Dr. Lisa Lanning leads by example as she strolls on the Leo Adler Memorial Parkway, talking about health and exercise with the community members joining her on a warm August morning for Walk with a Doc.

“I’m not speaking as your doctor, but as a doctor,” she said. “It’s general health advice and you should always follow up with your doctor.”

Lanning is a family medicine doctor at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City. This summer, she launched a local chapter of Walk with a Doc, an international program that started in Ohio in 2005.

She also specializes in lifestyle medicine, she said, which addresses the prevention of illness and reversal of chronic disease.

“I knew I really wanted to get a Walk with the Doc chapter here,” she said. “It’s another thing to promote wellness.”

Gut health

Each session of Walk with a Doc focuses on a specific topic. The August focus was gut health.

“Everybody needs to know about gut health because we all have guts,” Lanning said with a smile.

Then the group was off to walk north on the parkway along Powder River. Lanning shared information about improving gut health as everyone walked, and the group often asked questions along the way.

Lanning talked about the handout, which came from the Walk with a Doc healthy living series.

The first part of the walk and walk covered tips for boosting digestive health, such as eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts.

Other suggestions were: eating 20 to 35 grams of fiber per day, maintain a healthy weight, stay hydrated, move more, decrease stress, avoid smoking and alcohol, and eating foods with prebiotics (foods that feed good bacteria in the gut, such as bananas) and probiotics (foods with good bacteria, such as yogurt and sauerkraut).

Foods to limit, according to the handout, include red meat, alcohol, fried foods, sugar, caffeine and antibiotics.

Lanning said a vegetable-heavy diet is a good rule of thumb.

“Cholesterol does not come from any plant,” she said. “Look at ways to incorporate more plants throughout the week.”

She said legumes, beans, lentils, chickpeas and hummus are examples of non-meat foods that are high in protein.

30-30-3

Lanning shared the concept behind the “30-3-3” rule that is credited to Dr. Amy Shah, a double board-certified medical doctor and nutritionist.

The approach:

• 30 grams of protein in your first meal.
• 30 grams of fiber throughout the day.
• Three probiotic foods daily.

“Fixing your gut has benefits on your heart health, brain health and skin health,” Lanning said.

As for beverages, she recommends water, tea or coffee. Juice should be limited.

“Juice as little as possible,” she said. “If you want the juice, eat the fruit. As close to nature as possible.”

Walk with a Doc

Walk with a Doc is designed with four components: physical activity, health education, social connection and time in nature.

Walkers of all ages and fitness levels are welcome. Participation is free.

The next session has not been scheduled, but updates can be found at walkwithadoc.org/join-a-walk/locations/baker-city-oregon/.