Fuel That Nurtures
Eating Right to Feel Better
At its simplest, food is fuel. Though our preferences regarding taste and texture can vary widely, we all rely on the foods we eat for energy. Most people are aware that it is vital we consume a diverse assortment of foods if we aspire to maintain a state of physical well-being. However, the intimate connection between diet and our mental well-being is less understood. Just as the nutritional components in food power the body, so too do they power the mind. Some foods can impair cognitive functioning and sap our energy while others heighten our intellectual prowess and make us feel vigorous. What we eat and drink can have a powerful effect on our ability to focus, mental clarity, mood, and stress levels.
Food allergies, which don’t always manifest themselves in forms we recognize, can also play a significant role in the maintenance of mental health. Thus, for most of us, even a simple change in diet can have a profoundly positive impact on our lives. Taking the time to explore whether anxiety, muddled thoughts, or inexplicable tension can be linked to a food allergy or food sensitivity can empower you to treat your symptoms naturally. The benefits of a healthier, more personalized diet are often felt immediately. Sugar, saturated fats, wheat, and dairy products are frequently allergens and can stress the body. For people that are allergic, consuming them can cause imbalances in the physical self that have a negative effect on the body’s ability to nourish the brain. Water, fiber, nuts, unprocessed seeds, raw fruits and vegetables, and vegetable proteins, on the other hand, support physical and mental functioning by providing those nutrients we do need without additional substances we don’t.
A balanced, natural diet can ease mood swings, panic attacks, anxiety, and mild depression. Intellectual clarity and agility is improved when the mind receives proper nourishment. Even those individuals who are blessed with the ability to consume almost any food can benefit from a healthier and simpler diet. Since the mental and physical selves are closely bound to one another, we must feed each the foods upon which they thrive.
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10 ways to improve your health
1.Get your Chiropractic Adjustment: Optimize the POWER of your nervous system!
2.Get an hour more of sleep per day: Good sleep helps your body function better. If you aren’t getting 7-9 hours of sleep, try to add an hour of sleep to your routine. Depending on your age, you will need to decide on quantity versus quality when it comes to sleep.
3.Set out some easy-to-eat fruit: I struggle because I have a sweet tooth. One thing that has helped me cut back on candy is to have grapes, dried mangoes, prunes, clementines (fast and easy to peel) and other sweet fruits readily available. That way, when you wonder into the kitchen looking for an easy snack, the fruit is right there. And it’s sweet enough to satisfy your craving — most of the time.
4.Replace one drink per day with water: Instead of that sweetened “sports” drink, or that soda, drink water. Replace one can/Big Gulp/20 oz. bottle each day with water. If you must have flavor in your water, there are low calorie options that lightly flavor your water for you. Even drinking a glass of lowfat milk is better for you than a 20 oz. soda. At the very least, downgrade the size of the sweetened drinks you are guzzling.
5.Daily relaxation: If you take 15-20 minutes each day to relax, via yoga, meditation, some sort of journal writing, or non-demanding reading, you can improve your health by reducing stress. It can even help you lose weight more efficiently when combined with other healthy behaviors!
6.Slow down at mealtime: Give your body time to register that it is consuming food and getting full. This way, you will consume fewer calories, and possibly enjoy your food more. Not to mention you can enjoy extra time with your family.
7.Replace one meat entree a week with a vegetarian alternative: You can boost your health by eating less red meat. Pick one entree a week, and replace it with a tasty vegetarian entree. Not only will you boost your health, but you will be living greener. At the very least, replace one beef, chicken or pork entree with a fish entree.
8.Walk a little more: You’ve heard the advice about parking your care further from the store. This is actually good advice! You can walk a little more throughout the day. Take five minute mini-walks two or three times a day when you go on break. Adding more vigorous exercise to your schedule is even better.
9.Add variety to your salad: Replace boring iceberg lettuce with flavorful spinach (which is much better raw than cooked, IMO), red lettuce and other leafy vegetables found in “spring mix” bags. These colored leaves are higher in nutrients, and they can add a little more variety to your meals. Bonus points if you grow your own!
10.Pay attention to portions: Try reducing your portion sizes of meats and breads, and increasing your portions of fruits and vegetables. Watch portion size: a six ounce sirloin is actually two serving sizes of beef. Add an extra vegetable side to your meal to make up for the smaller entree portion.
Learning to Love Yourself
It Begins With You
Learning To Love Yourself
We’ve all heard it countless times before, “To experience true love, we first must love ourselves,” or some variation of such. However it is stated, the importance of self love is vital to becoming a healthy, whole, human being. We are all children of the universe, created out of love. We accept and love other people, animals, nature, all that comes from the same source as we do. We too then, are worthy of our own love. To honor oneself with love and acceptance is to honor the universe that created us.
Self love is about fully embracing oneself, realizing one’s strengths and accepting one’s flaws. Self love is not about being self-centered or self-absorbed, which is based on insecurity and not knowing oneself. True self love is a guarantee that we will not succumb to such selfish pursuits. For if we truly love ourselves we know that we do not need to be the best looking, most talented, or have the most possessions. When we love ourselves, we are able to give love freely to others without fear of being hurt or used. We love ourselves enough to not allow others to take advantage of us. And, when we are secure in our love of self, we attract the love of others.
To learn to love yourself, treat yourself the way you treat those you love. Be kind to yourself, giving yourself all that you need to be happy and healthy. Show yourself a good time by doing things you like. Eat well and take care of your body. Say nice things to yourself. Compliment and praise yourself, just as you would a friend, family member, or lover. Encourage yourself when you’re feeling down.
And most importantly, say the words that we all long to hear. Look in the mirror and tell yourself, “I love you.” This can be difficult, but it’s a powerful tool in acceptance and self love. It may not be easy, you may feel foolish at first, but you can do it. Even if you don’t feel it right away, keep doing it. Love yourself first and you will be able to truly love others and to be truly loved in return.
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Meditation
Centering Ourselves
“Learning to center yourself can be of the most important aspects of growth.”
When we center ourselves, we begin by acknowledging that we have become spread too thin and we are no longer unified inside. Our thoughts might be out of sync with our feelings, and our actions may be out of sync with both. The main signs that we need to center ourselves are scattered thoughts and a feeling of disconnection or numbness, as if we are no longer able to take anything in. In addition, we may feel unfocused and not present in our bodies. Centering ourselves is a way of coming to terms with all the different energies within us and drawing them back into ourselves.
Centering yourself means that you are working from or being aware of the core of your being in the solar plexus area of your body. At first it may not make sense, but as you progress you will understand what this feels like. We naturally know how to center ourselves when we take a deep breath, for example, before making a big announcement or doing something big. Another way to center ourselves is to sit down and engage in breath meditation. We can start by simply getting into a comfortable upright position and noticing as our breath enters and leaves our bodies. Our breath flows into our center and out from our center, and this process can serve as a template for all of our interactions in the world. In conversations, we can take what our friends are saying into the center of our beings and respond from the center. Our whole lives mirror this ebb and flow of energy that begins and ends at the center of ourselves. If we follow this ebb and flow, we are in harmony with the universe, and when we find we are out of harmony, we can always come back into balance by sitting down and observing our breath.
When we sit down to center ourselves we can imagine that we are gathering our straying thoughts and energies back into ourselves, the way a mother duck gathers her babies around her. We can also visualize ourselves casting a net and pulling all the disparate parts of ourselves back to the center of our being, creating a sense of fluid integration. From this place of centeredness, we can begin again, directing ourselves outward in a more intentional & healthy ways.
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