The 5 Pillars of Optimal Health

After my own personal experience with inflammation I questioned: is inflammation something that I should be concerned about? And I found in fact, that inflammation was accelerating my body’s aging process more then I could have ever imagined. The first questioned I asked: What is inflammation and how can it affect the body?

The immune system responds to injury or disease with inflammation. This is a normal, repairative reaction that is necessary for healing. But not all inflammation is good.

When inflammation persists beyond its intended borders and purpose, the immune system mistakenly attacks normal cells and the process that ordinarily heals becomes destructive. It is now widely accepted that chronic inflammation is the root cause of many serious illnesses, especially those related to aging, “says Dr. Andrew Weil, Director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine.” According to Dr. Weil, persistent stress, poor diet, and over-exposure to environmental toxins can contribute to this type of unhealthy inflammation.

The good news is that lifestyle choices can help. Following an anti-inflammatory diet is the single best way to reduce chronic inflammation, optimize our health, rejuvenate every single living cell in our body. Sounds great right, but be forewarned: This is not another diet du jour. The anti-inflammatory diet is a life long eating plan that emphasizes specific foods aimed at reducing harmful inflammation to ultimately lowering your risk for diseases down the line. It is not geared toward weight loss, however, weigh loss can be a side effect, but rather aims to improve overall long-term health. So where do we start!

We start here!

Pillar #1 Nutrition – Eating right, learning food principles and applying them.

In a nutshell, the diet focuses on whole foods & supplementation. It is vital and significant to eliminate processed foods and rapidly digesting carbohydrates, sugar and fried foods. Avoid fast foods and products containing partially hydrogenated oils or vegetable shortening, and minimizing the use of polyunsaturated oils such as sunflower, safflower, soy and corn. Always check labels and research foods you eat to learn more about what they are made of. When in doubt, choose fresh, unprocessed foods and look for labels like organic and raw. Reduce or omit red meats, dairy, and alcohol. If you must, stick with red wine, in moderation.

Do eat the following:

• Whole grains such as brown rice, barley, and quinoa. (No Wheat). • Fatty cold water fish, like salmon, for their omega 3’s. Stay wild not farmed. Red salmon especially because it cannot be farmed. Rainbow trout, sardines, tuna. • Lean chicken and/or turkey. • Eggs. • Brightly colored fresh vegetables and fruits, particularly dark berries and pineapple. • Legumes • Healthy fats found in high quality extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds and avocados. • Spices known for their anti-inflammatory properties namely, ginger, tumeric, cinnamon, chilli peppers, cayenne, and hot peppers. • Clear water and green tea for beverages. • Chew your food slowly so that the digestive enzymes prepare the digestive process.

There are no known risks associated with this diet. However, always take precautions if you have any food allergies and discuss any other diet with your doctor.

Supplements:

Multi-Vitamins –Your best source for obtaining micro-nutrients is through whole foods. Various circumstances may prevent you from eating healthy – that’s where a multivitamin may fill in the gaps. A multivitamin is a nutrition supplement that provides a variety of vitamins and/or minerals.

Some of the benefits include:

• Enhance energy level and physical response to stress • Improve memory and concentration • Maintain a healthy heart and bones • Improve immune system response

You require a reputable Multi-Vitamin if you are:

• Eating unbalanced meals • Short on sleep • Pregnant or planning to be • Breast-feeding • Ill or have medical conditions • Stressed • Lactose intolerant • Vegetarian • Consuming tobacco or alcohol • Depressed

Omega 3’s – Fatty acids supplementation decreases inflammatory markers in blood. Omega-3s are termed essential fatty acids (EFAs) because they are critical for good health. Since the body cannot make them on its own, omega-3s must be obtained from food.

Key Functions

• Reduce hypertension. Studies of large groups of people have found that the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids may aid in lowering overall blood pressure level and reduces levels of inflammation. • Improve heart health. Omega-3 fatty acids may play a part in keeping cholesterol levels low, stabilizing irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), and reducing blood pressure. • Protecting the heart. Researchers now believe that alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), one of the omega-3s, may be particularly beneficial in protecting against heart and blood vessel disease, and for lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels. • Key omega-3 fatty acids include (EPA), (DHA), and alpha-lineolenic acid (ALA). EPAs and DHAs are found in oily cold-water fish such as tuna, salmon, and mackerel, as well as fresh seaweed. ALAs are found primarily in dark green leafy vegetables, flaxseed oils, and certain vegetable oils.

Vitamin D – is produced by the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight. It is also found in foods of animal origin. Vitamin D differs from other vitamins in that our bodies can make it upon exposure to sunlight. In its active form, it is considered to be a hormone. It has hormone-like effects on mineral absorption, bone mineralization and some secretions.

Key Functions

• Vitamin D is crucial for the development of healthy bones and teeth. Without it, the body cannot build or maintain strong bones. • Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays a role in controlling calcium absorption, which affects bone development and is also essential for blood clotting. • When vitamin D is in short supply in the body, less calcium is absorbed from food, and blood levels have to be maintained by taking calcium from the bones.

Co-Enzyme Q10 – is beneficial for heart health in many ways. It assists in maintaining the normal oxidative state of LDL cholesterol, helps assure circulatory health, and supports optimal functioning of the heart muscle. CoQ10 may also help support the health of vessel walls. In addition, CoQ10 may play a role in reducing the number and severity of migraine headaches, clinical trials have indicated CoQ10 supplementation may help prevent and treat inflamed gums, a condition known as gingivitis.

Vitamin C: is also known as ascorbic acid. It is known to be a powerful antioxidant in the body. Vitamin C is a water-soluble essential vitamin that is quickly lost from your body, so daily intake is vital.

Key Functions

• Vitamin C is involved in a large number of biological processes, making it essential for health. • It is used to create collagen in the body, a protein that makes the skin, joints and bones strong. • Vitamin C plays a role in healing wounds within the body. • The body utilizes vitamin C in the immune system by maintaining activity of the white blood cells.

Pillar #2 Physical Fitness

• Cardiovascular – Heart • Weight Training – Muscles and bones • Core Strength – Spinal longevity, lower back safety. • Yoga – Flexibility, mobility, detox, helps with stress.

Pillar #3 Reduce Stress

Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Your true sources of stress aren’t always obvious, and it’s all too easy to overlook your own stress-inducing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines. But maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that leads to deadline stress.

To identify your true sources of stress, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses:

• Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather? • Do you define stress as an integral part of your work or home life (“Things are always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous energy, that’s all”). • Do you blame your stress on other people or outside events, or view it as entirely normal and unexceptional?

Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining it, your stress level will remain outside your control.

A stress journal can help you identify the regular stressors in your life and the way you deal with them. Each time you feel stressed; keep track of it in your journal. As you keep a daily log, you will begin to see patterns and common themes. Write down:

• What caused your stress (make a guess if you’re unsure) • How you felt, both physically and emotionally • How you acted in response • What you did to make yourself feel better

Think about the ways you currently manage and cope with stress in your life. Your stress journal can help you identify them. Are your coping strategies healthy or unhealthy, helpful or unproductive? Unfortunately, many people cope with stress in ways that compound the problem.

Some symptoms of stress:

• Smoking • Drinking too much • Overeating or under eating • Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer • Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities • Using pills or drugs to relax • Sleeping too much • Procrastinating • Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems • Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)

Pillar #4 Social Connections

• Friends • Networking • Join a support group of like minds • Read • Take courses of interest • Do cross words, puzzles, etc.

Pillar #5 Spiritual Well-being “The non physical dimension of our lives”

Get out of your own way, step back from the details and think about the whole. Our Spiritual wellbeing can come from living in the present moment and practicing mindfulness or it may come from reflecting on our past. The point is, is spiritual wellbeing is about finding meaning and purpose in our life and our place in the greater universe. Exploring our unique spirituality can help us choose actions that are consistent with our personal beliefs and values. Reconciling our actions with our beliefs can be central to the development of spiritual well-being, among many other facets of our life.

Spiritual well-being can have a dramatic impact on various aspects of our well-being, particularly with respect to finding overall peace, harmony, and happiness with our life and surroundings.

Imbalance in spiritual well-being can affect our sense of purpose and meaning in the world, which carries emotional, physical, social, and possibly even financial implications. Though spirituality may play a more important role for some than for others, becoming aware of how spirituality weaves into your unique well-being wheel can be helpful in developing an integrated, holistic, and balanced self.

Here are some ways to help improve your spiritual health:

• Self Love and Self Care. • Belief in yourself. • Be quiet. Take time for yourself every day, even if it’s just before you go to sleep, or when you’re driving home. • Be open. Spiritual experiences can happen anywhere at any time. • Practice being non-judgmental and having an open mind. • Be receptive to pain or times of sorrow. It is often in these times when we discover how spirituality can help us cope. • Practice forgiveness. • Be kind. • Be compassionate • Pray and meditate • Live joyfully

Be well my friends, From my heart to your heart, God Bless, Tina XO