January 31, 2024 • 23 mins
Discover the secrets of thriving through the chill of Minnesota's winters. You'll be enlightened by our conversation about the essential role of sunlight in boosting our vitamin D—and mood!—even when the mercury drops.
We also tackle the powerful influence of laughter, daily exercise, and the underestimated importance of a hearty social life. Dr. Jason's expertise brings to light the fascinating connections between our well-being and the warmth of community ties, proving that a good laugh with friends might just be the best medicine for the winter blues.
Dr. Jason Strandberg
https://www.lakeminnetonkamobilewellness.com/
Learn more at https://www.tonkatalk.com where we share more about our Lake Minnetonka community, including upcoming events and our take on local experiences.
Connect with us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TonkaTalk/
If you have feedback, questions, or suggestions of a future guests creating community and connection, email natalie@tonkatalk.com
We appreciate your support in sharing Tonka Talk Community and Connection with someone you think could benefit from our content.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hello everybody, welcome.
I'm Natalie.
This is Tonga Talk, where wetalk about the ways people
create community and connectionall around Lake Minnetonka and
beyond.
If it's your first time here,welcome.
Be sure to hit the subscribebutton and, as we go along, if
you like this video, go aheadand like it as well.
If you've been here before,welcome back.
You know what we like to talkabout and I like to bring in
(00:29):
people who are contributing tothat whole motion of improving
the ways that we live and theways we can come together in the
community.
And today I get to talk to DrJason Strandberg.
Hello, how you doing today.
Fabulous, especially now thatyou're here and I can pick your
brain with all kinds of stuff.
But don't worry, I'm not goingto show you a rash and ask you
what it is, unless you're okaywith that Matt on camera.
(00:52):
No, now he owns and runs LakeMinnetonka Mobile Wellness,
which is just like it sounds.
It's actually mobile.
You get to mobile and go seepatients, and today we're going
to talk about the whole idea ofyou know, taking care of
(01:12):
ourselves, that well-being, butespecially in the wintertime
because we live in Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
It's cold here sometimes.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
It is.
And right now, right now, as ofthis recording, I don't even
know how cold it is.
It's like massively coldoutside and what I think.
So this is what happens to me.
I will use myself as an examplefor all of you, because I'm
sure I'm the only one.
When it gets like this, it'syou know I don't want to go
(01:41):
anywhere because it's cold or Ijust want to.
I find myself even on theweekend.
I just want to close the blindsand put the fireplace on, even
if it seems like it's niceoutside in terms of light.
And what do you think like doesthat from a health perspective
(02:01):
because you know where we livein Minnesota, we're not always
getting a lot of sun anddaylight and I know that can
affect people is what would yousay?
Is there a downside to lockingmyself in and closing the blinds
and trying to do it like that?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yes, there is.
I mean, fresh air is good foreverybody, sunlight is good for
everybody, and we don't get aton of that here.
So when it's here, during thewinter months, when we have such
short days, it's a good idea toget out and let a little of
that sun hit your face, hit yourhands, even though the weather
is well.
(02:37):
My car said negative one whenwe were pulling in.
It's ridiculously cold, but welose out on so much sunlight in
the winter, we get so much inthe summer.
Because this is Minnesota,everybody wants to be outside in
the summer.
Yeah, but only a select fewwant to be outside in the winter
.
And if you don't like iceskating and cross country skiing
(03:00):
or downhill skiing, you don'thave a ton of reasons to be
outside, because even the icefisherman or people who are
doing ice fishing are insidetheir tents or their houses.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, in the ice house.
If they're in an ice house, Idon't even think about that.
You're right because you thinkabout that, like, oh well, I'm
going to go ice fishing, I'mgoing to be outside, but if
you're in an ice house or a tent, you're still not in the sun.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
You're still not getting the sun, and the sun,
when it hits your skin, makesvitamin D, and we all know that
vitamin D is important for a lotof things.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Does that?
Is it the same?
If it's, maybe you knowsunlight through a window, does
it need to be direct outside sunfor that, that to get those the
benefits from?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
it.
It's any white light, purewhite light.
So sunlight through a window,sunlight for real.
Even the fake full spectrumlights are better than nothing,
but there's still that benefitof fresh air and community
outside.
And when you lock yourself inyour house, it's just you and
your partner or your kids orwhoever is with you.
(03:58):
Yeah, and sometimes they driveyou nuts, being trapped up with
them in the house all day.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Definitely so it's.
It's even more of a reason andI've not thought about that in
the wintertime that in thewinter that we still need that
sunlight, that we need it to hitour bodies even if it's
freezing cold out.
What do you think about the?
I've been reading some thingslately that talk about how
(04:25):
people who don't spend time withother people socializing or
pursuing an interest, thatthere's an actual decline in
health From that, from havingthat disconnection or that lack
of community.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Well, there's definitely a connection to
health and well-being and tohaving a support system, a
support group.
Back in the 1970s we there wereresearch studies done that
showed that people who had asupport network, people who felt
like they could talk tosomebody when they needed to,
(05:00):
were significantly less likelyto die or be hospitalized of
significant health problems.
Wow, and that didn't even takeinto account all the things that
we look at when you go to thedoctor's office blood pressure,
yeah, weight.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
That's fascinating.
So, basically, by not maybeisolating yourself and not
having that interaction isdetrimental to your health.
I've kept, I've heard that and,like I said, I've been reading
about it, but I've been dying tosit down with you.
I feel like is this true or isthis just made up to get me
outside and around people?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
No, it's not made up, it's true.
The studies behind exercise andhealth and the studies behind
socialization, or humanconnection and health are
overwhelming.
Just getting 20 minutes of yourheart rate up a day and just
spending a few minutes a daywith somebody that makes you
(05:57):
smile, makes you laugh, is goingto actually make you feel
better and be better.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
I like that and that's doable, because you said
20 minutes, not an hour.
Or you know what I'm saying,because, it's right, I haven't
quite gotten to the point yetwhere exercise is a regular
thing and I want to do that.
But part of it is I getoverwhelmed because I'm like, oh
, 45 more minutes or an hour,it's more the time, but you're
(06:23):
saying it could make adifference in our health even if
we were just 20 minutes, beingconsistent and getting our heart
rate up.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Most of the research out there shows that if you can
get your heart rate elevated for20 minutes a day and not even
20 consecutive minutes, 20 totalminutes a day you will reap
significant health benefits.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Wow, not even consecutive.
So if I had a break in my day,or sometimes what I like to do
is take a phone call and thenlap around the office just
walking and talking, so if Iwere able to kind of piece 20
minutes together of that evenyou're saying there could be a
benefit.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Oh, I'm liking this, I can do that, and that's what
I'm hearing from you is it'sactually to make significant
improvements in our health.
You're talking about thingsthat are really doable 10
minutes here, 10 minutes there,but put together 20 minutes
during the day.
Spend time with people youenjoy being around and get
(07:22):
outside, absolutely.
Have you ever heard of the bluezones?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Yeah, oh yeah.
The blue zones are nine placesaround the planet that people
tend to live to 100 years orolder and don't have the
diseases and conditions that wedo.
They don't have heart disease,they don't have most of the
cancers that we do and they dieat 100, 110 years old With all
(07:51):
their original teeth and all ofthe there's.
They don't have the healthproblems we do.
One of the things that theynoticed about all those
communities is none of them hadexercise plans, but every one of
them had exercise in theirdaily routines.
They walked places, they biteplaces as a form of
transportation, so they weregetting physical activity, but
(08:14):
they weren't going to a gym.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
But they weren't going to the gym.
Wow, what are some of the otherthings that they do in blue
zones that we could kind of pickup on?
You know here, and not being ina blue zone, I'm in Minnesota.
Is there a blue zone in theUnited States?
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yes, there is one in California.
Okay, it's a, I believe it's aseventh day Adventist community
and it is a definitive blue zone, and I believe somebody's
trying to add another one in anarea in Hawaii.
Oh, oh, because there's a.
There's an area in Hawaii wherepeople tend to have the same
(08:51):
characteristics and traits.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Wow, I would write that is.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
I'd have to look it up, but there's definitely one
in southern California.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Yeah, if you know and you're with us on the live and
go ahead and put it in the chatand if you're catching this on
the replay, tell me in thecomments if you know when this
blue zone is, or coming up inHawaii and have you ever gone to
or visited a blue zone.
I would love to hear about yourthoughts on that.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
But the blue zones is basically people tend to eat
diets that are low in animal fat.
It's a mostly plant-based withlots of nuts, lots of beans,
lots of Lots of protein fromother sources.
Not vegetarian strictly.
They will eat meat or fish orpoultry On occasion, sure, but
it's not like a burger.
(09:36):
Is there every day meal.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Yeah, they eat a burger and fries in a shape
fries in a shake.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
No, it would be Fruit and vegetable and rice and some
sort of protein with yeah, sothey're tending to eat More of
the Mediterranean style, thatmore of the Asian style diet, um
, and they tend to also be incommunities where People
(10:01):
interact with each other a lotand sometimes you've got
multiple generations inhouseholds.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Is that specifically a trait, that that's common?
You're so you're saying that'sa common trait in blue zones,
because I know I I grew up inHawaii and it was very common to
have multi-generationalfamilies living together
grandparents with the grandkidsand the parents and so on well,
I mean Hawaii is a lot of Asianand Pacific Islanders.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Yeah, we've come to live in Hawaii and and that is a
very, very big part of theculture a lot of Asian and
Latino culture Is that familieslive close to or with each other
.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Yeah, that would make sense then.
Huh, I had no idea that areactually was a thing and
happening in Hawaii.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
It's not.
Nobody's actually said it is ablue zone yet, but they're
definitely saying it could beyeah, because then if you look
at Hawaii, has the highest lifeexpectancy of any state in the
US.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
What?
I didn't know that either.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Whoa, you just blow in my mind with the facts today.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
The surprising thing is, you know what?
I don't know if this is truefrom last year, but as of three
years ago, minnesota was eithernumber two or number three.
Whoa of longevity Of longevity.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Yeah, I like liking this.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
But again, think about all the things.
You might not yourself like togo outside and play in the snow
or in the ice.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
No.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Think about all the things you could do if you
wanted to.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Yeah, that's true, when it's not too cold, like I
don't mind getting out.
You know, I like to make asnowman, I love to do stuff like
that in the snow, but itknowing that, like even thinking
about, here in Minnesota theice freezes.
I don't know if you know, ifyou live in the area, you know,
like Minnetonka, which is rightacross the street from us, will
(11:55):
freeze over in the wintertimeand you can go ice fishing, ice
skating, and there are multipleevents happening around the like
Minnetonka area that happenedon the ice this year, though.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
They canceled a bunch of them because there wasn't
enough snow and ice.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Yes.
So what I'm hearing from you,then, is if this is a way, if
these different events thathappen outside because of the
lack of ice and snow beingcanceled, there's probably a lot
of people then who aren'treally going to be getting
outside in the wintertime Notunless they find another reason.
Yeah, huh.
So do you think that then?
(12:31):
Do you kind of see around?
Well, we can only let's talkabout the area that we live in,
and you know you see patients inthe area as a doctor.
Do people generally know aboutkind of some of these concepts
with the blue zone?
I mean, I've heard of it, butis it something that you talk
about with your patients too?
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Sometimes, yeah.
Sometimes the blue zone conceptcomes up.
A lot of people know about itbut a lot of people have no idea
.
Yeah, some people think it'sjust good genetics, but it's
really a lot more than that.
Yeah, health partners years andyears ago started working with
a group that actually a friendof mine from college was running
(13:15):
, where they did a blue zonecollaborative and then we'd go
to cities that were trying todevelop themselves and to create
as much of a blue zone effectas they could.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
So if you're building , if you're creating a new city,
they're, first of all,sidewalks everywhere so you can
walk to places.
Have stores intermingled withhouses so people can walk to the
shops and so they can see theirneighbors when they're going
shopping.
Have a park be the central partof the city so people can be
outdoors interacting, exercisingtogether.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
You know I went to I remember going to Texas and I
think it was around Houstonwhere I was shocked by a lack of
sidewalks in places.
I don't know if you've beenthere, I've been there yeah.
But did you notice that too, Iknow?
At least when I was there I waskind of like why aren't there
more sidewalks where people canwalk?
Because nobody walks.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
It's.
You know, in the summer it's100 degrees and it feels like
it's 125.
Nobody walks.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Well, but I mean here in Minnesota, if we can go out
when it's like I've been atevents outside, you just dress
for it when it was likedefinitely air temp close to
zero and probably some zero.
You're not out there a longtime, but I think I'd rather, if
I had to be ridiculously superhot or cold and be able to dress
for that, I'd probably take thecold Minnesota temperatures.
(14:41):
What would you take?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
I would take the cold as well, but I grew up here and
yeah, it's easier to putclothes on.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
You can only take off so much if it's really hot.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Right, and if the sweat isn't evaporating, you're
not going to feel good period.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Yeah, is there anything else that in the
wintertime and even if peopledon't live around here in this
area, that they should bethinking about in terms of
things they can do throughoutthe week to help with their just
overall well-being?
Because I feel this time ofyear, as we gear up for the
holidays, I feel there's thisexcitement, more and this energy
(15:20):
.
But then you get past theholidays and then if you live in
a place where it's cold, like Ido, then it's like such a
bummer and it's dark at 430 andyou're just like is that an
effect from just it being a lackof sunlight, lack of being
outside?
Probably, well, think aboutwhat just happened here.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
We're in the second week of January right now
heading into the third week ofJanuary.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
And already.
I'm complaining about it.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
We are on some of the shortest days of the year, and
so the farther north you go inthe US or anywhere north of the
equator, the farther north yougo, the less sunlight we get at
this time of year.
Well, sunlight hitting yourskin makes vitamin D.
Vitamin D, among other things,makes you feel happy.
(16:10):
It helps with your mood.
It helps with a bunch of otherthings too, so we're not getting
as much sunlight.
If, because of the cold, you'restaying indoors, you're getting
even less sunlight.
Now, not getting the vitamin D,can you take a supplement?
(16:32):
Can you get a diet?
Yeah, but still not quite asthe same effect of the sun.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yeah, so it's not a substitute for the sun.
Even if you took a bunch ofvitamin D, you still want to
have that exposure.
You still do.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yeah, vitamin D, shellfish, seaweed or kelp.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
So I mean, if you have an Asian diet, you're in
much, much better shape thanpeople who won't eat.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
That's good to know, because I do love.
I love Japanese food and Koreanfood.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
There just isn't a whole lot of non seabaring food
that has the amount of vitamin Dthat those things have.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
But the community piece.
And also, okay, we're in themiddle of January.
How many people just spent moremoney than they had on
Christmas?
How many people just did ahundred parties and they only
wanted to go to two?
How many people did all ofthese things?
You're finally catching up,yeah true.
It's catching up to you.
(17:33):
Yeah, and we know this.
When you put yourself through ahigh stress situation for a
long, long period of time, forseveral days or weeks, the
amount of cortisol in your bodygoes up and up, and up and up to
keep you going.
And then when you finally stopwith all that stress, it crashes
(17:55):
.
And so you feel this crash.
Your immune system has becomedepressed and oh yeah, by the
way, you probably just got sickafter Christmas.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I actually know a lot ofpeople who got sick after
Christmas.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
now that you mentioned it, and then if you're
talking about the feeling,feeling glum feeling blue
somewhere right around now.
You probably got your creditcard for Christmas too, so you
know, oh, yeah.
So how do you deal with all ofthat?
I mean, you do the things thatcan make you happy.
Yeah, get some sunlight, getoutdoors, get fresh air.
(18:28):
Fresh air is an amazing curefor many things, even if you can
only get five or 10 minutes ofit at a time.
Yeah, exercise.
Like we said, just 20 minutesof exercise a day will make you
feel better and will make you behealthier.
Now, if you're trying to lose50 pounds, no, that's going to
take a long time.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
20 minutes a day what if I'm trying to lose like 10
pounds?
Speaker 2 (18:50):
So I mean, if you're trying to lose 10 pounds a day,
there is a 10 pounds total.
There is a way staying in that20 to 30 minutes a day that you
can easily do that.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Yeah, still reasonable.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Just do I mean really , if you're just trying to lose
a little bit of the holiday fat?
The funny thing is lift weights.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Lift weights huh.
Well, in keeping it in that 20minute realm, I feel like I can
do that.
If it needed to be a lot morethen I'd be like, ah, maybe I'll
keep the 10 pounds.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Some people love exercise, some people do.
I wish I had more time to do it, because I do enjoy it.
But, that being said, it's notreasonable to spend three or
four hours a day at the gym.
If you have family, kids, a job, people who count on you for
other things, it's just notgoing to happen.
Yeah, that makes sense.
(19:41):
So, yeah, you're better offdoing smart exercise than hard
exercise or long exercise.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
What if I crammed my sunlight time into go spending a
week in Hawaii right inFebruary or March and I was in
the sun like every day, all day?
I'm assuming it doesn't workthat way, that you can't.
Just, I'm not squirrelcollecting nuts that I can hold
on to through winter.
Sunlight isn't held in my body.
(20:08):
It's something that moreregularly needs to occur.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
It is something that more regularly needs to occur.
Now.
My wife and I took our kids toMexico for a few days for New
Year's.
I will tell you this I thinkthe effects last for a few weeks
, so does it.
Getting the sun, getting therelaxation, the reduced stress,
(20:33):
will help you feel better.
Now, how do you reduce stress?
Well, one of them is exercise.
Another one is laughing.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Ooh, I like that.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Laughing releases a bunch of stress relieving
hormones.
So does exercise.
So does interacting withfriends, being in the community.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
So, if you can, get together with friends you like
who make you laugh, and go on awalk that you're kind of like
hitting all the points there.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
You're nailing everything right there.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
yes, that's what I'm hearing.
You need to get more friendstogether.
Get outside, do a little bit ofwalking, but with people who
are fun and make me laugh.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
And you'd probably feel better for it.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
And you'd enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Mm-hmm, you're right.
That's much more enjoyable.
I think part of with theexercise.
Why I push back on it or Idon't make it happen is because
I don't generally enjoy it.
I enjoy afterwards.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
You enjoy the results , not the process.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, exactly, but I do enjoy walking outside, not
when it's as cold as it is now,but I would say, walking around
outside, especially with likeyou're saying with people that I
like and enjoy, I do enjoy thatand I'll stay outside walking
longer.
Or if I've got a great podcastor if I'm like listening to
something on YouTube, then I'mmore likely to do it.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Well, why do you think exercise classes are so
popular?
Yeah, I mean, with an exerciseclass you get the exercise piece
, but you get the community part, and the community part one
holds you a little bit moreaccountable to showing up, yeah,
but two, you get thatsocialization along with the
exercise.
That makes a lot of sense, andso people will get a lot more.
(22:14):
A lot of people get moreresults out of doing an exercise
class.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Or say, playing a pickup game of basketball with a
bunch of friends, yeah, andthen they'll laugh at the same
time.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
They'll laugh at the same time.
They're exercising.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Yeah, they get the community, they get the laughter
, they get the exercise all inone shot, wow.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
These are great tips.
You must be a doctor orsomething.
Now I have.
In the description of thisvideo, there's a link where you
can learn more about Dr JasonStrandberg and what he does with
Lake Minnetonka mobile wellnessin the area.
I appreciate you so much comingin and basically telling me
(22:51):
things that I can actually dealwith.
I can get outside, I can get alittle bit more sun and I can
piece together 20 minutes a dayof activity.
And I really feel, too, likeyou just signed off on, because
one thing that I have been kindof like I think I need to
improve on is spending more timewith friends and doing those
(23:11):
things that I do, things that Ienjoy and luckily I enjoy my job
a ton, but getting out anddoing that.
So you are inspiring me, drJason.
Well, I'm glad, so thank you somuch for joining, thank you for
having me and everybody else,thank you for being here and if
you're catching this on thereplay, by all means, I want to
(23:32):
hear in the comments what youthink about this and if you're
listening on our Tonka Talkpodcast.
Thank you so much for beinghere, everybody, and you know
you will catch me again soontalking about something else
having to do with community andconnection in the area.
Have a great day.
Hello everybody, welcome.
I'm Natalie.
This is Tonga Talk, where wetalk about the ways people
create community and connectionall around Lake Minnetonka and
beyond.
If it's your first time here,welcome.
Be sure to hit the subscribebutton and, as we go along, if
you like this video, go aheadand like it as well.
If you've been here before,welcome back.
You know what we like to talkabout and I like to bring in
(00:29):
people who are contributing tothat whole motion of improving
the ways that we live and theways we can come together in the
community.
And today I get to talk to DrJason Strandberg.
Hello, how you doing today.
Fabulous, especially now thatyou're here and I can pick your
brain with all kinds of stuff.
But don't worry, I'm not goingto show you a rash and ask you
what it is, unless you're okaywith that Matt on camera.
(00:52):
No, now he owns and runs LakeMinnetonka Mobile Wellness,
which is just like it sounds.
It's actually mobile.
You get to mobile and go seepatients, and today we're going
to talk about the whole idea ofyou know, taking care of
(01:12):
ourselves, that well-being, butespecially in the wintertime
because we live in Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
It's cold here sometimes.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
It is.
And right now, right now, as ofthis recording, I don't even
know how cold it is.
It's like massively coldoutside and what I think.
So this is what happens to me.
I will use myself as an examplefor all of you, because I'm
sure I'm the only one.
When it gets like this, it'syou know I don't want to go
(01:41):
anywhere because it's cold or Ijust want to.
I find myself even on theweekend.
I just want to close the blindsand put the fireplace on, even
if it seems like it's niceoutside in terms of light.
And what do you think like doesthat from a health perspective
(02:01):
because you know where we livein Minnesota, we're not always
getting a lot of sun anddaylight and I know that can
affect people is what would yousay?
Is there a downside to lockingmyself in and closing the blinds
and trying to do it like that?
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Yes, there is.
I mean, fresh air is good foreverybody, sunlight is good for
everybody, and we don't get aton of that here.
So when it's here, during thewinter months, when we have such
short days, it's a good idea toget out and let a little of
that sun hit your face, hit yourhands, even though the weather
is well.
(02:37):
My car said negative one whenwe were pulling in.
It's ridiculously cold, but welose out on so much sunlight in
the winter, we get so much inthe summer.
Because this is Minnesota,everybody wants to be outside in
the summer.
Yeah, but only a select fewwant to be outside in the winter
.
And if you don't like iceskating and cross country skiing
(03:00):
or downhill skiing, you don'thave a ton of reasons to be
outside, because even the icefisherman or people who are
doing ice fishing are insidetheir tents or their houses.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, in the ice house.
If they're in an ice house, Idon't even think about that.
You're right because you thinkabout that, like, oh well, I'm
going to go ice fishing, I'mgoing to be outside, but if
you're in an ice house or a tent, you're still not in the sun.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
You're still not getting the sun, and the sun,
when it hits your skin, makesvitamin D, and we all know that
vitamin D is important for a lotof things.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Does that?
Is it the same?
If it's, maybe you knowsunlight through a window, does
it need to be direct outside sunfor that, that to get those the
benefits from?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
it.
It's any white light, purewhite light.
So sunlight through a window,sunlight for real.
Even the fake full spectrumlights are better than nothing,
but there's still that benefitof fresh air and community
outside.
And when you lock yourself inyour house, it's just you and
your partner or your kids orwhoever is with you.
(03:58):
Yeah, and sometimes they driveyou nuts, being trapped up with
them in the house all day.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Definitely so it's.
It's even more of a reason andI've not thought about that in
the wintertime that in thewinter that we still need that
sunlight, that we need it to hitour bodies even if it's
freezing cold out.
What do you think about the?
I've been reading some thingslately that talk about how
(04:25):
people who don't spend time withother people socializing or
pursuing an interest, thatthere's an actual decline in
health From that, from havingthat disconnection or that lack
of community.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Well, there's definitely a connection to
health and well-being and tohaving a support system, a
support group.
Back in the 1970s we there wereresearch studies done that
showed that people who had asupport network, people who felt
like they could talk tosomebody when they needed to,
(05:00):
were significantly less likelyto die or be hospitalized of
significant health problems.
Wow, and that didn't even takeinto account all the things that
we look at when you go to thedoctor's office blood pressure,
yeah, weight.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
That's fascinating.
So, basically, by not maybeisolating yourself and not
having that interaction isdetrimental to your health.
I've kept, I've heard that and,like I said, I've been reading
about it, but I've been dying tosit down with you.
I feel like is this true or isthis just made up to get me
outside and around people?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
No, it's not made up, it's true.
The studies behind exercise andhealth and the studies behind
socialization, or humanconnection and health are
overwhelming.
Just getting 20 minutes of yourheart rate up a day and just
spending a few minutes a daywith somebody that makes you
(05:57):
smile, makes you laugh, is goingto actually make you feel
better and be better.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
I like that and that's doable, because you said
20 minutes, not an hour.
Or you know what I'm saying,because, it's right, I haven't
quite gotten to the point yetwhere exercise is a regular
thing and I want to do that.
But part of it is I getoverwhelmed because I'm like, oh
, 45 more minutes or an hour,it's more the time, but you're
(06:23):
saying it could make adifference in our health even if
we were just 20 minutes, beingconsistent and getting our heart
rate up.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Most of the research out there shows that if you can
get your heart rate elevated for20 minutes a day and not even
20 consecutive minutes, 20 totalminutes a day you will reap
significant health benefits.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Wow, not even consecutive.
So if I had a break in my day,or sometimes what I like to do
is take a phone call and thenlap around the office just
walking and talking, so if Iwere able to kind of piece 20
minutes together of that evenyou're saying there could be a
benefit.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Oh, I'm liking this, I can do that, and that's what
I'm hearing from you is it'sactually to make significant
improvements in our health.
You're talking about thingsthat are really doable 10
minutes here, 10 minutes there,but put together 20 minutes
during the day.
Spend time with people youenjoy being around and get
(07:22):
outside, absolutely.
Have you ever heard of the bluezones?
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Yeah, oh yeah.
The blue zones are nine placesaround the planet that people
tend to live to 100 years orolder and don't have the
diseases and conditions that wedo.
They don't have heart disease,they don't have most of the
cancers that we do and they dieat 100, 110 years old With all
(07:51):
their original teeth and all ofthe there's.
They don't have the healthproblems we do.
One of the things that theynoticed about all those
communities is none of them hadexercise plans, but every one of
them had exercise in theirdaily routines.
They walked places, they biteplaces as a form of
transportation, so they weregetting physical activity, but
(08:14):
they weren't going to a gym.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
But they weren't going to the gym.
Wow, what are some of the otherthings that they do in blue
zones that we could kind of pickup on?
You know here, and not being ina blue zone, I'm in Minnesota.
Is there a blue zone in theUnited States?
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yes, there is one in California.
Okay, it's a, I believe it's aseventh day Adventist community
and it is a definitive blue zone, and I believe somebody's
trying to add another one in anarea in Hawaii.
Oh, oh, because there's a.
There's an area in Hawaii wherepeople tend to have the same
(08:51):
characteristics and traits.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Wow, I would write that is.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
I'd have to look it up, but there's definitely one
in southern California.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Yeah, if you know and you're with us on the live and
go ahead and put it in the chatand if you're catching this on
the replay, tell me in thecomments if you know when this
blue zone is, or coming up inHawaii and have you ever gone to
or visited a blue zone.
I would love to hear about yourthoughts on that.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
But the blue zones is basically people tend to eat
diets that are low in animal fat.
It's a mostly plant-based withlots of nuts, lots of beans,
lots of Lots of protein fromother sources.
Not vegetarian strictly.
They will eat meat or fish orpoultry On occasion, sure, but
it's not like a burger.
(09:36):
Is there every day meal.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Yeah, they eat a burger and fries in a shape
fries in a shake.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
No, it would be Fruit and vegetable and rice and some
sort of protein with yeah, sothey're tending to eat More of
the Mediterranean style, thatmore of the Asian style diet, um
, and they tend to also be incommunities where People
(10:01):
interact with each other a lotand sometimes you've got
multiple generations inhouseholds.
Speaker 1 (10:07):
Is that specifically a trait, that that's common?
You're so you're saying that'sa common trait in blue zones,
because I know I I grew up inHawaii and it was very common to
have multi-generationalfamilies living together
grandparents with the grandkidsand the parents and so on well,
I mean Hawaii is a lot of Asianand Pacific Islanders.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
Yeah, we've come to live in Hawaii and and that is a
very, very big part of theculture a lot of Asian and
Latino culture Is that familieslive close to or with each other
.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Yeah, that would make sense then.
Huh, I had no idea that areactually was a thing and
happening in Hawaii.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
It's not.
Nobody's actually said it is ablue zone yet, but they're
definitely saying it could beyeah, because then if you look
at Hawaii, has the highest lifeexpectancy of any state in the
US.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
What?
I didn't know that either.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Whoa, you just blow in my mind with the facts today.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
The surprising thing is, you know what?
I don't know if this is truefrom last year, but as of three
years ago, minnesota was eithernumber two or number three.
Whoa of longevity Of longevity.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Yeah, I like liking this.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
But again, think about all the things.
You might not yourself like togo outside and play in the snow
or in the ice.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
No.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Think about all the things you could do if you
wanted to.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Yeah, that's true, when it's not too cold, like I
don't mind getting out.
You know, I like to make asnowman, I love to do stuff like
that in the snow, but itknowing that, like even thinking
about, here in Minnesota theice freezes.
I don't know if you know, ifyou live in the area, you know,
like Minnetonka, which is rightacross the street from us, will
(11:55):
freeze over in the wintertimeand you can go ice fishing, ice
skating, and there are multipleevents happening around the like
Minnetonka area that happenedon the ice this year, though.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
They canceled a bunch of them because there wasn't
enough snow and ice.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Yes.
So what I'm hearing from you,then, is if this is a way, if
these different events thathappen outside because of the
lack of ice and snow beingcanceled, there's probably a lot
of people then who aren'treally going to be getting
outside in the wintertime Notunless they find another reason.
Yeah, huh.
So do you think that then?
(12:31):
Do you kind of see around?
Well, we can only let's talkabout the area that we live in,
and you know you see patients inthe area as a doctor.
Do people generally know aboutkind of some of these concepts
with the blue zone?
I mean, I've heard of it, butis it something that you talk
about with your patients too?
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Sometimes, yeah.
Sometimes the blue zone conceptcomes up.
A lot of people know about itbut a lot of people have no idea
.
Yeah, some people think it'sjust good genetics, but it's
really a lot more than that.
Yeah, health partners years andyears ago started working with
a group that actually a friendof mine from college was running
(13:15):
, where they did a blue zonecollaborative and then we'd go
to cities that were trying todevelop themselves and to create
as much of a blue zone effectas they could.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
So if you're building , if you're creating a new city,
they're, first of all,sidewalks everywhere so you can
walk to places.
Have stores intermingled withhouses so people can walk to the
shops and so they can see theirneighbors when they're going
shopping.
Have a park be the central partof the city so people can be
outdoors interacting, exercisingtogether.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
You know I went to I remember going to Texas and I
think it was around Houstonwhere I was shocked by a lack of
sidewalks in places.
I don't know if you've beenthere, I've been there yeah.
But did you notice that too, Iknow?
At least when I was there I waskind of like why aren't there
more sidewalks where people canwalk?
Because nobody walks.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
It's.
You know, in the summer it's100 degrees and it feels like
it's 125.
Nobody walks.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
Well, but I mean here in Minnesota, if we can go out
when it's like I've been atevents outside, you just dress
for it when it was likedefinitely air temp close to
zero and probably some zero.
You're not out there a longtime, but I think I'd rather, if
I had to be ridiculously superhot or cold and be able to dress
for that, I'd probably take thecold Minnesota temperatures.
(14:41):
What would you take?
Speaker 2 (14:43):
I would take the cold as well, but I grew up here and
yeah, it's easier to putclothes on.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
You can only take off so much if it's really hot.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Right, and if the sweat isn't evaporating, you're
not going to feel good period.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Yeah, is there anything else that in the
wintertime and even if peopledon't live around here in this
area, that they should bethinking about in terms of
things they can do throughoutthe week to help with their just
overall well-being?
Because I feel this time ofyear, as we gear up for the
holidays, I feel there's thisexcitement, more and this energy
(15:20):
.
But then you get past theholidays and then if you live in
a place where it's cold, like Ido, then it's like such a
bummer and it's dark at 430 andyou're just like is that an
effect from just it being a lackof sunlight, lack of being
outside?
Probably, well, think aboutwhat just happened here.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
We're in the second week of January right now
heading into the third week ofJanuary.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
And already.
I'm complaining about it.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
We are on some of the shortest days of the year, and
so the farther north you go inthe US or anywhere north of the
equator, the farther north yougo, the less sunlight we get at
this time of year.
Well, sunlight hitting yourskin makes vitamin D.
Vitamin D, among other things,makes you feel happy.
(16:10):
It helps with your mood.
It helps with a bunch of otherthings too, so we're not getting
as much sunlight.
If, because of the cold, you'restaying indoors, you're getting
even less sunlight.
Now, not getting the vitamin D,can you take a supplement?
(16:32):
Can you get a diet?
Yeah, but still not quite asthe same effect of the sun.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yeah, so it's not a substitute for the sun.
Even if you took a bunch ofvitamin D, you still want to
have that exposure.
You still do.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yeah, vitamin D, shellfish, seaweed or kelp.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
So I mean, if you have an Asian diet, you're in
much, much better shape thanpeople who won't eat.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
That's good to know, because I do love.
I love Japanese food and Koreanfood.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
There just isn't a whole lot of non seabaring food
that has the amount of vitamin Dthat those things have.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
But the community piece.
And also, okay, we're in themiddle of January.
How many people just spent moremoney than they had on
Christmas?
How many people just did ahundred parties and they only
wanted to go to two?
How many people did all ofthese things?
You're finally catching up,yeah true.
It's catching up to you.
(17:33):
Yeah, and we know this.
When you put yourself through ahigh stress situation for a
long, long period of time, forseveral days or weeks, the
amount of cortisol in your bodygoes up and up, and up and up to
keep you going.
And then when you finally stopwith all that stress, it crashes
(17:55):
.
And so you feel this crash.
Your immune system has becomedepressed and oh yeah, by the
way, you probably just got sickafter Christmas.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I actually know a lot ofpeople who got sick after
Christmas.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
now that you mentioned it, and then if you're
talking about the feeling,feeling glum feeling blue
somewhere right around now.
You probably got your creditcard for Christmas too, so you
know, oh, yeah.
So how do you deal with all ofthat?
I mean, you do the things thatcan make you happy.
Yeah, get some sunlight, getoutdoors, get fresh air.
(18:28):
Fresh air is an amazing curefor many things, even if you can
only get five or 10 minutes ofit at a time.
Yeah, exercise.
Like we said, just 20 minutesof exercise a day will make you
feel better and will make you behealthier.
Now, if you're trying to lose50 pounds, no, that's going to
take a long time.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
20 minutes a day what if I'm trying to lose like 10
pounds?
Speaker 2 (18:50):
So I mean, if you're trying to lose 10 pounds a day,
there is a 10 pounds total.
There is a way staying in that20 to 30 minutes a day that you
can easily do that.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Yeah, still reasonable.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Just do I mean really , if you're just trying to lose
a little bit of the holiday fat?
The funny thing is lift weights.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
Lift weights huh.
Well, in keeping it in that 20minute realm, I feel like I can
do that.
If it needed to be a lot morethen I'd be like, ah, maybe I'll
keep the 10 pounds.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Some people love exercise, some people do.
I wish I had more time to do it, because I do enjoy it.
But, that being said, it's notreasonable to spend three or
four hours a day at the gym.
If you have family, kids, a job, people who count on you for
other things, it's just notgoing to happen.
Yeah, that makes sense.
(19:41):
So, yeah, you're better offdoing smart exercise than hard
exercise or long exercise.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
What if I crammed my sunlight time into go spending a
week in Hawaii right inFebruary or March and I was in
the sun like every day, all day?
I'm assuming it doesn't workthat way, that you can't.
Just, I'm not squirrelcollecting nuts that I can hold
on to through winter.
Sunlight isn't held in my body.
(20:08):
It's something that moreregularly needs to occur.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
It is something that more regularly needs to occur.
Now.
My wife and I took our kids toMexico for a few days for New
Year's.
I will tell you this I thinkthe effects last for a few weeks
, so does it.
Getting the sun, getting therelaxation, the reduced stress,
(20:33):
will help you feel better.
Now, how do you reduce stress?
Well, one of them is exercise.
Another one is laughing.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Ooh, I like that.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
Laughing releases a bunch of stress relieving
hormones.
So does exercise.
So does interacting withfriends, being in the community.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
So, if you can, get together with friends you like
who make you laugh, and go on awalk that you're kind of like
hitting all the points there.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
You're nailing everything right there.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
yes, that's what I'm hearing.
You need to get more friendstogether.
Get outside, do a little bit ofwalking, but with people who
are fun and make me laugh.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
And you'd probably feel better for it.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
And you'd enjoy it.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
Mm-hmm, you're right.
That's much more enjoyable.
I think part of with theexercise.
Why I push back on it or Idon't make it happen is because
I don't generally enjoy it.
I enjoy afterwards.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
You enjoy the results , not the process.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, exactly, but I do enjoy walking outside, not
when it's as cold as it is now,but I would say, walking around
outside, especially with likeyou're saying with people that I
like and enjoy, I do enjoy thatand I'll stay outside walking
longer.
Or if I've got a great podcastor if I'm like listening to
something on YouTube, then I'mmore likely to do it.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Well, why do you think exercise classes are so
popular?
Yeah, I mean, with an exerciseclass you get the exercise piece
, but you get the community part, and the community part one
holds you a little bit moreaccountable to showing up, yeah,
but two, you get thatsocialization along with the
exercise.
That makes a lot of sense, andso people will get a lot more.
(22:14):
A lot of people get moreresults out of doing an exercise
class.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Or say, playing a pickup game of basketball with a
bunch of friends, yeah, andthen they'll laugh at the same
time.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
They'll laugh at the same time.
They're exercising.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Yeah, they get the community, they get the laughter
, they get the exercise all inone shot, wow.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
These are great tips.
You must be a doctor orsomething.
Now I have.
In the description of thisvideo, there's a link where you
can learn more about Dr JasonStrandberg and what he does with
Lake Minnetonka mobile wellnessin the area.
I appreciate you so much comingin and basically telling me
(22:51):
things that I can actually dealwith.
I can get outside, I can get alittle bit more sun and I can
piece together 20 minutes a dayof activity.
And I really feel, too, likeyou just signed off on, because
one thing that I have been kindof like I think I need to
improve on is spending more timewith friends and doing those
(23:11):
things that I do, things that Ienjoy and luckily I enjoy my job
a ton, but getting out anddoing that.
So you are inspiring me, drJason.
Well, I'm glad, so thank you somuch for joining, thank you for
having me and everybody else,thank you for being here and if
you're catching this on thereplay, by all means, I want to
(23:32):
hear in the comments what youthink about this and if you're
listening on our Tonka Talkpodcast.
Thank you so much for beinghere, everybody, and you know
you will catch me again soontalking about something else
having to do with community andconnection in the area.
Have a great day.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.