Written By Kyle Buchanan

It’s a great time to really get back to basics of good health, to have healthy habits ingrained in us that we can carry forward!

Our four pillars of health are diet, exercise, sleep and supplements. They really get all the basics covered, and lay the groundwork for a healthy, solid foundation. And with a healthy foundation, you can feel more like you and thrive!

So let’s dive into the Four Pillars, and the strategies you can apply within each!

Diet

Before discussing specific foods, it’s important to ensure you are doing everything you can to support a healthy digestive process regardless of the food you are putting in your body. Take time to savour your meal before you eat it: smell it, look forward to it . . . this tells your brain food is coming and it can signal the rest of your system, and digestive juices, to get ready! When food does enter your mouth, make sure you chew each bite until it has a smoothie-like consistency. This is an essential step we often miss, and can lead to more bloating as a result. Finally, ensure adequate water so things move along in an orderly fashion.

Now onto food! A healthy diet goes hand in hand with supporting your gut microbiome (the bacterial universe that lives within you).  When you remove the foods that harm your microbiome, and include foods that allow it to flourish, you’re well on your way to feeling your best. So when you think about your diet, ask yourself: is this helping my microbiome or hurting it?

Foods that have a negative effect on our gut microbiome (limit these!!): processed sugars, refined flours, refined vegetable oils, fried foods, excess alcohol, and artificial sweeteners.

Foods that nourish our gut microbiome (include these often!): dark leafy greens, cruciferous veggies like broccoli and cauliflower, onions, garlic, asparagus, fresh fruit (with an emphasis on berries), herbs and spices (a great source of polyphenols which help feed the good bacteria), fermented foods like sauerkraut, healthy fats found in nuts, seeds and olive oil, and adequate amounts of protein found in wild caught fish, eggs, poultry, grass fed meats, legumes, tempeh, sprouted tofu, collagen, or approved protein powders!

Finally, when it comes to supporting our microbiome, a probiotic is an essential upgrade to any diet, to help support intestinal health and promote a favourable gut flora. The Perfect Probiotic line has a range of potencies that fits everyone's needs.

Exercise

This can be the pillar that many of us find challenging, especially when we are spending most of our time in our homes. So with exercise - start small! A daily walk around the block goes a long way. Or try something like the 10-10-10 every morning: 10 pushups, 10 sit ups/10 second plank and 10 squats. By the end of one month you will have done 300+ of each! This can also be something done as a family routine, since everyone is around anyways.

If you don't like that idea, there are so many different apps now that have quick HIIT workouts, which are proving to be one of the best forms of exercise around. I personally use the 7-minute workout app and love it.

And, when it comes to ANY form of movement at all, it is essential to be proud of yourself. I call it “micropriding,” and it’s a game changer. Say “I am SO PROUD of myself for walking today!” (or whatever movement you did). It feels great, and it really builds on itself. It’ll feel silly at first, but it will eventually be something you love doing, promise.

When finishing your workout, add a source of protein. My top pick is Harmonized Fermented Vegan Protein. Or  try our Complete Collagen (which has added tryptophan to round out the amino acid profile!).

Sleep

I cannot overstate how essential this pillar of health is, for so many reasons.  Your brain actually detoxifies when you sleep , and clears the gunk out that can slow you down (1). You also don’t have as much control over your appetite if you sleep poorly. (2) And, of course, you just don’t feel great when you’re sleep deprived. So perhaps use this time to really solidify a healthy sleep schedule.

Here are some ideas to sleep better: limit screen time before bed, install blue-blocker filters in your devices or wear blue-blocking glasses at night, include drinks and foods that promote relaxation (see below), sleep in a cool room and in complete darkness (wear a sleep mask if necessary).

Helpful ingredients to promote sleep: chamomile tea, passionflower tea, lemon balm tea, oats, bananas, kiwis, tart cherry juice, almonds or walnuts.

And when it comes to a great sleep hack, my favourite is Progressive’s Melatonin Spray. Taken 30-60 minutes before bed, it can help reduce the time it takes to fall asleep.

Supplements

The idea of supplements can be overwhelming for a lot of us. And with so many options and categories of supplements, this is completely understandable. But the right supplements can be the missing link between feeling okay, and feeling optimal. So although I wove in some supplement suggestions above, if you don’t know what’s right for you, or where to start to lay the groundwork for a healthy foundation, I’d recommend starting with Progressive’s Core Four.

The Core Four are four Product categories that, in addition to a good diet, help solidify a solid foundation of health. They are:

Perfect Probiotic: to help support intestinal health

OmegEssentials: to help support heart health

Multi: to get nutrients (at the right dosage!) to help fill in gaps in nutrition

VegeGreens: for antioxidants that support longevity and optimal health

Closing Thoughts

We’re in extraordinary times, and have been thrown completely out of our old patterns. Although new habits can take time, implementing these four pillars now, when you can structure your own routine more than ever, can be a truly bold and strategic move that allows you to feel your best, so that when the time does come to resume your standard routine, you’re more than ready.

Here’s to you!