Kathy Smith says managing blood sugar is an important step in achieving vibrant health
By Lynne Shuttleworth
Photography by Babar Khan
It’s one thing to be a fitness guru in your 30s. It’s something else to still be a fitness and health role model at 60. Kathy Smith has been advocating a healthy lifestyle for decades, and she’s not slowing down now one bit. As a spokeswoman for PGX® Daily, she tours the continent encouraging everyone to create a lifestyle based on health and wellness.
“I like inspiring and mentoring people,” she says. “It’s so much fun. My job is to spark some interest in taking better care of yourself. I love what I do. It doesn’t feel like work.” Smith has embraced PGX Daily for good reason. “There’s an obesity epidemic in the U.S. and there’s more diabetes,” she says. “I’ve found through the years that there have been different trends. During the low-fat craze, carb and sugar intake went up. People are programmed to go to a sugary meal. Inflammation happens when your blood sugar spikes, and it has a negative impact on your body.”
In fact, Smith contends that managing blood sugar is one of the biggest things anyone can do to slow the aging process. “If your energy levels are up, you feel satisfied and you can manage the amount of food you eat,” she says. “PGX is 100 per cent plant fibre. You take two capsules before a meal, with a glass of water. It combines with food and puffs up and absorbs the water, many times its weight—it makes you feel more full and creates viscosity in your food. So it takes longer to go through the digestive tract, and slows down sugar absorption. PGX helps balance glycemic levels. It’s a super-handy aid, helpful when you go to restaurants.”
Move your body
Combining blood sugar management to keep food intake down, eating “clean” foods that the experts nowadays agree go a long way toward optimum health, and making sure you get plenty of movement—these are the keys to vibrant health.
However, with obesity becoming the health issue of the decade, how easy can it be to completely change your lifestyle? Obviously, no one wants to be unhealthy, so there must be a reason why it’s so difficult for some people to eat right and get enough exercise.
Start slowly
Smith advises people to start to make changes slowly. “Pick just one thing per week, or per month—maybe this month you’ll try to eat more vegetables. If you make one change per month, that’s still 12 changes per year.”
Smith also says it’s much easier to make changes if you have other people around to support you. “It’s hard to do it independently,” she states. “Once you’re with like-minded people, you can support each other.”
With exercise, she says, “It’s about how you get movement throughout the day. Try to find something you like to do—it’s not just about the gym—it could be dancing, yoga, walking… take the kids to the park and throw the ball around. If you’ve been sedentary and eat more fast food, you can still try to get better… It’s a subtle lifestyle shift. The main thing is consistency.”
Always energetic
Being very trim and toned herself, Smith asserts that fitness doesn’t have to decline as we age. “I see women in their 70s with amazing bodies,” she says.
“In Park City (Utah), I see women and men in their 90s skiing. They’re energetic—it’s totally possible. “Realistically, you are going to age. But do it on your own terms. It’s about acceptance. Look at the total picture: health, smile, posture.”
Reject the mindset
Smith contends that how we age is a matter of conditioning. “We’re told we slow down, and yet it’s a mindset and you don’t have to buy into it. How you choose to age is up to you.”
