Pushing the baseline > Malmstrom Air Force Base > Display

Everybody is aware of an apple is more healthy than a cinnamon bun, however we don’t at all times select the apple.

Based on Kirk Clark, 341st Operational Medical Readiness Squadron well being promotion coordinator, a part of what he does is assist folks perceive why they select the cinnamon bun extra typically than the apple, and the way they’ll change their considering and habits to decide on the apple extra. 

Clark has been working towards bettering general well being at Malmstrom for 25 years. He began as a physiologist utilizing his information of the human physique works to look at, monitor and assist optimize particular person sufferers’ well being after which transitioned into his present place round 2013.  

When Clark heard from a buddy {that a} physiologist place was opening up at Malmstrom, he jumped on the alternative as a result of whereas he had by no means visited Montana, he’d seen footage of the state and, for him, that was sufficient. The transfer additionally gave Clark the chance he was on the lookout for to deal with preventive well being.

Earlier than transferring to Montana, Clark was working for a cardiac surgical workforce in North Carolina. Based on Clark, he felt the workforce was targeted on reactive medication – fixing somebody’s coronary heart within the working room after which serving to the particular person rehabilitate after the process.

Preventive well being is proactive medication whereas seeing a health care provider for an harm or sickness is reactive medication. That proactive medication contains getting sufficient sleep, maintaining a healthy diet meals and exercising commonly, which Clark additionally makes use of to look after his personal well being.

“It’s not that I don’t get sick, however the quantity of occasions I get sick now are few and much between,” he mentioned. “It’s a mixture of weight loss program, sleep and my bodily coaching program that hold me wholesome despite the fact that I’m thought-about the previous, at-risk man.”

Clark has at all times been lively, even when he was a small baby, and he mentioned that when he was a young person he obtained into physique constructing. That have opened his eyes to what the human physique can do.

Everybody has a baseline of their health, Clark defined, and that baseline contains their health degree, weight, diet habits, the quantity of sleep they get and all the opposite issues that contribute to their general well being. In the event that they transfer their baseline in a unfavorable path, they’re much extra prone to develop sickness or harm.

“Most individuals are content material with the baseline they’ve. The baseline they’ve wakes them up each morning, will get them to work, takes care of the children and will get them by means of life, in order that they don’t wish to transfer it,” he mentioned. “What I’ve not been content material with in life is my baseline. I’ve at all times pushed it. I wish to see the place my physique can do extra.”

Based on Clark, he takes care of his personal well being and at all times tries to push his baseline additional in a constructive path by means of prevention as a result of he needs to have the ability to transfer simply, hold exploring the world and luxuriate in life nicely into previous age.

“Why can’t I be 65 or 75 years previous and nonetheless be capable to transfer and do no matter I wish to?” he requested. “The human physique doesn’t do it by default, you must program it to do it and a part of that programming is you must deal with your self.”

Because the well being promotions coordinator, Clark’s job is to take an overarching take a look at Malmstrom Air Power Base’s well being from a prevention-based standpoint.

“If I needed to rank prime priorities in well being throughout Malmstrom and even throughout the nation, I might rank them on this order: sleep, diet, exercise,” he mentioned.

To ensure that an individual to achieve success in reaching their well being objectives, they should make these objectives clear, perceive why they’ve these objectives and discover a private purpose to inspire themselves.

“It’s a must to determine that out and solely you may,” Clark mentioned. “And what you come to well being promotions for, to see me or the dietitian or the bodily therapist or whoever, is simply concepts on do it. Finally you’re the initiator and what we do is simply provide you with actually good concepts.

“If you consider it, our wing is the powerhouse of the world. There’s nothing else extra highly effective than an intercontinental ballistic missile,” he mentioned. “We’ve to have people to run that weapons system and so the human facet of our weapon system is essentially the most important piece to making sure it really works. If I’m not mentally match and bodily match to do this mission, then that mission fails.”