Are you stuck on what to get your health-enthusiast friend or loved one for the holidays this year?
By: Dr. Mary Pardee
Here are my top 10 gift ideas for health nuts:
1) Heart rate monitor: I have tried a few of these and my favorite is the polar heart rate monitor because it can pair right to the app on your phone, you don't need to wear a watch to get your data like other monitors. I like checking my heart rate during my steady-state cardio exercise to see the intensity that I am training in. Most of the time, my cardio sessions are 30-60 minutes and I target a heart rate of 60-70% of my maximum heart rate. More on this in a future blog...
2) Brighten Up Vitamin C Serum- Ursa Major: I love this serum by Ursa Major. It smells so good and feels really fresh on your skin. Topical vitamin C helps to reverse sun damage. I apply it in the morning, let it dry then apply my sunscreen (this affiliate link will get you 20% off in combination with the code: MODRN20).
3) Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitor + Interpretation with a Doctor: Wearing a glucose monitor is very "in" right now. I am not a proponent of wearing these long term if you are not pre-diabetic or diabetic. However, I think trying a glucose monitor out once and seeing if you see any large fluctuations after eating or if you show signs of hepatic (liver) insulin resistance or other patterns, is helpful in making changes to your dietary choices and understanding how stress, alcohol, and other factors can influence your blood sugar levels.
4) Minimalist shoes: A minimalist shoe can help strengthen the intrinsic foot muscles, and potentially improve balance by enhancing proprioception (knowing where your body is in space), and the wider toe box helps to prevent bunions.
5) Meditation & Breath-work Membership: Open is a studio my friend, Manoj Dias, created to bring together health conscious individuals and support mental health. I frequent his breath-work classes in Venice, but they also have an app that you can download and use if you are not in the LA area (this affiliate link will get you 1 FREE month to try yourself).
6) Treadmill desk: This is a higher ticket priced gift, but has been one that has changed how I work. Unsit is the brand that I use for the treadmill portion, it's super sturdy and well built. Some on the market are pretty flimsy so watch out for that. I walk at about 2.0 miles per hour and can log 4 miles a day just while working. They were running a holiday special when I wrote this email, hopefully it's still available!
7) Daysy is a medical device and lifestyle fertility tracker. Daysy is to be used to facilitate conception and track your cycle. Daysy allows every woman who wants a health-conscious lifestyle to monitor her individual monthly cycle and determine her fertile and non-fertile days in harmony with her body (this affiliate link will get you $20 off).
8) Plants: What health enthusiast doesn't love plants? The sill is a company I have personally used to gift plants to many friends, colleagues and family.
9) Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love (Book): If you are in a relationship, I highly recommend this book. My partner and I went through it together and it was a big part of our relationship development. The Gottmans have a lot of other great books to check out about relationships and communication.
10) HappyLight: Sunlight is an essential ingredient for a healthy lifestyle, but many of us don't get the amount of daylight we need to experience its benefits. HappyLight therapy lamps mimic sunlight to support mood, energy, and sleep. HappyLight therapy lamps are full spectrum, 10,000 lux.
Financial disclosures: If I mention that it's an affiliate link, I may profit financially from you using the link so there is a built-in bias. I also benefit from any purchases made on www.modrnmed.com. Integrity pledge: I never recommend anything that I do not use personally or would not recommend to a close friend/family member. Some affiliate links are for tracking purposes only, and no financial benefit exists.