First Realization of Nutrition
Posted by: Andy Gamm for Mark Nelson
When we look back at our unique journeys through life, the path is often marked with a flow of “Firsts” – First day of school, First car, First child, and so on.. Many of these “Firsts” conjure up positive, life changing and exciting, if not a little awkward, events (…if only I would have tilted my head to the right instead of the left, perhaps my first kiss would have been more magical and less of a collision…).
Some “Firsts” are not always positive experiences and I had one with my doctor. I have always been active in my life and, at some level, held inward pride in my ability to seemingly stay in reasonable shape and keep weight off through most of my 20’s and 30’s. The thought was, “two double cheeseburgers and a large fries please”…and I’ll run it off later. As I hit 40, I had my “First” bad meeting with a doctor – “You have high cholesterol levels and it wouldn’t hurt you to lose a couple pounds…”
“What!” My precious ego sank to my gut with the cheeseburgers and I had the realization for the “First” time that exercise was not enough. It was time for me to focus on my nutrition.
To start I began to do research on what is truly good nutrition. Eating more fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts and fiber while reducing animal fats and sweets seems like common knowledge now (should you choose to follow it is another story). However, it is amazing what even a small shift in diet to include more of these good foods can do for your health. You don’t have to be perfect to make a difference, just start heading in the right direction.
The other big areas to consider making a huge difference in your health with little sacrifice is drinking more water and taking supplements you need to fill gaps in your diet. In my case, I “First” began taking a multivitamin everyday, as well as, an Omega 3 fish oil supplement after my wonderful meeting with the doc. After one year of making these small steps in improving my diet, and taking some basic supplements I lowered my cholesterol almost 40 points and significantly lowered my LDL (“bad” cholesterol) while raising my HDL (“good” cholesterol) levels.
As Marketing Director of Nutrition for Amway’s Nutrilite brand, I have a great platform to help others with their health goals through good food education and the best supplementation options. If you are looking to start with supplementation, I recommend Nutrilite Double X and Nutrilite Heart Health Omega. I take both and feel it has made a real difference.
See what some nutrition “Firsts” can do for your health!
Mark Nelson is a proud husband and father of two very active children. He is the Marketing Director for Amway’s Nutrilite brand in Ada MI. He enjoys living a healthy and active lifestyle, working on ’69 GTO’s and learning more about Gen Y social media habits.
