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What you Think is as Important as What you Eat

I was pleased to come across Carl Stronter’s article, What you Think is as Important as What you Eat, posted in Uplift Connect. From a holistic health perspective, we understand that everything is interconnected and that you cannot separate mind and body when it comes to health. For example, I’ve seen time and time again – clients who are eating well and exercising regularly, doing all the “right” things however, they may be overly rigid, self-critical or fearful with food. Others are in a toxic work situation or relationship which is creating constant stress and anxiety. They are unhappy and their minds are overloaded with difficult thoughts and emotions, causing an imbalance in their system and manifesting in minor to serious health issues. Establishing true health involves attention to the mind-body connection and nurturing our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs. Here are some key points from Stronter’s article: 

How to Think Your Way to Better Health

Some are calling it the next frontier in the field of health: mind-body medicine, which is the study of the interaction between the body and mind as it relates to health and disease.

In recent years, many extraordinary, well-researched studies have come out showing a very direct link between our emotions, beliefs and thoughts, and the health of our physical body, as well as measurable changes in our genetic code. In the past, this was referred to as the “placebo effect,” and was written off as a fluke power of the mind that had to be counted for in double-blind studies. However, this inherent mind-body connection is proving to be the elephant in the room that had been ignored for centuries—and is now the latest frontier in modern medicine, shaking up old models of disease theory and showing us that health is far more complex than previously thought. While eating a healthy diet is still important, our health is far more dependent on our state of mental and emotional well-being than previously thought.

Mind Over Matter

If you’ve ever practiced mindfulness or meditation for any length of time, the results were not altogether surprising: every single one of the study participants’ DNA demonstrated significant, measurable changes in the genes that researchers had identified as being responsible for, or related to, metabolism, aging, insulin response, and relaxation, among many others. The observed changes were found to be clearly indicative of a majorly reduced stress response and activation of telomere maintenance genes, meaning that the mantra, meditation and mindfulness practices actually caused observable, measurable changes in the body that ultimately led to alteration and repair of DNA. In essence, changes in the mental state of the participants produced very real and measurable changes in their physical bodies, all the way down to the genetic level. Clearly, something is going on here.

These findings also lend a research-backed explanation to the miraculous experiences of Dina Proctor, who developed a simple but extraordinarily powerful visualization and meditation technique, based on the work of pioneering cell biologist and mind-body medicine researcher Dr. Bruce Lipton, that was able to create significant, measurable changes in her biochemistry and blood work over the course of just a few short weeks. 

Read the full article here.

*We’d love to hear from you!  CONTACT US to discuss your health and wellness goals.

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How to eat for Spring and Summer? Tune into your body’s innate wisdom

“In the Spring and Summer, the days become longer and warmer. The increased sunlight naturally results in increased energy and a natural inclination towards more movement. Contrary to in the wintertime, eating too many heavy foods and being sedentary during the warmer months can lead to imbalance in the form of sluggishness, low energy and lack of motivation. When in tune with your body, it will direct you towards naturally cleansing foods such as more greens, raw foods, fruit, lighter proteins and less fatty, heavy foods. Your body’s natural motivation for more activity will help the winter weight melt off. Trust and know your body will take care of you when you listen. The inner wisdom exists and when you learn to trust and understand what your body is calling for, you being to create a new food paradigm for yourself – one that is easeful and goes with the flow of the seasons rather than one that leads to struggle and frustration. The answers are not outside of yourself as advertised – they are within: when you simply begin to tune into your body’s natural voice, you will know what is needed each moment, each week, each month, and each season.”  ~ Energizing Nutrition, A New Food Paradigm

 What are some of your favorite Spring and Summer foods?

*Tip: If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to integrating more seasonal foods, make a visit to your local farmer’s market.

*We’d love to hear from you!  CONTACT US to discuss your health and wellness goals.

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Energize Your Year with Spiritual Nourishment

This New Year, as you are reviewing your health and nutrition goals, I invite you to examine, energize and prioritize your spiritual nourishment.  Without spiritual nourishment, no matter how healthy you eat and how much you exercise, you may still be left feeling unhappy, unfulfilled and lacking true health.

What is spiritual nourishment?  It looks different for everyone – taking time to walk in nature, spending time with pets, or even washing the dishes with mindfulness, can all be acts that feed your spirit. 

Spiritual nourishment can be as simple as carving out ten to fifteen minutes of silent time in the mornings or listening to relaxing music rather than the news.  It can also be a more formal type of meditation practice based on what you’re drawn to or what your religious faith is.

In today’s society, we are bombarded with stimulation everywhere we go.  Our senses become overloaded and this, along with a lack of spiritual nourishment can lead to anxiety, stress, low energy, depression, burnout and unhealthy weight gain or weight loss.  Shut off the TV, get off the computer, put the phone away and take a social media fast.  These are all ways to help quiet the noise, connect internally and nourish your spirit.

Creative or artistic outlets are also forms of spiritual nourishment.  For some, it may be painting, journaling, or writing.  Movement such as dance, yoga, martial arts, or a combination of these activities is also wonderful.  You will notice that the more regularly you carve out time for such activities in daily life, the more you create a greater sense of calm, satisfaction and less of a need to fill yourself up with food for comfort or entertainment.  Your physical and emotional health will benefit and you will begin to experience true health, well-being and fulfillment.  

I invite you to begin the year by prioritizing your spiritual nourishment and see what happens.  Here are a couple of simple questions to help you begin:

 

  • What feeds you spiritually?  (ie: journaling, walking in nature, listening to music, drawing, meditation?) 

 

  • Have you devoted part of your day or week to spiritual nourishment? What are two simple action steps you can take to include spiritual nourishment in your life?

 

Wishing you a happy, healthy and energizing 2019!   

*We’d love to hear from you!  CONTACT US to discuss your health and wellness goals.

(Content adapted from Molly’s book, Energizing Nutrition: A New Food Paradigm)