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Health & Wellness

Principles:

Strategic Systems for Success

Teaching Fundamentals

Habits

Our lives are filled with habits, some good and some bad. We don’t even think about most of the habits which guide our day and unfortunately some of these are harming us. We need to identify these habits and realize what they are doing to us over the course of our lifespan because some of these are killing us. We are forever trying to “kick” some habits – like smoking, watching too much TV, snacking on chips at night; we make New Year’s resolutions hoping that finally we will overcome the negative behavior which is rooted in our poor habits, and this is usually to no avail. This is why “habit change” is a needed principle which must be addressed. If we know more truth about ourselves and have more knowledge about what our habits are doing to us, we might possibly be more motivated to change. If we know the big “why” of why we need this change, we might possibly be more motivated to change. Habit change is possible and with the right systems and support in place, we can achieve this, but it takes time; it takes a decision; it takes being ready to hear the truth, think on it often and choose to take the incremental steps for the sustainable change.

Root Cause

Much of what we do in our lives, and especially in our healthcare system, focuses on the symptoms of an individual and trying to alleviate these symptoms without addressing the root cause of the problem. Because of this, we never really experience the health or satisfaction which we desire, and so, we are forever chasing after the next “solution” when in reality, the “solution” is that we must combat the “root” of the problem. For instance, if you step on a nail, we could alleviate your pain by giving you medicine, but we would not be addressing the “root” of the problem which is the nail. We need to remove this root cause so that true healing will occur. This might seem very obvious; however, in our current health model we spend much time alleviating the symptoms of a problem without addressing the real root of the problem. This could be in giving medication to a child for behavior issues, when possibly the child is experiencing food intolerances affecting his or her self-regulation, and yet no one has discovered or addressed it. Many adult symptoms could be alleviated just by managing blood sugar, stress and sleep more adequately by proper food choices and lifestyle modifications, and thus, overall health would be improved greatly and a reduction in many diseases would be seen, not to mention a drop in our obesity rate which is a national crisis. Identifying the root cause of a problem or concern is a basic principle of establishing health and wellness.

Strategic Systems for Success

In order to succeed, one must have a plan that has a purposeful and measurable goal. After realizing the goal and establishing it, the individual must know the BIG WHY – the motivating factor (MOFA) behind why they want this for themselves. This helps to motivate the individual to keep pressing on. Along with this, it is important to address barriers to this goal and try to remove them in order to achieve the goal. This is simply prudent planning for the challenges and temptations that are sure to come along. Finally, we need a support system made up of a few individuals who can encourage us and help us to make the choices which correlate with our desired outcome. Going at it alone is not a wise idea. We need help. We need accountability. We need support. All of this helps anyone to move closer to their goals.

Teaching Fundamentals

Many principles are part of the education that goes on in functional nutrition counseling. The gut brain connection is not realized by many as they struggle to manage anxiety, sleep, energy, stress, weight management and overall brain and body health over the whole lifespan. The health of our gut influences the health of our brains which influences the health of our relationships and learning and most other facets of our lives. The aspect of epigenetics, which is the study of how our environmental influences and choices affect our cells and gene expression, gives us hope that our our lifestyle can bring beautiful consequences and not the fearful future that many think they are predisposed to. The likelihood of experiencing Alzheimer’s Disease or metabolic syndrome can be diminished by incorporating daily habits to facilitate increased health and combat common ailments. Improving digestion and gut health as well as dealing with root causes affords individuals the opportunity to optimize their health.

Brain & Body:

Relationships & Connections

Faith & Emotions

Nourishment & Water

Brain & Body

The brain and body are connected and more specifically, the brain and the gut are connected, literally. In fact, as some health practitioners say, “The stomach and the brain are best friends.” They communicate with each other. What you put in your stomach affects your brain, and what you feed your brain affects your gut health and your whole digestive process. In other words, if one is not healthy, neither is the other. Your thoughts matter. What you hear matters. What you learn matters. Did you know that most of your immune system is in your gut? Did you know that most of your neurotransmitters are made in your gut? Did you know that you can impact the uptake of nutrients in your gut by dealing with the stress in your mind? The gut and the brain have “bidirectional” communication. They speak to one another, and therefore, the whole body is impacted by their health. We must address this TRUTH as we seek better health and wellness.

Relationships & Connections

Nourishing our bodies with food and through exercise is wonderful, but our true self needs social interaction and healthy connections with others. This is done through relationships and connections with people who care about us, people who share similar goals and values, people who challenge us, and yes, even people who have values and goals which are different from our own. These help us to see other perspectives and grow in empathy. If you do not have meaningful social interactions and healthy connections, your entire person is not being nourished. We were not meant to be isolated; we were meant to support and challenge each other, to nurture and sharpen each other; we were meant to both give and receive through relationships.

Faith & Emotions

Whether you are a person of faith or not, I strongly urge you to consider that you must nourish your “spirit”. You have a brain and a body, but your beliefs are very important and impact your health. All three (the brain, the body, the beliefs) must be nourished and regarded as important. If you are only eating and learning and not nourishing your inner self, you are not completely nourished and are missing out on a very important aspect of your overall health and wellness. Furthermore, if you are not living with the habits and decisions which reflect what you believe, you are creating conflict in yourself, and this conflict creates stress which negatively impacts your health and your emotions. This gives you more negativity to deal with as you navigate through your life. Properly and routinely nourishing all three aspects of your person – the brain, the body and the beliefs – sets you up for positive growth and healing.

Nourishment & Water

It is not just enough to “eat”. We must consider what we are eating, what nutrients our food contains, and in fact, if we are truly eating “FOOD”. Much of what we are offered to eat and what we do eat, is not nourishing at all and can be considered an “antinutrient” which actually rids our bodies of other nutrients. Consider what you eat in a day – how much fat, fiber and protein are you getting? When do you eat? How do you eat? How often do you eat? Why do you eat? Where do you eat? These all matter and your reaction to these matter. How does what you put in your mouth affect your body? Does it make you feel energized or sluggish? Does it affect your sleep? Does it make you want to eat more? Does it make you crave? Does it give you anxiety? Also consider what you drink? Good hydration is so important. It helps regulate your blood sugar; it helps detoxify your body; it helps keep you energized; it helps you down to the cellular level. Don’t forget how important the basics are. Sounds simple, yet most people say they know they don’t drink enough water. It costs us nothing to drink more. Start today; just up your intake of water by 8 or 12 ounces and see how you could improve just this simple aspect of your health.

Exercise

Many people think they must buy a membership to a gym and go there everyday and brutally exhaust themselves for hours. In fact, this could be harmful to their bodies. While cardio workouts, HIIT sessions and weight lifting all have positive benefits for our health (and I encourage everyone to partake in these), we can be assured that simply moving is good for our bodies. Do not be disheartened if you are not at the gym working out everyday. Find any movement (walking, swimming, gardening, etc.) which you enjoy and just be consistent in participating in it. 30 minutes a day can do wonders. Not only does exercise improve your physical health and strength, but it also does wonders for our brain health and mood. The benefit of exercise for long term physical and mental health is acknowledged by all who promote health and wellness. In fact, brain health experts say that exercise is “miracle grow for the brain”. Don’t fall into the trap that it doesn’t matter or that you are too weak or busy to make exercise a habit. Every effort you make to command your health will produce a positive consequence for you to enjoy.

Sleep & Stress

Sleep and stress impact your overall health immensely. The daily requirement of sleep is vital to your body’s health and your brain health. Your brain detoxifies at night while you sleep. Your liver detoxifies when you sleep. Just one night of inadequate sleep causes stress on your body, triggers cravings and poor blood sugar regulation, not to mention your self-control. Managing stress and realizing the stressors in your life are important strategies to consider as everyone seeks to maintain health.

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