Planting The Seed To A Healthy Lifestyle

Planting the seed to a healthy lifestyle with Lou Cordone

I remember my New Year’s resolution so clearly. I was edging towards 60-years-old and retiring from my high-stress corporate job that took 70-hours off my life every week. It was at beautiful Byron Bay, specifically Belongil Beach, where I decided I needed to make drastic changes in my life – especially with my Type 2 diabetes.

After being diagnosed in my early 40s, my diabetes progressively got worse over the years. I became dependent on insulin… something that is not common of Type 2. In the 10 years leading up to my diagnosis, I was working almost double the average work week, I’d taken up smoking, drinking and only eating once a day. Mix that with not knowing Type 2 was prevalent on my father’s side and you’re not exactly looking at a recipe for success.

My path to change was not for the faint of heart and required perseverance. My health and fitness have bounced around on the spectrum… dramatically. As a young man, I was at the top of my game and had engrained into me that carb-loading was the was the way to go. Of course, when work came before workouts later in life, I became out of shape. Fast forward to retirement and I’m back to where I was… with a few grey hairs.

A change in mindset combined with physical activity, gave me the motivation to do a complete overhaul of my diet. The Ketogenic diet introduced me to the wonders of olive oil. I was consuming around 1L to 1.5L (2L in extreme cases) in a month! Something I believe significantly reduced the levels of insulin required to manage my disease.

Originally resveratrol (a plant compound that acts like an antioxidant) was dubbed to be the elixir of youth with its abilities to increase sirtuins, something that you want when it comes to anti-aging. It is an ingredient that can be found in red wine… but to drink the 1000mg of resveratrol that I personally take you’d need to drink around 50 bottles a day. Which of course is not feasible for anyone! However, virgin pressed olive oil has slid past as the cream of the crop as a natural powerhouse producer of polyphenols which are packed with antioxidants and potential health benefits.

Whilst I love olive oil on my food, with the amount that I ingest per month it becomes a lot easier to take it in 20-40ml capsules. This was a process that I was having to do myself but it can be quite tedious when you’re in a hurry to get somewhere.

As an avid olive oil lover, I was thrilled to discover ellinol – Mediterranean wellness capsules were launching in Australia. The new supplement gives you all the goodness of the Mediterranean diet without needing to change up your diet. You’re getting all the goodness of those essential organically grown and harvested ingredients such as citrus polyphenols in one capsule which is just ideal for those who are time-poor, but still health conscious.

My advice to those looking to change is just to start. Set small achievable goals to start with, and just remember that changes you make now are going to give you a more enjoyable future. As a man who was on the top of the ladder, sometimes you need to climb back down and plant a seed to achieve a healthier lifestyle and future.