But what about health? For decades, nutrition recommendations have followed a one-size-fits-all template: we learned to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, make half our grains whole grains, and have a daily intake of 2,000 calories. Despite these central guidelines aiming to improve eating patterns of large groups of people, people struggling with their health may feel that generic suggestions are not very helpful, and research shows that confusion about food choices and nutrition is all too common. Removing some of the guessing game from what a “healthy diet” means is an enticing prospect.
The medical community has become increasingly aware that “healthy” doesn’t mean the same thing for everyone. So then how do we know what is best for our bodies? The answer lies in personalized nutrition. A personalized nutrition approach is based on the idea that by tailoring nutrition advice to a specific person’s bodily requirements, we may be more motivated to make dietary changes to improve our health and lower risk of conditions like obesity, Type II diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, stroke, and most important, heart disease. Personalized nutrition is at the heart of what can make our bodies healthy and keep them that way too.
I am an interventional cardiologist practicing for more than a decade now on Hilton Head Island as well as in Bluffton. While “interventional” means that I perform invasive procedures such as implanting stents and pacemakers in patients that need it, my primary passion has always been preventative medicine. As the old saying goes, “Prevention is better than the cure,” and it’s what I actively integrate into every session I have with my patients. That is exactly why I realized the importance of personalized nutrition—for heart health as well as overall body health—and created a health and wellness clinic named NuBodia, LLC to best integrate my cardiovascular knowledge with nutritional knowledge, wellness with personalized wellbeing, and transform it into a whole-package deal.
When you come in as a client, we work to figure out exactly how your individual body works through assessing your genetic predisposition, dietary habits, physical habits, sleep behaviors, and current blood work. Using your complete profile, we will support you in reaching optimal health, also accounting for body image and physical training. We work step-by-step with you to ensure that you have accountability to achieve the results you desire and feel the best you’ve felt in your life.
If you are interested in learning more or booking an appointment, please call us at (843) 682-HOPE (4673) for Heart Associate of Hilton Head, LLC. If nutrition is your main focus, please call (843) 816-3733 for NuBodia, LLC.
Dr. Ravina Balchandani is an interventional cardiologist specializing in disease prevention. She graduated from Gandhi Medical School in 1987 and completed her medical residency, cardiology residency, and interventional cardiology residency at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City. Later, she practiced at Stony Brook University Medical Center, after which she re-located to Hilton Head Island.
