18 Ways to Thrive and have Healthy Happy Holiday Season

    Happy Holiday's 

1.    Keep up you renewal routines.

Take the time to nourish yourself with exercise, whether it is walking, running, yoga, meditation, biking etc?  It is as important if not more important during the busy holiday season.  Exercise provides fresh oxygen, blood and nutrients to all the joints, organs and the brain.  It also stabilizes blood sugar and is a big stress reliever.  Time strapped do the 7 minute workout.

2.   Make breakfast high energy

Make a high Protein shake or smoothie. It must have clean high quality protein powder, good fat, (flax seed oil, nuts and seeds) leafy greens and a small amount of fruit.

3.  Cut the Carbs on Turkey Day.

Stuff your turkey with celery, onions, herbs and spices instead of the high fat high carb loaded version.  Switch high carb pumpkin pie for pumpkin soup with a dollop of yogurt and skip the bread roll.

4.   Make new Traditions

Most holiday dinners are upwards of 2500/3000 calories and that does not include alcohol or eggnog.  Old Traditions have made us fat and put a huge load on the digestive system and the heart.  It is time for new healthier traditions.

5.   Give the Gift of Love

One of the best gifts one can give a loved one is the gift of positive and loving behavior and words.  If you see all the wonderful things in your spouse, kids family members, friends etc. just imagine how great that would be and it is guaranteed to improve your relationships. The photo is my best friend Graeme and his family in 2012.

   6.    Use a minimalistic approach to Decorations and the Table.

We do not need more stuff and we all have tons of Holiday décor and the thing is that most of your guests don’t notice as much as we think they do.  What they notice is the energy and feeling of your home.  So skip the extra running around and stress and light candles.

 7.  Do a Digital Detox

Make a pact with your friends and family to put phones and iPads etc. away during dinners and outings. Spend some quality time together really listening and engaging with each other.

     8.  Connect with Community and Give Back

Giving to others during the holidays helps us help others and in turn helps us. We like to do a turkey trot and move our feet before we eat. It is something that whole family can do that is fun and good for you.  The proceeds go to charities.  We also collect bears for the local children’s hospital. Pick a couple of community events that match you giving philosophy.

      9.   Go Grain Free, Gluten Free and Zero Refined Sugar

If you need tasty ideas go to www.hemsleyandhemsley.com. These two sisters also have a great cookbook called The Art of Eating Well. Perhaps a good holiday gift for someone you know.

   10. Listen to your Body

Are you aware of your stress levels?  How often do you pretend to be fine? Pay attention to the clues your body gives and nurture yourself.

   11. Keep your Immune system strong

Sugar and stress depresses you immune system leading to colds, flu, coughs, allergies and stuffy nose. Load up on antioxidants and decrease your sugar intake.

   12. Preserve Sleep

The body rests and repairs during quality sleep.  It makes no rational sense to pull an all-nighter just to get a couple of dollars off on Black Friday. A better idea is to go to bed at 10pm and get up at 5am if you have to have those door busters.  Aim for at least 7 hours

   13. Choose a different response

How you respond to stress is what matters. Step out of the situation and view it from the outside.  Take a few breaths before you respond or don’t react at all.

   14.  Eat your Veggies

This is a great time to enjoy all those fabulous root vegetables.  They are high in fiber and loaded with nutrients.  Chew them well.

   15. Drink your Veggies

If you don’t get your adequate servings of veggies per day, drink them.  Enjoy a green drink.

   16. Hydrate

Aim to drink a minimum of 64 ounces of water a day.  Not only will your digestive system thank you but your skin will too.  If you are flying during the holiday season drink more… I know it is a hassle to go to the bathroom when you fly, however the benefits outweigh the discomfort of dehydration.

   17. Take it Easy on the High Calorie Beverages

Alcohol, Eggnog and a Pumpkin Spice Latte count as non-nutrient dense calories.  We have a mind set that what we drink does not count as part of our consumption however it has a huge impact on weight gain, sleep quality and depresses the immune system.

   18. Beware of the Buffett

Be consciously selective when it comes to the buffet table. If you know that the choices available will not be healthy then try to eat good for you food before go to your event.

Bonus Tips

   19. Stress can be good for us

Our bodies are designed to handle stress in appropriate amounts.  Some stress can kick us into gear to get things done, provide focus, clear thinking and take action.

It is when stress is too much for too long that problems arise.

   20. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Put on bright red lipstick and a sparkly top and you are good to go…. When you look good you feel good. When you feel good you look good!

"Step into your own personal power" How To: Listen To Your Body

A wonderful Article from Louise Androliahttp://livetheprocess.com
We are in a glorious, openhearted world for wellness. Around every corner, there is a juice bar and a yoga center. There are endless classes, podcasts and therapies to experience; bookshelves and blogs are filled with recipes and plans to follow.

The time really is now, but it’s also, for a lot of people, totally overwhelming. My clients often arrive in a state of total disconnect from their mind, body and spirit, especially when it comes to their own physical health. In regards to eating habits, they are either in a state of confusion about what the “correct” way to eat is or they perceive themselves as failing if they have trouble sticking to a diet that was chosen, for example, because it’s on trend.

In order to make the most of the incredible time in which we live, we all need to take a few steps back and reconnect to ourselves.

It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing; it doesn’t matter how great the latest health trend may be. If it doesn’t align with you, then it’s not for you. So, before you get confused by the holistic banquet, here’s how to reel yourself back in. After all, feeling good is more important than fitting in.

1. Be Positively Selfish

This is a term I use often to teach clients to put their own wellness at the top of their list. When you value your health, everything else can function a lot better underneath that one golden rule. To be selfish about your wellbeing means to remember that your experience is unique. Yes, our body systems are alike, but it makes no sense to try to copy and paste someone else’s individual body code onto your different make-up. For instance, I look after myself with my autoimmune condition in mind. That’s of course going to be different for someone who has a different set of symptoms.

Step into your own personal power and choose to conduct your life with one goal: that you feel good. With this in mind, you can start to work with your body.

2. Tune into your body

A great first step is to acknowledge all your physical, mental and emotional conditions and symptoms, both longterm and those that are new. When you choose to tune into your physical body, it’s amazing how powerfully it speaks to you. You can ask yourself all sorts of questions, such as:

1. How do I feel right now?

2. What aches and pains have become regular to me?

3. How do I sleep and how do I feel when I wake up?

4. How do my energy levels and mood change throughout the day?

5. Am I aware of my own stress levels?

6. How often do I pretend to be fine?

You can also practice a moving meditation with eating. When you have breakfast, sit without electrics or distractions and only the meal in front of you. As you take each mouthful, feel the food, its temperature, its texture and how it feels going into your body. This connects you not only to your body, but also to the present moment.

3. Listen to your body

You may now be more present and aware of the ways in which you feel off-balance. To combine these steps together, start a wellness diary for a few weeks. Write down everything you eat, the exercise you do and a brief description of your day. Alongside, note down your stressors and your physical, mental and emotional symptoms, including hormonal cycles.

4. Take Action and Nurture Your Journey

Now you can make the most of this bright time we are in! Armed with the knowledge of what it feels like to be you, it’s much easier to see which books, therapists and blogs you relate to and also to know whether they work for you or not. You also have a diary that you can take to a doctor or nutritionist. Instead of just feeling “unwell” or “tired,” you might be able to pinpoint what lead to that specific feeling.

Finally, be compassionate to yourself and your journey. A common block I see is when we devalue what we are feeling or experiencing. It’s so easy to say that we are “fine” or tell ourselves that we are probably just being silly. If you are having a feeling in your mind, body or spirit, then it is valid and it is yours to nurture.

Learn about your own body, then embrace the empowerment that comes from utilizing the wealth of tools and information that surrounds you.

Is Chocolate a Health Food??

Happy Halloween!

I know that most of you are going to overdo it in the candy department this next week and perhaps some of you all the way to Valentine's Day?? 

Chocolate candy is going to be everywhere, at home, the office, events,  parties etc etc.. Before you or your kids indulge in way too much of the yummy stuff know that consumption comes with a price.  It is loaded with extra calories, it is hard to stop at just one and worst of all it a depresses the  immune system.  It is no wonder kids come home from school with the sniffles right after Halloween. 

  

Here is the skinny so you can make good for you choices for yourself and your kids: 

The cocoa bean, actually a seed, grows in pods on trees. It contains compounds called flavanols, which have been shown to lower blood pressure, improve blood flow and reduce overall risk of heart disease. Three scientific analyses published in the past six months pooled results of smaller studies to conclude that cocoa is good for the heart. Scientists believe flavanols work, at least in part, by stimulating production of nitric oxide, which relaxes vessels and improves blood flow.

Most chocolate isn't labeled with milligrams of flavanols and there's no industry or scientific standard yet for measuring flavanols in chocolate. One objective measure is the cocoa percentage on the label. Milk chocolate can be as little as 10% cocoa paste by weight, with the rest in sugar, milk and other ingredients.

Dark-chocolate bars typically contain 50% to 85% cocoa by weight, scientists say. "The higher the percentage of cocoa, the higher the flavanol content, the higher the antioxidant content and thus we believe the greater positive health benefit," says Washington, D.C., nutritionist Joy Dubost, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

My take on the above information is that a little goes a long way. If you have a chocolate craving and are trying to lose weight one or two squares of the 70-80% Dark Chocolate  after dinner or as a healthy snack should  satisfy. If you crave Chocolate all the time you might be deficient in Magnesium! 

Take it easy on yourself this holiday season.... and make good for you choices.  You are in charge of your health and wellness... Now that is Scary!!

Happy Halloween

4 Best Ways to Boost Immunity and Why!

 4 Best Ways to Boost Immunity and Why!

In order to be “well” the body, like all of nature, exists by maintaining a state of balance.  It is dependent upon the environment it nourishes and with the interconnectivity and cooperation between whole systems and a respect for natural processes and order.

In June 2011, a coordinated research between the Microbiome project consortium and NIH was released. 200 scientists worked on the project and found that instead of the one germ – one disease theory that has dominated western medicine for centuries they found that there were entire ecosystems of bacteria in the body that work together symbiotically.  It supports the idea that even though you got a flu shot you still got the flu, cough or cold that recently made the rounds in great numbers.  The idea is that instead of killing the bad germs to fight disease, which by the way also wipes out the good bacteria, doctors need to shift their thinking to providing support for the good bacteria and improving the terrain or environment to create a sense of balance. Simply put …given the right stuff the body can heal itself.

What is that stuff?

1    After decades of propaganda leading us to believe that commercially produced foods are OK we are now coming to the rude awaking that we have deviated far from the natural whole foods that truly nourish our bodies.  We know that whole organically grown foods are best for our families and to source and prepare those foods is not always the most convenient but it is hands down worth the effort.

2     Newer to science is the interconnectivity between the nervous system and the immune system.  Our stress handling glands the adrenal glands are one common link.  We know that if we experience sustained periods of stress, whether it is physical, chemical, or emotional we get sick.  Maintaining your nervous system through regular chiropractic care helps improve communication between these two systems.

3  You may eat a perfect diet of raw organic foods, drink purified water, workout everyday and get adjusted regularly, but if your overcome with negative emotions and stinking thinking you will not be in a state of balance and therefore it will impact your immune system.  I can personally attest to this as I recently lost my voice because I didn’t speak up when I should have done so.  A good reminder and lesson for me to learn.

4   Exercise often.  A strong body along with good nutrition goes a long way to support the mind, which is the most difficult area to keep in balance.

Hippocrates (The father of modern medicine said centuries ago)

“ Humans are created to be healthy as long as they are whole, body, mind and spirit” The principles are vitalistic and fluid and need to be nurtured everyday.

THE 7 BEST PRACTICES FOR A HEALTHY LIFE

START THE NEW YEAR WITH A RENEWED SENSE OF PURPOSE AND ADD THESE SEVEN SIMPLE PRINCIPLES TO YOUR DAILY LIFE

1.  SLEEP : GOOD QUALITY

2. SUPPLEMENT TO FILL IN THE GAPS AND LIMIT CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES

3. SWEAT DAILY

4. SUSTAIN AN ANTI INFLAMMATORY  DIET.  LIMIT PROCESSED FOODS

5. SELF TALK: POSITIVE AND CONSTANT

6. STILLNESS: MEDITATION

7, SOCIAL: GIVE AND RECEIVE SUPPORT

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! 

FOOD ALLERGIES AND SENSITIVITIES

Unfortunately about 96% of the population has one or more food allergies or sensitivities. The net result can be simple water retention where people are bloated or constipated from the food reaction to major health problems being created.

There are lab testing available to determine a person's food allergy/sensitivities however this test can come back different every time it is done. The "Gold Standard" in pinpointing food problems is to do an elimination diet and thereafter re-introduce the main food allergens to see what kind of reactions take place.

In this way not only is it most accurate but people see what happens to them when these foods create problems for them. In this way they can decide if the food item should be minimized or totally eliminated from their diet.This is why food issues need to also be addressed when practitioners want to address the root cause of people's symptoms as many times their affect on health can be very serious. 

Our Purification Program addresses these issues and we work with you to help you reintroduce different food groups so you can learn which foods affect you. 

THE TRUTH ABOUT SPORTS DRINKS

AN INFORMATIVE ARTICLE FROM THE HARVARD MEDICAL JOURNAL

Good Timing: for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has published several articles revealing the “truth about sports drinks.” That truth is this: drink when you are thirsty and don’t waste your money or calories on sports drinks—choose water instead.

Sports drinks are flavored beverages that contain carbohydrates (usually sugar) and minerals such as sodium and potassium. Those minerals are generally referred to as electrolytes.

The granddaddy of sports drinks is Gatorade, a beverage created in the 1960s for the University of Florida Gators football team. The British Medical Journal says it “started life as a simple mixture of kitchen foodstuffs” like water, salt, sugar, and lemon flavoring. It’s more complicated than that today. The industry is now dominated by multinational companies like Pepsi and drug companies like GSK. In the United States alone, sales of sports drinks exceed $1.5 billion a year.

Before the rise of sports drinks, athletes (and the rest of us) drank water when we exercised or got sweaty. How did we know when to drink, or how much? The way humans have known for eons—thirst. But as the BMJ team describes, sports drink makers spent a lot of money sponsoring less-than-rigorous research damning thirst as a guide to hydration and casting doubt on water as the beverage for staying hydrated. To make matters worse, recommendations once aimed at endurance athletes have now trickled down to anyone who exercises.

Over hydration is more worrisome

There is no evidence that dehydration has ever killed a marathoner, Dr. Arthur Siegel, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a medical advisor to the Boston Marathon, told the BMJ. But the drumbeat that athletes must stay fully hydrated and drink before they become thirsty has spawned a new problem—overhydration. That’s what killed a healthy, 28-year-old woman during the 2002 Boston Marathon. She collapsed a few miles short of the finish line and died a day later. The cause of death was hyponatremia—too little sodium in her blood caused by drinking too much fluid before and during the marathon. According to the BMJ, 16 marathoners have died and more than 1,600 have become critically ill due to overhydration and hyponatremia.

Sports drinks don’t appear to prevent hyponatremia. A study of marathoners by Harvard-based researchers found that 13% had some degree of hyponatremia, and that it was just as likely to happen among those who guzzled sports drinks during the marathon as it was among those who stuck with water.

Trust thirst, drink water

I asked Dr. Francis Wang, the team physician for Harvard athletics, what he tells athletes about thirst and fluids. “For most players, thirst is a good guide for hydration,” he said. Athletes who have had muscle cramps may need to drink extra, and may need more electrolytes.

What about the rest of us, who may run a couple miles in the morning or play a few sets of tennis? Thirst should be our guide, and water our beverage.

One concern with sports drinks is that they deliver unneeded calories. Some contain 150 calories, the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar. Children definitely don’t need sports drinks, says Dr. Claire McCarthy, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. 

Do you worry about getting Breast Cancer?

As many of you know this is breast cancer awareness month (Can we change the name to prevention month as it is more of an action statement than awareness)  I wanted to bring attention to this very important subject.

Today's Wellness Wednesday article is a little longer than usually but well worth the read as breast cancer affects us all in some way. Please feel free to forward this article to all your friends and family so they too have this very important information.

Do you worry about getting Breast Cancer ?

Do you worry about getting breast cancer? Have you already suffered from the disease and are now afraid of a recurrence? I understand why. The incidence of breast cancer is skyrocketing...

Last year over 200,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 60,000 cases of non-invasive breast cancer were diagnosed. A woman’s risk of getting breast cancer has jumped from 1 in 20 in the 1960s to 1 in 8 today. Tragically, more than 40,000 women died from breast cancer alone last year.

Why has there been such a huge escalation in the rates of this frightening disease? Notice that the escalation of this disease parallels the increase in poor life style habits and less that healthy food choices.. These are not the only reasons for breast cancer however there is lot you can do to limit your chances of getting this destructive disease... Cancer can not grow in a healthy environment..

The first step is to overcome insulin resistance.

Insulin is the hormone released from your pancreas after a meal. It sends signals to your cells telling them to absorb sugar from your blood—which is a critically important job.

What most people DON’T realize is that as your insulin levels increase your estrogen levels increase as well. That means your risk of breast cancer goes up every time you eat too much sugar!

However, the havoc that insulin wreaks doesn’t stop there.

Insulin resistance also increases the amount of body fat you have. As your body fat increases, so does an enzyme in your fat called aromatase. Aromatase turns hormones made in other organs in your bodies (such as your adrenal glands) into estrogen.

Another critical part of your body you need to focus on if you want to limit your risk of breast cancer is your digestive system.

What is the connection between your gut health the health of your breasts?

Your flora—or the good bacteria that live in your gut.

These little symbiotic helpers not only strengthen your immune system and help you digest the foods you eat; they also help detoxify the estrogen made in your body after it’s been used.

If your flora isn’t in balance, the estrogen your body needs to eliminate gets reabsorbed. This increases your estrogen level and exposes your body to unhealthy estrogen breakdown products.

It’s interesting to note that many studies link increased use of antibiotics to an increased risk of breast cancer. This may be because excess antibiotic use kills off the good bacteria in your gut.

So let’s review what you can do to balance your estrogen levels, heal from insulin resistance, limit your toxic exposure, and support the flora in your gut.

Doing the following will help you limit your risk of breast cancer:

1. Choose whole foods. This helps increase your insulin sensitivity and prevents insulin resistance.

2. Get 3-5 hours of exercise per week. This also helps increase your insulin sensitivity and allows you to more easily control your percentage of body fat.

3. Increase your fiber intake. Your goal is 35 gm per day. High-fiber foods include vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, and whole grains such as brown rice and ground flax seed.

4. Have protein at every meal or snack of the day. Good protein sources include; fish, lean poultry, beans, nuts, eggs, etc.

5. Maintain a healthy weight. This is the best studied, most agreed upon step a woman can take to decrease her risk of breast cancer.

6. Get a good night sleep. Sleeping well helps with weight control, insulin sensitivity, and supports your immune system. All of this is important for preventing cancer.

7. Choose organic and hormone-free Protein sources, milk, and produce. This reduces your exposure to unwanted pesticides and hormones.

8. Avoid excess toxic exposure. Choose organic products for your lawn and garden, avoid dry cleaning, don’t use plastic bottles, and limit your intake of medications (like Tylenol) that get processed in your liver.

9. Take probiotics. To support healthy gut flora

10. Limit your alcohol intake to no more than 1 drink per day and 5 per week—less is better. Remember 1 drink is 5 ounces of wine, 1.5 ounces of hard alcohol, or 12 ounces of beer, and if you smoke,stop today!

These are just a few simple things you can do everyday to reduce your risk of getting breast cancer. Now I’d like to hear from you.

Have you struggled with breast cancer and if so, what has worked and what hasn’t?

Do you have any additional recommendations that might benefit others who are struggling with breast cancer?

Have a healthy day

Dr Pia