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Simple isn’t necessarily easy, however, especially when it comes to establishing new health habits.
Change is always difficult. Yet as counterintuitive as it might seem, you’ll probably make more
progress by adopting a few new practices simultaneously than one step at a time.
Let’s start with something that, in itself, won’t improve your health, but will make it much more likely that you’ll successfully enact some of the other 99 tips in this series post. Behavioral economists talk about the importance of choice architecture, or the environment in which we make choices. The classic example is the difference between an employer-matched retirement fund where participation requires choosing to enroll, versus enrollment as the default option. In the latter case, more employees participate.
Traveling can take a toll on the body physically, mentally and emotionally. While travel often involves excitement and anticipation, the experience can also trigger anxiety, stress and fear. Traveling disrupts our natural circadian rhythm while low oxygen levels, humidity and sudden changes of pressure all have varying levels of negative side effects. Luckily there are several ways you can minimize and combat the effects of flying and travel.
With a little forward planning and awareness, your journey can be comfortable and have you arriving at your destination ready to enjoy your time away. These simple tips will ensure you the smoothest journey possible.
Every day we are exposed to a variety of stressors, and whether we are conscious of them or not, they can overwhelm us and our physiological systems. When we experience stress our adrenal system increases production of cortisol, which triggers the release of glucose into the system for a boost of energy. Stress and cortisol production are useful when we need to kick into action, but continually high levels of cortisol due to sustained stress can be damaging to the body and mind. This can leave us in a state of constant stress, burning out our adrenal glands, and leading to illness and fatigue.
Over 30 million people in the United States live with a liver-related health concern.[1] Typical Western diets filled with toxins like sugar and alcohol certainly don’t help. In fact, severe liver conditions like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are on the rise in the United States.[2] If your liver health isn’t where you want it to be, then you should know all the resources you have at your disposal.
Toxins and chemicals are the root cause of almost any serious health concern, and your liver is no different. Liver cleansing, when done correctly, can help flush the liver of accumulated bile, toxins, and chemicals. Additionally, relieving your liver of harmful organisms will help you maintain a healthy body and mind. While there are different variations of organic liver cleansing regimens, nearly all take advantage of one key component—olive oil.
Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental health condition. However, mental illness affects everyone, directly or indirectly, through family, friends or coworkers. Despite mental illnesses’ reach and prevalence, stigma and misunderstanding are also, unfortunately, widespread. At Food Matters TV we are raising awareness of mental health week by releasing the film ‘Crazy Wise.
What can we learn from those who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience?
While some people jokingly refer to themselves as sugar addicts, the truth is no laughing matter. Refined sugar causes real, clinically verifiable addictive patterns in your brain and ruinous effects on your body. The average American consumes between 22 and 30 teaspoons of added sugar every day.[1] That’s sugar that you could easily cut from your diet entirely by making intelligent dietary decisions—or you could if sugar didn’t have you hooked. A sugar detox is a way to break the hold sugar has over you.
Basically, a sugar detox is when you cut all sugar out of your diet for a set period of time. ALL sugar. That means no honey, no maple syrup, no agave syrup, no white bread, no alcohol, no natural sweeteners, no artificial sweeteners, no high fructose corn syrup. You’ll be amazed by how much better you’ll feel when you cut the added sugar.
A fast is a voluntary practice in which people go for extended or structured periods without eating and drinking for spiritual, medical, or weight loss reasons. Others fast to protest or raise awareness for causes. Fasts vary widely depending on the type you’re following. Some fasts allow water, tea, coffee, or other fluids during the fasting period, but dry fasts go without. A fast may be intermittent, or it may extend for multiple days.
Fasting is not starvation. For those who fast for health reasons, fasting is just a more structured way of eating. Fasting is sometimes followed by feasting, especially around religious holidays. Some people may find fasting challenging, but there are many types of fasting regimens and protocols from which to choose.
The benefits of fasting are many and various. Fasting supports good health by promoting a healthy body weight, encouraging normal cognitive function, and even facilitating detoxification. Now, research has also shown that fasting may help reset the immune system.
Like every other system in the body, the immune system is subject to wear and tear. Aging, aggressive medical therapies, oxidative stress, environmental toxins, and the like can all accelerate the degradation of immune cells.[1, 2, 3] When immune cells are weak and frail, they’re not as effective as they should be in protecting your health. This is where fasting can help.
Constipation is a taboo subject for many people. If you’re too embarrassed to discuss it, know that you are far from alone. Constipation affects about 14% of adults in the United States and accounts for an astounding 3.2 million medical visits every year. It’s a common and widespread issue. Nobody wants to talk about it, but for the sake of our health, maybe it’s time we opened a dialogue.[1]
Americans spend three-quarters of a billion dollars on laxatives every year, and it’s not helping.[1] Pharmaceutical laxatives and stool softeners often make constipation worse. Laxative overuse can lead to dependency, making it difficult or impossible to have a bowel movement without using strong laxatives.[2] Over-the-counter (OTC) laxatives also tend to produce some serious side effects including abdominal cramps, dehydration, dizziness, low blood pressure, electrolyte imbalance, and bloody stool.[3, 4]
