Turning 8 is a big deal! Enjoy every minute of your day and your year!
xoxo,
Love, GT
In recent years two men that were important in my life left this world unexpectedly. My brother, Ron, in 2018 and more recently, my beloved friend, Del. Both men did not feel well and went to their beds to lie down. Neither got up. My heart breaks writing this today. These men had symptoms and did not act. Denial is so powerful that they each decided to ‘wait it out’. I implore you today to seek medical attention if you are having symptoms that are new or concerning. Sudden cardiac death is real, and it happens to real people. When it does, it breaks the hearts of those you leave behind.
My job has health coach is to be a lighthouse. Being a tugboat does not work. We cannot drag our loved ones to better lifestyle habits. My role, in my eyes, is to show people that a healthy lifestyle is doable and not as hard as our brains and our families and friends are telling us it is! My job is to empower people to take control of their health destiny. Our fate is in our hands. We have the power to create better health…even after a diagnosis. Many feel it’s too late, the damage is done. That is absolutely NOT true.
Every single day is an opportunity to improve your health…be it with baby steps or an ‘all in’ approach. Let go of the idea that you cannot do anything. Here are some tips on where you can start. The bottom line is…JUST START and keep starting as long as you need to.
Of the highest populations of people who live well and actively into their 90s and beyond (Blue Zones) there are nine common denominators:
They move naturally. They reach for their walking shoes instead of the car keys when possible
They live with a sense of purpose. They live on purpose…they don’t just go through the motions
They down shift with routines to manage stress and to find peace in their day
They practice the 80% Rule – stop eating when stomach not quite full (somewhere between not hungry and feeling full)
They eat mostly plants – beans are the cornerstone of their diet; meat, if eaten is limited to 3 oz or so and on typically only about 5 times/month and often as a flavoring only
Many enjoy wine @ 5 – 1-2 glasses alcohol/day with friends and/or with food
They belong and a participate in a faith-based community
Their loved ones come first – family is their #1 priority
They surround themselves with the right tribe – social networks that support healthy lifestyles
Our lifestyle habits have the greatest impact on our outcomes! Look at the list above. Moving toward a whole food plant-based diet is an excellent way to lower your cholesterol, lower your blood pressure, reduce your body weight, flood your body with nutrients, reduce your HbA1c (diabetes), and reduce your risk of sudden cardiac death. Do it for yourself. Do it for your loved ones. Waking up tomorrow is a gift. What will you do with yours?
Fear is a major driver when it comes to how we live our lives. Fear can be a good thing…it can keep us from driving recklessly or jumping off a bridge. It can keep us from swimming in alligator infested waters and it can prevent us from taking unsafe risks. Fear can protect us … and it can get in our way of living our best lives. Fear can hold us back and it can lead us to behave in ways that may not be as protective as we think. When thinking about our health, fear plays a role there, as well. The question I am putting out there today is…are we afraid of the right things? Or are we placing our fears in the wrong direction. Here are some statistics to consider.
Fear Actual risk
Dying from a shark attack 1 in 252 million
Being struck by lightening 1 in 1 million
Dying from food poisoning 1 in 100,000
Dying in a car accident 1 in 7,000
Getting food poisoning 1 in 6
Dying prematurely from heart disease 1 in 5
Getting heart disease 1 in 4
Getting cancer 1 in 3
Dying from the effects of smoking 1 in 2 smokers
*Based on people aged 25 to 34
*Adapted from The Book of Odds/Foods That Fight Cancer
Getting cancer has been one of my fears for as long as I can remember. Maybe you share this concern and rightly so. One in three of us will be given a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime. That is worth being afraid of. Like all fear, it can lead us toward anxiety and depression, or it can motivate us to look at our lifestyle choices and do our best to reduce our risk as much as we can. It is truly never too late to make changes that lead toward better health. Whether you are in your 20s or in your 80s or 90s, making healthier food choices will provide benefits that may surprise you.
Richard Beliveau, PhD and Dr. Denis Gingras wrote an entire book on Foods to Fight Cancer – What to eat to eat to reduce your risk and I highly recommend this easy to read, colorful, fact-packed book. Some of the foods they teach include cabbage, and other cruciferous vegetables for their anticancer compounds that hinder the development of cancer. You may be familiar with many of these foods…broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, Bok choy, kohlrabi, and others. They discuss garlic and onions from the Allium family as potent cancer fighters. These foods slow cancer development and are protective against damage caused by carcinogenic substances we are exposed to. Soy, which has been extremely controversial, has been proven to be a powerful dietary tool for cancer prevention and reduction of recurrence. Soy is especially useful in hormone-driven cancers like breast and prostate cancer. Flaxseed is a simple, inexpensive way to increase phytoestrogen intake to prevent both development and recurrence of hormone cancers.
Many of us know about the health benefits of turmeric. Its therapeutic properties make it worth its weight in gold when it comes to cancer prevention. Ginger, chili pepper, clove, mint, marjoram, basil, thyme, oregano, and Rosemary, along with parsley, cilantro, cumin, fennel have active molecules that are anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial. This is a great reason to season our whole foods for the best bang when it comes to cancer prevention.
Other cancer fighting foods include green tea, berries, Omega -3s (walnuts, flax seed, soybeans, tofu), tomatoes, and citrus fruits all have anticancer properties. A diverse plant-based diet is one of the best interventions to prevent cancer, reduce risk of recurrence and to provide the body with the best nutrition if cancer is present. Relying on supplements alone to get the benefits of whole foods is inadequate to bring your body back to optimal health.
As a Holistic Cancer Coach, I can help you sort out the details of healthy eating to prevent cancer and other chronic diseases. Contact me if you are feeling like you could use some help when it comes to choosing the right foods. Food is medicine.
Stress and sleep are common reasons for lack of energy. Feeling sluggish and unmotivated goes along with a poor night’s sleep. There are many reasons for poor sleep caused by stressors in our busy lives. Suffering from lack of energy adds to the difficulty of not sleeping well. When our energy is low, we often think we need to eat better or get more exercise or find ways to calm our brains so we can get that good night sleep that we crave.
There may be a deeper reason for lack of energy. Feeling listless may come more from a lack of purpose than lack of sleep. Not living a purpose-driven life can be the root cause of lack of energy and motivation to get out of bed every morning. We create energy through our purpose, our creativity and by giving to others. These three components lead to a high-energy life the brings joy and interest to our lives.
What is your purpose? Do you know? Many do not. A couple questions you can ask yourself are, “What do I love to do?”, “What makes me feel alive?”, or “What have I always wanted to learn but never had the time or took the time?”. Now is the time to delve a little deeper into what sparks your curiosity, what brings you joy, what lifts your spirit. These are topics that many do not consider when they are feeling low energy.
Movement can be an excellent start to getting your juices flowing when it comes to digging into the deeper cause of your lack of energy. Going for a brisk walk or jumping (or even just bouncing) on a trampoline can improve your ability to think clearly enough to get to the answers you are desiring. It is estimated that 20 to 45% of Americans are affected by persistent low energy. Many of us just go through the motions of life without considering what we might be able to improve.
Consider movement but also consider doing for others when it comes to strategies to build more energy. Often people find that giving back by volunteering or paying it forward in some way boosts their energy and helps them to feel like they are contributing to the betterment of our world. Feeling like we are making a difference is so useful when it comes to feeling more energetic. Helping an elderly neighbor or a single mom with her hands full can bring joy to you and to those you are serving. Walking displaced dogs at the animal shelter might be your thing. This may be your way of giving back. Showing love to people and animals who might otherwise not have any builds purpose and boosts energy in a powerful way.
My challenge to you this week is to look at your energy level. Brainstorm topics to explore…learning more about manatees or small motor repair, starting a puzzle or reading that book you purchased two years ago. Join a book club or take a cooking class. There are so many avenues to make the most of our lives. Energy is built by doing…not by sitting around. Get up. Live your best life.
Rebounding on a mini trampoline is an excellent workout. Bouncing helps build muscle and move lymphatic flow. Trapped lymphatic fluid can lead to difficulty with movement, an aching, heavy feeling and/or excessive swelling. It's not uncommon to feel a little nausea after rebounding. It can be from the detox that comes along with the movement of lymph. With continued practice, this will improve. Start very slowly and increase your time on the rebounder. Here is a quick 5 move, 5 minute workout to try.
Broccoli Mushroom Stir Fry (Oil-Free)
Author: Brand New Vegan
Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 10 min Total Time: 40 minutes Yield: 6 servings
Prep all ingredients before cooking. Chop the broccoli, dice the onion, slice the mushrooms, mince the garlic & ginger, etc.
Add the soy sauce and pepper flakes to a cold Wok (or fry pan) and heat to med-high.
JUST when the soy sauce begins to boil, add the onions and stir until translucent.
Add garlic and ginger and stir fry for 30 seconds
Add the mushrooms and continue stirring. Season with salt & pepper if desired.
Prepare broccoli while mushrooms are cooking via steaming or by microwaving for 2 1/2 min in a covered bowl.
When the mushrooms have reduced in size by about half, add red bell pepper and stir fry for 1 minute.
Add broccoli and continue stirring until broccoli is just heated through but with some crunch left
Stir in spinach until wilted and serve.
Food for Thought
I have added a new feature that I think will be interesting for you all. Dr. Michael Greger released his “How Not to Age” book recently and it is jam-packed (like all of his books!) with facts that can help us to slow the aging process and feel great until our last breath. I have been sharing little tidbits that I have read. I strongly encourage all my readers to look for Dr. Greger's books. They are based on scientific evidence and worth their weight in gold (in my humble opinion). :)
Excerpt from Slowing The Aging Pathways:
Telomeres are one of the aging pathways that have crept into public a=consciousness. Increasing telomere length to slow or even prevent aging is a popular idea, though, as I've addressed, the science is controversial. Telomere elongation is possible through activation of the telomerase enzyme, but there is a constant battle between the forces hacking away at our telomeres, such as aging, oxidative stress, and inflammation, and the lifestyle decisions that can help to build them back up.
Some people have expressed concern that boosting telemerase activity could theoretically increase cancer risk, since tumors have been known to hijack the telomerase enzyme and use it to ensure their own immortality, but the same lifestyle changes that Dr. Ornish used to protect telomeres appeared to slow, stop, or even reverse tumor progression of cancer in a randomized controlled diet and lifestyle program of early-stage prostate cancer.
In response to Ornish's work showing that telomerase may be boosted and telomeres elongated with a plant-based diet and lifestyle, an accompanying editorial suggested that such studies might uncover mechanisms that can be exploited by Big Pharma since “adopting a healthy lifestyle is not always possible in today's world”…. Hopefully, if you're reading this book, you're motivated to take at least a step or two toward living more healthfully, which, in the case of telomere protection, may involve quitting smoking and reducing your intake of refined grains, soda, processed meat, and dairy, while increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables, and other antioxidant-rich foods.
CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE “IS COACHING RIGHT FOR ME” CALL
