 1: sit in your pantry for more than a couple of months,

294
00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:07,440
Speaker 1: it's probably ultra processed, unless obviously canned. Canned vegetables and

295
00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,600
Speaker 1: stuff those can sit longer. But oftentimes sos have a

296
00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,120
Speaker 1: lot of salt in them. So you really want to

297
00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:17,640
Speaker 1: watch all that content. So let's start small. However, many

298
00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:22,320
Speaker 1: packaged goods, sugar sweetened beverages, whatever you have in your

299
00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,880
Speaker 1: pantry or whatever you have in your daily life, you

300
00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:26,720
Speaker 1: don't need to cut it out. Why don't you just

301
00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,600
Speaker 1: cut back a little bit. If you stop at Starbucks

302
00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:31,760
Speaker 1: and you get those sugary drinks five days a week,

303
00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:34,040
Speaker 1: Lord help you I hope you don't do that, but

304
00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:36,880
Speaker 1: if you do, maybe we cut back, maybe like two

305
00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,840
Speaker 1: days a week. That would be monumentous. And maybe next

306
00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:42,160
Speaker 1: year we can talk about cutting back altogether because those

307
00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:45,880
Speaker 1: sugary drinks terrible for you. But there's no need to

308
00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,680
Speaker 1: be extreme. In fact, it's not realistic to be extreme.

309
00:16:49,760 --> 00:16:53,120
Speaker 1: So let's just cut back a little bit. Okay, And

310
00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:55,520
Speaker 1: the last thing I really want to touch on, don't

311
00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:57,960
Speaker 1: overthink it. Okay, you don't need to go and get

312
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,160
Speaker 1: a new gym membership to be healthier. Movement is medicine.

313
00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:06,240
Speaker 1: It doesn't have to be extreme. The biggest benefits from consistency,

314
00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:13,320
Speaker 1: strength training, and just daily movement. Walking incredibly underrated because walking,

315
00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:20,080
Speaker 1: especially like fast walking, improves cardiovascular health, insulin sensitivity, mental health,

316
00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:24,560
Speaker 1: and longevity. Strength training, yes, yes, ladies, you two. We

317
00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,560
Speaker 1: all need to be lifting weights right now because as

318
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:32,119
Speaker 1: we get older, especially women, our bone density goes down

319
00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,600
Speaker 1: and strength training not only builds our muscles, but it

320
00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:38,639
Speaker 1: helps protect our bones. So if you are not lifting

321
00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:42,080
Speaker 1: weights and you are in your forties, in your fifties,

322
00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:45,719
Speaker 1: in your sixties, you are not doing your body justice.

323
00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:47,640
Speaker 1: And that is one thing you need to start doing

324
00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:49,720
Speaker 1: this year is start lifting some weights. That doesn't mean

325
00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:52,359
Speaker 1: you have to go be a weightlifter fitness model. It

326
00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,480
Speaker 1: just means get some five bound dumbbells, keep them in

327
00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:58,679
Speaker 1: your keep them in your office, keep them in your bedroom,

328
00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:01,720
Speaker 1: wherever it is, start lifting some weights, try and build

329
00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:04,480
Speaker 1: some muscle. Working out with the trainer is a great

330
00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:06,320
Speaker 1: thing if you have the time and money to do it.

331
00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:09,560
Speaker 1: I love working out with trainers, but it's not realistic

332
00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:11,840
Speaker 1: for me because I cannot keep an appointment to save

333
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,440
Speaker 1: my life. So I just really try to. I have

334
00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:17,280
Speaker 1: some hand weights in my office at the hospital, and

335
00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:19,800
Speaker 1: anytime I can, I start lifting some weights. I like

336
00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:21,760
Speaker 1: to do lunges. I like to do anything I can

337
00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,480
Speaker 1: to keep my body moving during the day. And I

338
00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:25,959
Speaker 1: know I said that was the last thing we were

339
00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:27,960
Speaker 1: going to talk about, but I'm sorry I forgot. We

340
00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,120
Speaker 1: got to talk about one more big thing because as

341
00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:34,600
Speaker 1: we head deeper into the winter, the immunity is top

342
00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,000
Speaker 1: of mine. I mean, I'm sure you've seen the headlines

343
00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,280
Speaker 1: where like max capacity when it comes to flu right now,

344
00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,919
Speaker 1: So let's support our immune health because flu season is

345
00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:47,520
Speaker 1: not over until March. Yes, right now is terrible, but

346
00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:51,120
Speaker 1: it continues on for another couple of months. So supporting

347
00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:54,400
Speaker 1: our immune health, yes, it can be supported with supplements,

348
00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:57,160
Speaker 1: but it's not just about you know, taking that emergency

349
00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:59,440
Speaker 1: or whatever it is. There's no amount of vitamin C

350
00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:02,040
Speaker 1: that's going to protect you if you aren't taking care

351
00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:05,159
Speaker 1: of other aspects of your body. So adequate sleep. We

352
00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:08,600
Speaker 1: already mentioned that nutrient dense foods. Think of eating the

353
00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:14,240
Speaker 1: colors of the rainbow, blueberries, raspberries, bananas, apples, all those things.

354
00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,240
Speaker 1: A bunch of different colors have all various different nutrients

355
00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:19,959
Speaker 1: that all work in different ways to boost your immune system.

356
00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:23,760
Speaker 1: Make sure you're eating them. Stress management. The more stressed

357
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,800
Speaker 1: you are, the more cortisol you have, and cortisol directly

358
00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,080
Speaker 1: dampens your immune system. So if you're stressed out because

359
00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:32,240
Speaker 1: you don't have enough time to do stuff, you're going

360
00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:33,840
Speaker 1: to get sick and then you're going to be even

361
00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:35,439
Speaker 1: more stressed out and it's going to be a very

362
00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:38,480
Speaker 1: dangerous cycle. So you got to calm down, got to

363
00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:40,960
Speaker 1: figure out how to manage that stress just a little bit.

364
00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:43,840
Speaker 1: You know, I love certain herbs and botanicals. I create

365
00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:47,080
Speaker 1: a drop our x because of this love, specifically for

366
00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:51,520
Speaker 1: relaxation and brain health. Some beauty stuff to help my hair, skin,

367
00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,639
Speaker 1: and nails, But again that no amount of supplement is

368
00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:56,680
Speaker 1: going to stop you from being sick if you aren't

369
00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:59,600
Speaker 1: managing some of the other stuff. And all of this

370
00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,080
Speaker 1: kind of is a way to focus on supporting your

371
00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:08,800
Speaker 1: physical and mental health, because health is not just physical loneliness,

372
00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:13,200
Speaker 1: social isolation. These are all major public health rists comparable

373
00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:17,159
Speaker 1: to smoking in terms of mortality impact. So as we

374
00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,919
Speaker 1: move into the new year, let's ask ourselves what fills

375
00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,440
Speaker 1: my cup? What makes me feel good? What doesn't make

376
00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:26,439
Speaker 1: me feel good? Who fills my cup? Is there a

377
00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:28,440
Speaker 1: certain person who makes me feel good? Is there a

378
00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,520
Speaker 1: certain person who doesn't make me feel good? Maybe I

379
00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:33,720
Speaker 1: don't need to be around those people anymore. Maybe I

380
00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:36,760
Speaker 1: should spend more time with people who actually make me

381
00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:39,600
Speaker 1: feel good and I don't walk away from them feeling

382
00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:43,320
Speaker 1: more stressed out. Do I need to set better boundaries somewhere?

383
00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:45,960
Speaker 1: You know? Sometimes we deal with this sometimes, whether it's

384
00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:48,800
Speaker 1: family or friends or whatever it may be, Sometimes we

385
00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:52,320
Speaker 1: really do need to focus on ourselves, and sometimes that

386
00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:55,679
Speaker 1: means spending less time with others and more time maybe

387
00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:59,639
Speaker 1: with your immediate family, Maybe just with yourself. Protecting your

388
00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:04,400
Speaker 1: mental health may mean saying no more often, absolutely reducing

389
00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:06,440
Speaker 1: screen time. You know, at the beginning of the December,

390
00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,320
Speaker 1: I tried to do that myself and really just spending

391
00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,720
Speaker 1: more time with people who ground you resting. It's not

392
00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:16,840
Speaker 1: being lazy, boundaries, it's not being selfish. It's what we

393
00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:19,159
Speaker 1: need for long term health if we really want to

394
00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:22,320
Speaker 1: take it seriously and feel better. We don't need extremes,

395
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:24,920
Speaker 1: we don't need perfection, and we really don't need to

396
00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:28,080
Speaker 1: feel guilty. But what we do need is better sleep,

397
00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:33,600
Speaker 1: less stress, more real food, more movement, and just more

398
00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:38,159
Speaker 1: compassion for ourself health and definitely long term health. It

399
00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:41,600
Speaker 1: is not built in January alone. It's built in the quiet,

400
00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,680
Speaker 1: consistent choices you make, really when no one's watching. It's

401
00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:48,240
Speaker 1: not a resolution, it's kind of the deal you're making

402
00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:52,720
Speaker 1: with yourself this year. I implore you, let's both aim

403
00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:56,280
Speaker 1: for some progress that we can sustain, not changes that

404
00:21:56,320 --> 00:22:00,639
Speaker 1: we can barely tolerate. Okay, you do it, I do it.

405
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,280
Speaker 1: We'll do it together, and we'll continue to check in

406
00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:05,359
Speaker 1: how are we feeling. If you have any things that

407
00:22:05,400 --> 00:22:07,040
Speaker 1: are working for you, make sure you reach out to

408
00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:08,920
Speaker 1: me on x or Instagram. I want to hear what's

409
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,200
Speaker 1: working for you and if something's working for me or

410
00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:13,399
Speaker 1: if something's not working for me, I'm going to let

411
00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:16,280
Speaker 1: you know as well. Thanks so much for joining me

412
00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:20,040
Speaker 1: on Wellness on Mass. I'm doctor Nicole Sapphire. Happy New Year.

413
00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:22,560
Speaker 1: I will see you in twenty twenty six. Make sure

414
00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,320
Speaker 1: to catch Wellness on Mass with doctor Nicole Sapphire on

415
00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:27,920
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts, and I will

416
00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:28,800
Speaker 1: see you next year