Nutrition / Wellness in New York
Americans have a complex relationship with food. They enjoy high-fat, sugary, and salty foods but dislike the effects these have on their health. Poor diet choices lead to around 678,000 deaths annually in the U.S. due to heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Obesity rates have doubled in adults, tripled in children, and quadrupled in adolescents over the last 30 years. These are alarming figures!
At Park Avenue Endocrinology & Nutrition in New York, we aim to change that for our patients. Good nutrition is vital for mental and physical health. How often have you indulged in a bag of chips and felt awful shortly after? The types and amounts of food you eat significantly impact how you feel and how your body functions.
What Is Good Nutrition?
Good nutrition involves choosing foods that nourish your body and taste good. You don't need to endure unrealistic meals like a kale sandwich. Proper nutrition helps prevent diseases and improves your body's efficiency. The right foods supply energy, protein, essential fats, vitamins, and minerals necessary for living, growing, and optimal functioning.
Although the saying "my body is my temple" can sound clichéd, eating right — more fruits, vegetables, fiber-rich foods, and fewer fatty, sugary, processed foods — has proven health benefits.
Ten Benefits Of A Healthy Diet
Science has proven the benefits of eating healthy. Here are ten advantages of a nutritious diet:
- Healthy diet supports a healthy weight. Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy, and protein helps maintain a healthy weight.
- Good nutrition enhances life quality. Studies show that people who eat fresh fruits and vegetables daily report fewer mental health issues.
- Healthy eating saves money. With many Americans classified as overweight or obese, a healthier diet could save billions in medical costs and lost lives annually.
- Good nutrition boosts the immune system. Your immune system requires specific vitamins and minerals. Poor nutrition is a leading cause of immunodeficiencies worldwide.
- Delays aging effects. Berries are rich in antioxidants. Foods like tomatoes and nuts contain vitamins and minerals that enhance skin health.
- Provides necessary energy. Eating the right proteins and carbs offers sustained energy. This contrasts with the crash after consuming sugary or fatty foods.
- Prevents chronic diseases. Unhealthy eating and weight gain contribute to type 2 diabetes and other chronic illnesses.
- Improves mood. A diet rich in protein, moderate in carbs, and low in fat maintains healthy omega-3 fatty acids and iron levels, stabilizing moods.
- Enhances focus. High-fat and high-cholesterol diets can damage brain vessels. Eating fruits and vegetables keeps the mind sharp.
- Promotes longevity. Overeating and obesity increase bodily stress, shortening life expectancy.
Nutritional Supplements Benefits
In an ideal world, we would consume everything our bodies need. However, the average American diet often lacks essential nutrients like calcium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, and D. Nutritional supplements can help fill these gaps, although it's not as simple as taking a pill. Overdosing on supplements can be harmful.
At Park Avenue Endocrinology & Nutrition, we test for nutritional deficiencies and guide you on how to meet these needs through food or supplements. Our patients can purchase necessary supplements from our nutrition store during their visit or online through Metagenics or Nu Skin stores.
What Types Of Nutrition Tests Do You Offer?
We assist our patients in using lifestyle, behavioral, and nutritional changes to fight illness and enhance overall wellness. Patients learn to use nutritional supplements correctly and understand which fad diets to avoid. We blend nutrition and natural products with traditional medicine. We offer nutritional tests in our on-site lab to ensure you're on the right track.
At Park Avenue Endocrinology & Nutrition, our CLIA-certified on-site laboratory provides various tests. This convenience means you don't have to go elsewhere for blood work; everything is handled in our offices.
We test for deficiencies in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, amino acids, and omega-3 fatty acids, including vitamin B12, vitamin D, folic acid, ferritin, and iron levels.
What Is The Seca Body Composition Analyzer?
Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to make many health decisions, but it has limitations. BMI doesn't consider age, gender, frame size, muscle mass, or fat distribution. We use a better method — the Seca Body Composition Analyzer. It measures fat mass, fat-free mass, total body water, intracellular water, and extracellular water accurately in just 20 seconds!
The Body Composition Analyzer uses an 8-point electrode Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis method. The Seca equipment includes modules that provide our team with numerous diagnostic options. We use the analyzer to produce precise ratios like fat mass to weight and extracellular to intracellular water. In the past, these ratios required additional examinations, leading to more expense and time loss for patients.
At Park Avenue Endocrinology & Nutrition, we use the Seca Body Composition Analyzer for disease risk stratification, precise monitoring of physiological responses, and comprehensive assessment of our patients' general health and nutritional status. This allows our team to evaluate a patient's fat distribution and total cardiovascular risk factors.
What Is Wellness?
Wellness is often misunderstood in today's healthcare environment. Many people think wellness is merely about avoiding illness or pain. However, wellness encompasses our entire life.
The World Health Organization defines wellness as:
A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
At Park Avenue Endocrinology & Nutrition, we consider nutrition a part of your overall wellness. We believe there are five aspects of wellness:
- Mental wellness — Includes a healthy personal philosophy, lifelong learning, and continually building knowledge.
- Physical wellness — Overall health and fitness, including disease prevention.
- Lifestyle wellness — Balancing work and home life.
- Social wellness — Building and managing relationships, contributing to the community.
- Spiritual wellness — Understanding our life’s purpose, utilizing unique gifts and talents.
We strive to help our patients improve their wellness in various areas. While assisting with weight management impacts physical wellness, it can also enhance social and mental wellness.
Contact Us Today!
If you have any questions or comments, or if you want to learn more about the services we provide, please call us at 212-772-7628 . For a consultation or to set up an appointment click here.