Curiosity: The Secret Key to Improving Your Health & Longevity
“Be Curious” - Ted Lasso
The Curious Orthopedist
I am a curious orthopedic surgeon especially when I see some patients who are signing up for a surgical replacement or reconstruction while others remain active and unaware of their joint destruction. Why is this happening?
In the 20 years I’ve been seeing patients with orthopedic complaints I have come to realize that a patient’s pain and disability does not always correlate with their imaging studies or physical exam.
Last week I saw a 55 year old CrossFit athlete who continued to do box jumps with “near bone on bone” knee arthritis who had noticed occasional soreness and wanted to get a check up. That same day I saw an 80 year old golfer who had been unknowingly living with a complete rotator cuff tear for decades. It has become a daily occurrence to see patients living with spinal degenerative disc disease for decades while living pain free.
Currently, the majority of orthopedic research involves improving surgical techniques and equipment. While very little involves studying those who have little to no symptoms despite joint deterioration. I’m curious if it is more than just a high pain threshold…
→ Could it be their lower levels of inflammation due to lifestyle making their joint inflammation tolerable?
→ Is it their muscular strength and their flexibility around the joint that make any wear and tear tolerable?
→ Could their overall stress management be improving their pain? (By this I mean their pain is only their pain rather than a source of anxiety.)
As I have looked deeper the anecdotal and statistical evidence starts to stack up that all these factors play a role. Now I am curious if soon everyone will be aware they play a role in curing, preventing, or diminishing their own musculoskeletal ailments.
Curiosity Could Save Your Health
If you want to improve your health, get curious! As the Nike commercial above says, “Greatness is not some rare DNA strain, we are all capable of it.” Just look around and you’ll see the great things human beings are capable of.
When it comes to your well-being maybe you want to have great health or maybe you just want to feel okay. Are you curious if this is possible for you? If you are young and healthy, are you curious how long you can feel this way? As you age are you curious how and why others are aging gracefully? Just a spark of curiosity is all that is needed to start improving your health.
Your curiosity will lead to knowledge. Once you gain knowledge you can start to make changes. Start to ask yourself, “Could lifestyle changes improve my health? Is it possible for me to feel better with sustained and focused energy throughout the day?”
As we age we are likely to be diagnosed with some disease or another by our physician. The goal of preventative medicine is to catch disease early on before it causes irreversible damage.
Often your physician will use medicines to help cope with the disease and control the symptoms. Are you curious if it is possible to cure your disease with lifestyle changes? Is it possible that lifestyle changes could help assist the medicines to further diminish the symptoms of chronic disease?
It’s important to note that when we have a health issue we tend to ask friends, family, or media figures for advice. Their answers are not always your answers. You are a unique individual and assuming that what worked for them will also work for you could result in wasted time and energy. Consider their recommendations but also seek diverse opinions to determine your path. We all have different struggles and preferences. Your healthy lifestyle is the one that will ultimately come naturally to you. Struggling to live someone else's plan will lead to failure.
In the “information age” the answers are all around us. If you have a cell phone, you have a computer in your pocket. I’m not telling you to be Dr. Google. Trying to self diagnose and self treat can be difficult and lead to anxiety as people tend to find the worst possible outcome when searching for answers.
I am encouraging you to use information to improve your health span by researching:
✓ Sleep
✓ Nutrition
✓ Fitness
✓ Stress reduction
This is easy to do. Identify your problem area and search for information or videos to find the answers. Over the course of this blog, I will share information that can support you on your wellness journey.
The moral of the story is as Joseph Campbell says, “Be the hero of your own story.”
Sleep
If I had to choose, I’d recommend that you fix your sleep first. Lack of sleep ruins your health, increases your stress, and destroys your energy. If you sleep through the night count your blessings. If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep the solutions are everywhere. A quick internet search will have lists of things to consider. I prefer Youtube videos and podcasts.
If you have a short attention span Youtube has plenty of 5-10 minute videos with tips to improve your sleep. If you prefer to become an expert on sleep there are many lengthy podcasts to educate yourself. The Huberman Lab podcast has several interviews with Matt Walker Ph.D who is a world renown sleep expert.
Most poor sleepers can resolve their sleep issues with knowledge and a desire to change habits. A small percentage of people may need medication but the majority of the population can fix issues on their own. Just review the information, determine your own problem areas and decide if you want to fix them.
Nutrition
Nutrition plays a major role in improving energy levels and preventing or improving diseases related to chronic inflammation. Most people have tried to improve their nutrition. Unfortunately, these efforts are often related to a desire to lose weight, and weight loss plans are usually not sustainable.
Oftentimes the weight comes off too slowly and people lose patience or they fall back into old habits after reaching their goal, which leads to a habit of yo-yo dieting.
If you educate yourself about nutrition and become aware of how food makes you feel, you will gradually make sustainable changes to improve your health. Healthier options will lead to less uncomfortable bloating after meals and can prevent energy crashes while giving you sustained energy throughout the day. After several weeks or months of eating healthy foods, chronic inflammation will decrease and you will feel better, which is a huge motivator for continuing to choose healthier options.
As a result you may prevent, cure, or diminish many chronic diseases. Again it starts with curiosity. Start with searching the internet, watching videos, and documentaries to inform yourself. Once you have information you can experiment to find what works for you.
A word of caution. Advocates of one diet will often criticize other diets. You may need to take a deep dive and research their criticism. What you’ll often find is that all diet gurus seem to recommend eliminating or greatly reducing sugar and processed foods. If you start from this point your nutrition will improve.
My Nutrition Journey
I was a picky eater and did not like vegetables growing up. When I became an adult I tried every vegetable until I found enough options that suited my taste buds to form a healthy nutrition plan.
At one point I tried a 3 month vegan challenge. My goal was never to be a vegan but rather to increase my taste for vegatables. The following year I tried a 3 month Pescatarian challenge to eat more fish. Later on I was curious how good I could feel from an inflammation standpoint and eliminated processed carbohydrates and sugar and did a 6 month trial of the paleo diet.
Ultimately eating meat, fish, veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds is what allows me to feel my best. I eat a whole food diet 90% of the time and I’m still curious and experimenting. Some of the other protocols I’ve tried have included intermittent fasting, elimination diets, and the carnivore diet.
Intermittent fasting involved skipping breakfast which resulted in a daily 16 hour fast and fasting for 24 hours from Thursday dinner to Friday dinner. I realized that if there weren’t any healthy options it wasn’t a big deal to skip a meal. I also learned how easy it is to fast if you have a low sugar diet.
My curiosity about low level food sensitivities led me to experimenting with an elimination diet. How would I feel if I eliminated everything but meat and eggs? This led me to try the carnivore diet for 30 days with a dozen friends. I was curious how I’d feel energy wise and whether my inflammation would decrease. I was also interested to see how difficult it would be to follow this diet. I’ll be sharing the results in a future blog but for now I’ll share as a “teaser” that they were surprisingly good.
Exercise
It is a given that everyone needs to exercise. Once again you’ll need to experiment with different options to see what suits your preferences and interests. The best exercise for you is the one you enjoy the most that allows you to escape the stresses of life. Forcing yourself to do what works for someone else when you don’t enjoy it yourself is never sustainable. This doesn’t mean developing an exercise routine should be easy. You will need to harness your willpower to build an exercise routine, and it will be easier if you find an exercise that eventually allows “flow.”
Flow is a mental state that happens when a person is performing an activity that they’re fully immersed in. It’s a feeling of energized focus that allows people to balance a skill and how challenging the task is.
My theory is that the athlete who finds their flow quickly will master their exercise or sport whereas the person who depends on willpower alone will ultimately quit. While some people gravitate towards yoga because their mind can relax, others may never be able to clear their mind in a yoga class but can achieve the same effects running. This applies to any fitness routine. If you keep trying different options, eventually you will find the one that fits. Even if tuning into your flow is a rare occurrence, those occasional moments of deep focus will keep you coming back. Just like the golfer whose one good shot per round keeps him coming back.
If you don’t enjoy yoga, maybe it’s because you're meant to lift heavy weights. Maybe you don’t enjoy running because you are a swimmer. Maybe you’re someone who needs variety.
Whatever you decide you just need to move your body! If it takes you a while to pick your activities then I recommend you start with walking. Once exercise becomes a habit you can add other options into the mix. The weightlifter may add some yoga, the runner may add pilates 1-2x per week, and the walker may add weekly pushups. The possibilities and combinations are endless. You may prefer doing something different each day of the week. The moral of the story is just start moving.
Oftentimes people say that they don’t have the time or the energy to exercise. Meanwhile there are always people who are busier than you and still manage to exercise. Are you curious how they do this? Maybe a fitness habit gives them more energy and more functional time?
People who say it can not be done are constantly proven wrong by people who are in fact doing it. Do you have an injury that keeps you from exercising? There are almost always people who have found a fitness routine that works to compensate for the injury. Maybe you just need instruction and haven’t found the right mentor for you. Again the information is all on the internet. Search for the solutions.
Stress
Improve your stress and you will improve your life. Every philosopher, religious figure, and psychologist throughout history has opinions on the role of stress and you can learn from all of them. You do not need to recreate the wheel. A search of the internet or Youtube will get you started but like all areas of health you need a plan designed to meet your needs.
Prayer, meditation, breathwork, and practicing gratitude are common solutions. Improving sleep, nutrition, and fitness reduces stress as well. Whether you need a therapist or an app to calm you throughout the day, you can either ask your doctor or find online options.
Ultimately asking for help is the first step. Educating yourself may not only improve your mental health but can also give you the courage to seek help from friends,family, or professionals when needed.
Conclusion
Curiosity goes beyond health and wellness. Are you curious if there is a piece of greatness in you? Just some ways to be a little better and get out of any rut you may find yourself in? Success always begins with a spark of curiosity.