When it comes to a little indulgence, our Functional Medicine docs say that sometimes it’s best to let the good times roll!
Or “laissez les bon temps rouler” as our friends in Nola would say today.
The Functional Medicine lifestyle is a whole-body-whole-life approach that takes diet into account when looking at underlying health issues and how to achieve optimal wellbeing.
Customized nutrition that maximizes your body’s potential is one of its cornerstones. And often its followers reference the value of “food as medicine.”
So, what’s a good patient to do when approaching a holiday like Fat Tuesday (also known as beloved Paczki Day in Chicago)?
Our director of Functional Medicine, Dr. Delilah Renegar, DC stresses the importance of not stressing when it comes to celebratory eating.
When you fret before you feast, you end up producing stress hormones in the body that send unnecessary catecholamines into your blood stream. This can cause high-blood pressure, spikes in blood sugar, increases in sodium retention, and may slow down your digestion. All of which have an adverse impact on your health goals.
If you are on a specific eating plan, just keep the big picture in focus. Chances are, you are not going to derail your health with a special treat on a special occasion. Ditch the guilt and instead, use the opportunity as an experience in listening to your body and any signals it has in telling you what it wants (or doesn’t want).
Fat Tuesday, in some cultures, marks a turning point before the beginning of a fasting period. After the beads are thrown and the king cake is devoured, it’s a timely opportunity for anyone interested in optimizing their nutrition.
Our Functional Medicine team is comprised of providers and registered dietitians who can help you customize your quintessential nutrition – practically to the very molecule – for your body’s best performance. Functional Medicine utilizes advanced diagnostics and testing to reveal the exact nutrients your body requires for success.
This means that we are also able to help pinpoint anything in your diet that unknowingly has an adverse impact on your health. If you are intending to give up anything specific for the remainder of the season, we encourage you to meet with a provider on our team to first understand your body’s unique needs.
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