DRLUGO BLOG

I am sure that many would wonder why a surgeon thinks about nutrition and exercise.  Why care, or how does that relate to the specialty.  Well, it is very important and sometimes overlooked by many patients and doctors.  It is one of the most important factors that will determine recovery and wound healing in general.  I have been a  witness of the benefits of exercising and good nutrition as positive factors in the recovery of patients after surgery and in effective wound healing.  I have not done a formal study with controls or unbiased from personal experience.  My observation has been  from personal experience as a patient and doctor.

So what is good nutrition and how much exercise.  these are good questions and my answer is not going to be a cook book, but a general one.  This will depend on each person and the genetic makeup that the individual has.  Yes the other factor here, as always, is genes.  As we know genes play a huge role in everything we do and that is something that we can not control totally yet!  So what do we mean when we talk about good nutrition.  A well balanced diet.  We should try to make every meal as colorful as possible.  Lets include all food groups, vegetables and legumes, fruits, protein in the form or meat, poultry or fish, fats and complex carbohydrates.  Yes, I said fat!  Fat is not a bad word and we actually need fat for our bodies to work well.  We actually need all types of fat and we should favor the unsaturated or vegetable fats, but saturated fat is not a poison as long as we eat it in moderation.  Another trick is to eat a high fiber meal with whole grains and little sugar when we eat these saturated fats and that way we help the body use the fat more efficiently and cause less problems.  Also remember water.  This is a very important nutrient for our bodies to work well and we forget about it.  do not wait until you are thirsty.  That usually is a warning that we are too low in reserves.  It is like the yellow light in our car when we are in reserves for gasoline.  This is not a good sign!

I am not writing this with the intention of teaching nutrition, since I do not claim to be an expert, but my goal is to motivate the reader to learn about nutrition more.  Investigate the vast world of knowledge and try to start eating a balance diet.  Look for books written by nutritionists and learn the facts and not the fallacies.  Be careful of people trying to sell a product or a pill or a magical diet.  The truth is that all diets work if we stick to it.  You can eat everything, in moderation.  The key to eating and weight loss is portion control.  Calories in and calories out.  This is the second part of the equation. This is very personal and should be calculated depending on our body frame, level of activity and medical history.  A balanced diet is important, but it does not mean that we should eat more than what the body can handle or is supposed to have.  More is not good!  Do you need vitamin supplements?  It is my opinion that you do not need this if you are making sure that the diet is a balanced diet.  IF you are not going to do this, then maybe a vitamin a day or every other day could help.  I do not think that is a substitute, but better than nothing.  Favor organic food and natural products.  Avoid canned, prepackaged and high sodium frozen meals loaded with preservatives.  Yes may be a little more cost, but the nutritional value is far worth it and your body will thank you

So in summary, what should you do to accomplish this.  Well, you may very well go and learn all yourself with a good nutrition book or invest in a good program at a reputable clinic or wellness center.  How do you know that you are in such place.  Ask your doctor and if he does not know look for people with professional credentials and not any Joe at a local gym.  This is an important step and decision and the learning process should be founded on facts and not anyone’s idea of what may work.  There is a huge world of knowledge about nutrition based on facts and not just beliefs.  Take the time to learn this, it is for your own good after all.

Exercise, is a very personal thing too.  IT depends on your goals and genetic make up too.  We all need different levels of exercise and activity.  This is probably an area that we can customize and personalize.  We all need some activity and this is a personal choice.  There is no doubt that exercise makes out the whole body function better and helps everything from the mood to the digestive tract.  I firmly believe that we are meant to be active and not sedentary.  I always have been a believer that exercise is the fountain of youth that we all look for.  Our cells like to be bathe in nutrients and blood flow accomplishes this.  We increase this through good exercise.  So which exercise s good, or better.  All exercise is beneficial.  My recommendation try something different every month and switch from time to time.  Make it fun and entertaining.    It does not have to be routine, boring or painful.  Yes you have to put an effort to see the progress and try to make is harder than a stroll in the park.   This should be a gradual increase in the  intensity. Don’t run from the couch to a marathon.  That will hurt you for sure.  Pick a program and complete it, then switch.  I think that with all the programs out there, you can get a new one every 6 months and work on all aspects of your fitness.  In this area, the choices are limitless.  I tell my patients, hire help if you are totally clueless.  Invest in it to get you started and then read and learn about it.  It is not that hard to learn with so much information available. there is no workout that works for everyone.  I personally like the P90 series(google p90).  This is a home workout and it is customizable.  Very good to start!

So, what do you do?  Get pumped up and start reading information.  Go to the grocery store and buy organic and natural products.  Plan your meals.  Start with breakfast.  Make one of the daily meals healthy, then work to two, etc.  Pick an exercise program that looks fun and then switch when you feel bored.  usually a switch every 4 weeks is good to shock your body and continue seeing progress.  These are general recommendations, but I assure you that with a little effort and time, you will reap tremendous benefits.  You will probably avoid surgery,  and if you have to have it, your recovery will be much faster.

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Tags: activity, diet, exercise, healing, Health, long life, nutrition, p90, pot op, recovery after surgery, vitamins, well being, workout, wound