3.30
The basics 'always' work because, well, they're the basics. We all go through seasons of stress, and choices which follow the whispered lies of our western lifestyle, and include high levels of cortisol and adrenaline which destroy our health. I've posted on this before, and how a wellness lifestyle is the best relief valve for stresses of all kinds.
Not only are wellness choices great at combating stress, but they also bless us with a long life. Last year I had done a post on the Blue Zones popularized by Dan Buettner - check it out here.
The point with the blue zones is that pockets of some cultures display long, healthy, well-adjusted lives among their citizens. Consistently. And the world has noticed (at least some prescient researchers have). What do they do differently?
They combat stress with good living. Not just clean living or some crazy-strict diets, but simple, good living. Things like these punctuate their days and lifestyles:
- Put family first
- Smoke little or not at all
- Eat a plant-based diet
- Engage in constant, moderate physical activity, no matter what age
- Social interaction - staying engaged in community
- Make legumes a regular part of your diet
So, how are we doing? I ebb and flow between authentically engaging in these choices and alternately getting sucked along the path that work and busy schedules creates in our lives. Are you finding lifestyle bandwidth to practice these choices?
The way to reduce stress is to pull back from the crazy, ragged edge that blurs hours into days and weeks into months. And if you've lived on that edge, you know that you wake up one day and realize you've missed out on life... You may have accomplished much in the world's terms, but were you truly living?
If you find yourself on the ragged edge, step back. Reset. Take life, take living, seriously enough to realize that the world's dreams and promises are empty shells. True wealth is found in genuinely engaging in what we learn from the blue zones. Find growth, health and power in simple choices. Put crazy aside, and give yourself space to heal and really live.
By the Way
Want a secret to not just reducing stress, but eliminating it? Try generosity... and gratitude. Studies prove beyond any doubt that simple life practices like gratitude and generosity take away the cortisol and adrenaline coursing through our bodies, and yield healing and restoration.
3.29
I posted last week about questioning everything. That's a good way to stay mentally fresh and growing through life. And part of the journey of questioning everything is keeping an open mind to what we observe and experience along the way.
Some time ago I was at dinner with a few business friends and one specifically got a mug of hot water with our dinner (while the rest of us were having seltzers and sodas and adult beverages.) One of the guys questioned him on his dinner beverage, and he simply said that it's a lot healthier for your than cold water, and certainly better than sodas and beer. I think that was the first time I was aware of someone specifically drinking hot water with a meal, or anytime, because of the health benefits.
Fast forward to a current coworker, who with lunch everyday has hot water (with a squeeze of lemon). Hmmm... this piqued my interest enough to merit some further study. After reading a half a dozen or so articles and posts on the benefits of drinking hot water over cold, I too am set on the benefits of a few glasses of what I'll call, 'unflavored tea.'
I acknowledge how refreshing a glass of fresh cold water is on a hot day. I especially like cold water, but not iced water (something close to 50 degrees, which is about the temperature of fresh natural spring water.) But the muscle tension, constricted blood vessels and hindered digestion which result are all good reasons to steer clear of cold water as a beverage of choice.
Hot water to the rescue. The numerous benefits of drinking hot water over cold are varied and proven. From better digestion to healthier skin to improved blood circulation, reduced nasal congestion, general body detox and relief of cramps, hot water is the winner, hands down.
How much water should we consume in a day? Research and doctors suggest between a half an ounce and one ounce per pound of body weight. That's several quarts of water a day... and that's over and above coffee and other drinks. We all better get drinking if we want to keep up with that pace.
Give it a try. Maybe it sounds a bit flaky, but do a two week test of drinking hot water as your beverage of choice and see if you don't detox and feel better.
By the Way
Check out this post from LifeHack.org for 12 Unexpected Benefits of Drinking Hot Water. Then sit down with a big mug of unflavored tea, relax, and enjoy!
3.28
We live in a world full of information and mis-information. If there is one things I've learned in my six-year wellness journey, it is to question everything. Assume nothing and don't trust common sense and accepted wisdom. For all the volumes of health information available to us, very little of it empowers us as individuals to discern what is best for our wellness and longevity.
For me it started years ago with 'Eat to Live' by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, which opened up all kinds of wellness and nutritional concepts which continue to inform me to this day. Then there was "The Science of Natural Healing," from The Great Courses, which further opened my view of what happens in our bodies nutritionally, and how simple (counter-cultural) choices will greatly improve our health and life.
If I hadn't been willing to open up my thinking and question what defines real food, I'd still be eating Pop Tarts and ice cream every day. I know I can turn the migraines, muscle and joint pains, and digestive issues on and off based on my nutritional choices.
Instead, I accepted the challenge of looking differently, even radically, at my pantry and wellness. Changing my thinking has changed my life. Through lots of questioning, I now know how sensitive my metabolism is to corn, nightshade vegetables, dairy and wheat. I know I can turn on health issues by having high-glycemic foods, and also that I can live pain-free and full-of-energy by eating clean. How cool is that?!
So, how's your journey and your pantry? Have you tried reading labels and questioning common knowledge about what constitutes food, and what is really healthful for our bodies? If you haven't, maybe today is your day. What can seem radical and health-nutty can quickly become a life-changing step in the right direction. Then it just takes another step and another... and a bit more reading and bit more curiosity and a bit more questioning. Soon enough, you will likely gain momentum on your own course toward wellness.
By the Way
One other wellness conviction that is very compelling to me is that there is no money in healthy people... follow the money, and you soon realize our government and society has a vested interest in peddling disease and failing health. I know that sounds super-cynical (and I'm not a conspiracy theorist) but if you follow the money it is evident that health and wellness don't help create jobs and commerce and make cash flow in our western world. For me, I'd rather be counter-cultural and healthy :o)
The point with the blue zones is that pockets of some cultures display long, healthy, well-adjusted lives among their citizens. Consistently. And the world has noticed (at least some prescient researchers have). What do they do differently?
