Beauty Before Age: How Beautiful Skin Can Lead To A Longer Life

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In a study published in the Journals of Gerontology, researchers found that people with fewer age lines had lower blood pressure, a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, and a greater chance of outliving their more wrinkled friends. This takes a new meaning to the age old saying, “Age before beauty,” and gives everyone more of a reason to take care of their skin. So, take into consideration these helpful tips to rejuvenate your skin and create better whole person health when planning your patient education.

Drinking More Water Makes Beautiful Skin
Drinking water has been known to lead to radiant, healthy and younger-looking skin. It rejuvenates the skin and adds moisture to make your face truly glow. However, an adequate amount of water is also essential for whole health. Drinking at least 8 glasses a day can rid the body and skin of toxins that are poisoning our health. It also aids in digestion, circulation, absorption, and excretion to provide whole person care and the necessary functions for a longer life.

Avoiding the Sun to Avoid the Hospital
Our skin begins to wrinkle over time, but harmful things in the environment can also make our skin less elastic. UVA rays account for 95 percent of the UV radiation reaching the Earth’s surface and penetrate the skin to play a major role in skin ageing and wrinkling. However, the issues of the rays aren’t only skin deep, they also get under the skin and disrupt the body’s whole health. UV radiation damages the immune system and prevents the body’s ability to fight against bacteria and infections. It can also lead to skin cancer, cataracts, and even blindness. It is important, therefore, to take care of your skin when you’re outside. It’s our first line of defense, and by advocating for sunscreen, you can practice proper patient education and protection from danger. You should also wear enough clothing to cover your skin and sunglasses to shield your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays.

Smoking Wrinkles the Skin and Destroys the Body
Another environmental aspect that can have harmful effects on the skin and whole body health is smoking. The nicotine in cigarettes causes narrowing of the blood vessels in the outermost layers of the skin. This ultimately impairs blood flow to the skin and disrupts your skin’s ability to receive essential oxygen and nutrients. Overtime, this causes the skin to sag, age prematurely, scar, and stain. The smoke also seeps into your body and can affect just about every organ in your body. Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States and increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 2-4 times, stroke by 2-4 times, and lung cancer by 25 times. It diminishes overall health and leads to more hospital visits and increased health care utilization.   

Our skin is a representation of our whole health. We wear our health on the outside, making it hugely important to take care of our skin as well as the rest of our body. Exercise proper patient education as a nurse or health coach, and also protect your own skin and body from the dangers of the environment.

Join the conversation. If you enjoyed this article, be sure to follow NIWH on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates filled with useful accredited health program information for holistic nurses and health coaches.

Author Credit: Allie Oliver

Healthy Habits: Eat More Colors

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The living world around us is filled with color. Look around and you may see blue sky, green grass, aqua oceans, and an unlimited array of tress, flowers and plants bursting with intense, vibrant color. Health is associated with color as well. When we are healthy we have pink cheeks, bright eyes, and a healthy flush to our skin. Quite interestingly, aging is the gradual loss of color. This fading of color marks the slowing or ebbing of life vibrancy.

It is no wonder then that colorful foods are the healthiest foods we can nourish our bodies with. They contain nutritional benefit in the form of phytonutrients, which means plant nutrients. The fruits and vegetables with the most vivid colors contain the highest amount of these important plant nutrients. Their hues act as a table of contents for the phytochemicals found inside the plant.

Listed below is a color guide for choosing the fruits and vegetables that will provide these powerful healing plant nutrients. Make a conscious effort to include a variety of these healthy colors in your daily diet. Not only will you get more nutrients, but your meals will become more fun and enjoyable.

  • Orange: Contains beta-carotene, an antioxidant that supports immune function.
  • Yellow-Orange: Provides vitamin C, which detoxifies and inhibits tumor cell growth.
  • Red: Holds lycopen, an antioxidant that reduces cancer risk.
  • Green: Contains folate and iron, which are essential to building healthy cells and genetic material.
  • Green-Light: Provide indoles and lutein, which eliminates excess estrogen and carcinogens.
  • Green-White: Hold allyl sulfides. These can destroy cancer cells and support a healthy immune system.
  • Blue (fruits): Contain anthocyanins that destroy free radicals.
  • Red-purple (fruits): Provide reservatrol, a plaque reducer and mineral chelator.
  • Brown (legumes, whole grains): Are high in fiber, carcinogen remover and digestive aid.

Filling your diet with many colorful fresh fruits and vegetables is a great way to ensure your body is getting all the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients you need to stay healthy, happy, and vibrant. Think ‘rainbow’ the next time you prepare your plate.

For more whole health discussions like this, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama. Also available on iHeartRadio.

Seven Aspects of A Healthy Thyroid

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Protecting Thyroid Function Through The 7 Aspects of Whole Health on Whole Health Living Blog by Dr. Georgianna Donadio of the National Institute of Whole Health Exploring The Endocrine System

The Thyroid, in yoga and energy circles is often referred to as “the throat” chakra. The thyroid gland is located in the neck. It differs from other endocrine glands explored in our accredited whole health program in that its hormones are stored for future use, as well as secreted for immediate metabolic needs. The hormones produced by the thyroid, Thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3), are responsible for stimulating cellular metabolism throughout the entire body as well as growth and energy. It is important for health coaches to understand how the thyroid controls the quantity of calories we burn, our body heat, and how much we weigh. If the Thyroid was removed and there was no hormone replacement, the cells would cease to function metabolically and death would occur within a relatively short period of time.

As a nurse, you might be surprised to discover that the thyroid is also the personal power and self expression component of Maslow’s Hierarchy. This is easily understood when we think about how our throat is “our voice” and when we speak our truth and express ourselves in the world, we own our personal power and experience self-expression. Under functioning Thyroid problems are believed in many healing circles to be caused by “not having a voice” and not expressing ourselves in the world. Physically the Thyroid is intimately connected to our Brain Cortex – and our interpretation of Self.

Regarding Selye’s Stress Model, the Thyroid can express the Fear, Worry and Lack of Trust dynamic. The Thyroid is the mental-cortex-intellect component of the Whole Health Five Aspects.

So far we have gone over five (5) of the seven (7) aspects. The last two, as we saw with the reproductive glands, the adrenals and pancreas and thymus, clarify the emotional and behavioral aspects of each specific endocrine gland.

The virtue of the Thyroid is Fortitude or strength. Often the force of will of an individual determines their fortitude or strength. The “throat chakras” – which relates to our voice in the world and how we express our WILL in the world, is what the Thyroid represents. People who have Graves disease, where their eyes are bulging from their sockets, is the result of a hyperactive thyroid gland and appears very clearly as a forceful expression of will or anger. If you have ever witnessed anyone becoming intensely angry about not getting their way, you can see this eye bulging occur.  

The deadly sin of the thyroid is once again the opposite of its virtue. The opposite of fortitude and strength is weakness, fear and angry willfulness. When we are too focused on getting our way or imposing our will onto others, we suffer from aggression that ultimately can become expressed through the symptoms of chronic conditions, such as Graves Disease.

Once again, we can see the value and importance in understanding how the body works as a whole integrated being. The thyroid is another important gland in the endocrine system, enabling us to function well metabolically to keep us healthy or if malfunctioning can make us sick.

The function of our thyroid gland is in our hands. The way we think, treat ourselves and others play a role in the health and function of our Thyroid gland.


For more whole health discussions like this, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama. Also available on iHeartRadio.

A Natural Approach To Fibromyalgia Treatment

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Fibromyalgia is an inflammatory condition that is related to chronic fatigue syndrome. People with fibromyalgia experience fatigue, sleep disorders, and muscle pain which tends to be located at specific points in the neck, shoulders, back, and buttocks.  The underlying cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, but at least three important abnormalities have been found in people with fibromyalgia. 

One of these is that there appears to be an underlying disorder in the metabolism of serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with mood.  The second is that many people with fibromyalgia have an underlying thyroid problem. The third is that abnormal sleep patterns, specifically something known as alpha wave intrusion, occurs in many people with fibromyalgia.  Fortunately, there are whole health methods to correct these abnormalities. 

Tryptophan is an amino acid (a type of nutrient that is a building block for protein) that has been used for years to treat depression.  It is a precursor to serotonin, a neurotransmitter that has potent effects on mood.  Many prescription anti-depressants such as Prozac and Zoloft act by modifying the metabolism of serotonin, resulting in increased levels of serotonin in the brain. Vitamin B6 can also increase serotonin levels, and certain forms of vitamin B6 can be very helpful with sleep. 

Several studies have found low serum levels and decreased intestinal absorption of tryptophan in people with fibromyalgia.  Inadequate levels of tryptophan in the body can lead to decreased levels of serotonin in the brain, whereas supplementation with tryptophan can increase brain levels of serotonin.  This is the same thing that many of the antidepressants used in fibromyalgia do.  Because tryptophan isn’t absorbed well by people with fibromyalgia, an alternate form known as 5-hydroxy tryptophan is recommended.

Several studies have demonstrated that many people with fibromyalgia have a sleep disorder known as alpha wave intrusion.  This type of sleep disorder prevents the body from getting adequate rest during sleep.  Experimental subjects who have had this type of sleep disorder artificially induced experience symptoms similar to that of fibromyalgia.  Correcting this disorder has also been shown to help people with fibromyalgia.

Natural therapies that help to normalize sleep include tryptophan, certain forms of vitamin B6, melatonin, and herbs such as valerian and scuttelaria. 

S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) is an amino acid derivative that has analgesic (pain relieving), anti-inflammatory, and anti-depressant effects.  It is relatively free of side effects and has been found to improve depression, anxiety, and fatigue, and to reduce the number and severity of tender points in people with fibromyalgia.

Magnesium is deficient in the red blood cells of many people with fibromyalgia.  Oral supplementation of highly absorbable form such as citrates, malates, aspartates, or Kreb’s cycle chelates can help correct this deficiency.  Intravenous administration of magnesium is especially helpful.  Epsom salt baths (1/2 – 2 cups of Epsom salt and 1/2 cup of baking soda in a hot bath) taken before bed time can also be useful.  Epsom salt is high in magnesium.

Other nutrients which may be of benefit include Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and vitamins B1 and E.  CoQ10 is a vitamin like substance which may be deficient in people with fibromyalgia.  It is a cofactor in the energy producing pathways in the body, and hence fatigue is a common symptom of deficiency.  Some research has also shown abnormalities in the metabolism of vitamins B1, B6, and E in people with fibromyalgia.

Capsaicin is a compound found in the cayenne pepper.  Topical creams are now available that have been standardized to contain .025% capsaicin.  This cream has been found to decrease tenderness when applied directly to tender points.

There is some belief that the accumulation of acidic and nitrogen containing wastes in the body promote fibromyalgia.  Acid wastes tend to aggravate muscle inflammations and spasms, and may eventually lead to arthritic changes in the joints.  Acid wastes are produced by the digestion of animal proteins (especially pork, milk, and cheese).  Other acid forming foods are wheat, sugar, tea, coffee, alcohol, vinegar, pickles, processed and tinned foods, tomatoes, rhubarb, gooseberries, red and black currants, cooked spinach, margarine and all processed fats, eggs, chocolate, cod liver oil, and peanuts.

A maintenance diet would avoid all of the above foods and concentrate on fresh fruits and vegetables with limited amounts of cereals/grains, occasional fish and chicken, and no processed or artificial foods.

Fibromyalgia is a complex condition which is best managed using a comprehensive approach which includes dietary modifications, the appropriate use of herbal and nutritional supplements, and the treatment of any underlying conditions which may be exacerbating the condition. 

Whole Health Approach To Fibromyalgia: 

The most effect approaches to treating fibromyalgia based on the whole health model includes the following:

  • movement or aerobic exercise to assist in flushing out the tissue
  • behavior focused therapy to assist in reducing tension in the body
  • mild relaxants that do not cause secondary symptoms
  • information and education that can offer options for individual to choose from

Fibromyalgia is viewed as a stress-fueled condition. Therefore any approach or techniques directed at reducing stress and muscle tension are highly effective.


For more whole health discussions like this, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama available on iHeartRadio.

10 Tips Anyone Can Use To be Healthier

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10 Nurse Coach Tips For Improving Whole Person Health

Everyone loves “tips”, especially when it comes to improving their whole person health. Here is a short but powerful list of things we can all do to be healthier, thinner and more energetic. The best part is they are easy to do and aren’t expensive. Share these tips with your health coaching clients and patients too:

  •  Drink more water. Sometimes we overeat because we are actually in need of more body fluid, so drink more water, especially when you are hungry.
  •  Move more. The simple act of physically moving is a great way to get more exercise, improve circulation and reduce calories.
  •  Eat less starch. Complex carbohydrates are the main culprit in producing excess insulin, which is a major player in diabetes, heart disease, stroke and obesity.
  • Eat out less. Americans are eating 75% of our meals outside the home. The amount of salt, MSG and chemicals in the foods eaten outside the home is unhealthy and preparing food at home is not only healthier but also less expensive.
  • Enjoy a hobby that relaxes you. Nurses with hobbies have lower blood pressure and are less stressed from being able to redirect their energies and attention into something they love to do.
  • Keep plants or have a pet. Statistics show that people who keep pets or take care of plants are less depressed and more social. In nursing homes, residents are given plants to take care of to reduce depression.
  • Have regular personal quite time. Nurse coach and other healthcare focused careers, while rewarding, can be quite stressful at times. Meditation, prayer, chanting, contemplation are all ways to slow down the nervous system and help improve sleep and digestion.
  • Pay down your debt. The amount of debt a person maintains exerts a major influence to the amount of stress they have in their lives. Owe less, live longer.
  • Be sure to get 8 hours sleep. You might be able to function on less but for your body to rest and rejuvenate 8 hours is the ideal.
  •  Eat breakfast. People who eat breakfast live 7 years longer than those who don’t because the body functions more efficiently when eating is on an appropriate schedule.

For more whole health discussions like this, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama available on iHeartRadio.Join the conversation. 

12 Steps For Handling Difficult Relationships During The Holidays

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Avoiding Conflict During The Holidays By Georgianna Donadio of National Institute of Whole Health

Thanksgiving is just over a week away, and the December holidays are on the horizon. Some say: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” Or is it? For many of us, the holiday visits back home to family members are something to be dreaded. While we look forward to the pleasure of celebrating these festive times, there is also the memory of past conflicts and the very real possibility of new confrontations that we find ourselves anxious to avoid. We can tell ourselves that this is the year we will not get stressed out or upset with visits to or from our families. This is what we strive for yet, most often, not how things turn out.

Difficult Family Dynamics

According to Dr. Jeffrey Fine, Ph.D., director of the American Foundation for Conscious Parenting, our families can be “a breeding ground for repressed resentments and hostilities left over from childhood.” We might anticipate that once we have grown up and moved away to create our own lives and families these feelings would diminish, but, as many of us experience, unfortunately they do not.

One potential solution to transforming the holidays from stressful to joyful is the application of identified communication skills that have been researched and shown to facilitate changing difficult relationships. Behavioral Engagement is a 12-step set of communication skills that has been the subject of hospital pilot studies over a 2-year period.

The outcomes of these pilots showed the participants experienced a significant improvement in their relational outlook and attitude after interacting with the communication skills model. Originally developed to enhance relationships between whole health oriented doctors, nurses and patients, the model was also applied and studied with business and family relationships.

James Prochaska, Ph.D., renowned researcher on behavior change and author of Change for Good — the Six Stages of Transtheoretical Change says of Behavioral Engagement: “The process of Behavioral Engagement has the potential to transform relationships that are suffering or struggling to ones that are thriving!”

Generally, one of the most recommended approaches to staving off holiday conflicts is to “try and accept family members or friends as they are.” Unfortunately, this good intention can be easily sidelined without specific communications skills that can help keep us on track.

Easy 12-Step Model

The 12-Step Model of Behavioral Engagement offers specific, easy-to-learn communication skills that have been proven effective in changing conflicted relationships into compatible relationships based on the understanding that we all want to be valued, respected and listened to. The steps are based on physical, psychological, hormonal and neurological aspects of human relationships and communication. They start with the understanding that while we cannot change others’ behavior we can change our own behavior in how we relate to others, which can result in a transformative outcome for all participants.

Handling Difficult relationships during the holidays by georgianna donadio of national institute of whole health

We can do so by using specific, simple communication skills and following the steps that have been shown to be effective in creating greater receptivity and generating more positive emotions in relationships that have previously been conflicted or stressful.

If you have experienced or are anticipating challenging relationships during the holidays, you may wish to apply these easy steps and see if they can assist you in having happier and even healthier holidays.

Step One: Be physically comfortable when communicating. This removes discomfort that can distract from the conversation. Distractions reduce your attention, focus on the person you are speaking with, and decrease the conversational rapport and receptivity.

Step Two: Understand what you want. Our intentions are powerful behavior motivators. Understanding what we want from an exchange or a relationship can assist us in communicating more clearly our thoughts and feelings, inviting greater understanding and intimacy. Example: “I really want to understand what you are upset about.”

Step Three: Centered body posture. Uncross arms and legs and present open, receptive body language. To send the message that you are respecting the conversation and giving the other person your fully attention, do not play with your watch, glasses, hair or continually look away from the person you are speaking with. Committing to being focused is an important element in communication and sends the message that you care. We can all feel when someone values being with or speaking to us.

Step Four : Sustained, soft eye contact has been shown to stimulate oxytocin, which opens emotional centers of the brain and enhances trust and feelings of love and intimacy.

Step Five : Respectful inquiry. Asking rather than telling or directing and using “I” statements rather than “you” statements creates a safe, non-judgmental environment for the other person to communicate openly.

Step Six: Responsiveness. Using appropriate responses, such as facial expressions, smiling, head nodding and so forth, indicates you are listening and understanding what the other is saying without interrupting or interjecting. This acknowledges the value you have for their communication.

Step Seven: Pauses between responses. Instead of immediately speaking as soon as the other person is finished, allowing for appropriate pauses when someone has shared a thought or feeling with you creates for them the experience that they are being respectfully listened to, and that you are truly present to them.

Step Eight: Non-judgment. By not allowing yourself to focus on your unspoken mental and emotional judgments you eliminate the unconscious communication that is sent through subtle and gross body language. Unconscious, non-verbal body language is something most of us pick up on and they can make or break the communication.

Step Nine: Leave the ego at the door. Eliminate the push-pull or power struggle of previous relationship interactions by letting go of taking control of the communication and allow for equity between you and the other individual.

Step Ten: Re-centering when you start to lose focus. Mentally repeating simple words you identify as prompts to get you back to the focus of the conversation is a quick and effective way to get yourself re-centered in the exchange. Example: “Back to focus” or “Get centered.”

Step Eleven: Collaborative mindset. Working toward having a win-win outcome eliminates conflict and improves the quality of the relationship in both the short term and the long term.

Step Twelve: Sacredness of relationship. Sacredness means “worthy of respect.” When we are aware of appropriate verbal and behavioral boundaries within our communications, we hold the other person in high esteem and create fulfilling, lasting relationships.

When dealing with family holiday conflicts it can be helpful for us to try simple, proven communications skills but also to reflect on the wisdom of the question: “Would you rather be loved than be right?” Often times when we elect love over being in control or being right relationships shift for the better.

For more whole health discussions like this, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama available on iHeartRadio.

Every Breath You Take:
How Breathing Affects Whole Health

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Every Breath You Take Whole Health Living

Most of us take our breathing for granted. We generally do not think about how our amazing brain automatically regulates the most urgent and important bodily function we have. If we do not breathe we do not live beyond a few short minutes. The ability to breathe and the quality of our breathing clearly has an important impact on our ability to live, but also expresses a great deal of information about the state of our nervous system and emotional health.

Breathing is such a critical function that in addition to being under the automatic control of our brain stem it is also a physical function we can control at will. We know that our breathing is affected by and directly affects our emotional states, exertion levels, nervous system fluctuations and overall whole health.

The affects of emotion on the respiratory system can readily been seen during an asthma attack, which can be very frightening and further reduces the individual’s ability to “catch their breath”. Many of us do not breathe freely. We are breathing freely when we breathe in and out through the muscles of our bellies. We tend to breathe through the chest muscles because we are tense and “holding our breath,” which starves our cells of energizing oxygen.

Deep breathing or relaxed breathing exercises can make an enormous difference in our health and vitality. By changing our breathing from shallow to deep,  we can experience many whole health benefits:

Every Breath You Take: Whole Health Living

> Breathing deeply rather than shallowly creates detoxification within our cells, bringing oxygen rich blood into our cells and cleansing out carbon dioxide.

> Breathing deeply into our bellies rather than our chest muscles produces a greater sense of calm and relaxation brought about through the increase of oxygen to the nervous system.

> This form of cleansing, nourishing breathing is conducive to whole body health and brings about a sense of inner peace.

> Deep breathing can help you sleep better and also feel more energetic because of the increase of oxygen to the brain

This is a great subject to review in your patient education. If you would like to re-train your breathing so that you derive the most benefit each day from this life-sustaining, automatic body function – start slowing. Take just five minutes twice a day to sit quietly in your chair with eyes closed, body relaxed. Allow yourself to focus on your breath. Rather than tensing your shoulders and back muscles, let your breathing rise and fall from your belly muscles. Slow, relaxed breathing for five minutes each day, twice a day, can re-train your automatic breathing patterns and help you to feel better, sleep better and be healthier and more energetic.

Join the conversation. If you enjoyed this article, be sure to follow NIWH on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates filled with useful accredited health program information for holistic nurses and health coaches.

 

 

 

Food and Mood Are Intimately Connected: A Whole Health Perspective

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Food and Mood by Dr. Georgianna Donadio of The National Institute of Whole Health

After completing an interview for a national magazine on “Food and Mood” I was reminded about how intimately our mood and our food are connected– a topic explored more deeply in our Accredited Whole Health and Wellness Nutrition program. The magazine article was about “what foods help our moods.” But maybe the larger question is: “What do our moods have to do with what we eat?”

It’s interesting that the emphasis is usually on how things from outside of us affect our inside. In reality so much of what is going on inside of us affects our outsides. This is really evident in terms of weight loss and weight gain. The way we feel about ourselves, work, life, and whether we are fulfilled or dissatisfied has more to do with what or how much we choose to eat, than eating a food has to do with how it “makes us feel.” In Whole Health, everything affects everything.

One of the reasons diets don’t work is because the “work” is being done on the outside of the problem instead of the inside. I have been a nutritionist for over 30 years and have seen tens of thousands of patients who want to change the way they look or the way they eat. When we start to “work” on the goal, within a relatively short period of time, they become aware that there are underlying feelings and emotions associated with not eating foods that help them to “medicate” or mask their feelings.

They often become discouraged because the feelings are uncomfortable and sometimes painful. It is human to avoid pain and move towards pleasure. It takes courage to truly tackle and confront the underlying issues of food and mood, focusing on the inside of the problem, instead of the outside.

Here is an exercise you may find some value in. If you are dealing with mood or food issues, keep a journal for 10 days. Write down everything you eat. Include how you feel when you don’t eat what you want and how you feel when you do eat what you want.

Just becoming more aware of what you are putting in your mouth and how it translates to how you feel after you eat can be the start of a healthier and happier relationship with food and mood. This is just one of many benefits associated with taking a whole health approach.

http://www.wholehealtheducation.com/living/2018/10/food-and-mood-and-whole-health/

For more whole health discussions like this, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama available on iHeartRadio.

Are You Consuming Too Much Sodium?

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Are You Consuming Too Much Sodium? Here's What The Experts Say.

Sodium is a naturally occurring, essential mineral that helps regulate body fluids and kidney function. Of concern to many is the fact that high doses can cause hypertension, kidney damage, and decrease of calcium absorption. It can cause bloating, fatigue and increase your risk for strokes and heart disease.

The Right Nutritional Value

The recommended daily intake of sodium is 2,300 mg per day. A low sodium diet is considered between 400 – 1000 mg a day. A normal sodium diet is considered between 1500 – 2,300 per day, and a high sodium diet between 2,500 and 4,000 mg per day. The average American diet contains over 3,500 mg per day, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control. Experts agree that damage of high sodium accumulates and can have a long term, life threatening effect.

Even those of us who think we are eating well and are careful about our food choices, may not realize how much sodium is lurking in our foods. Processed, canned, jarred and frozen foods have high levels of sodium, as do most restaurant prepared meals and certainly “fast foods” where sodium and flavor enhancers are added for taste and texture.

Few of us realize that foods we eat every day are loaded with sodium. In considering the examples below, it becomes clear that, once again, the best foods to eat are fresh and unprocessed, which not only contains more nutrients, but contains much less sodium.

High Sodium Foods To Avoid:

> One cup of cocoa has 950 mg of sodium.
> A chicken fillet sandwich has 940 mg of sodium.
> Tomato ketchup has 1042 mg.
> Parmesan cheese contains 1862 mg.
> Processed cheese has 1189 mg.

The list goes on. The more processed the food, the more likely it is to contain high sodium levels. On the other hand, Fresh fish, fruits, nuts, eggs, beans, meats and vegetables have low levels of sodium.

For more whole health discussions like this, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama available on iHeartRadio.

Parents Model Behavior and Self-Esteem

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Lessons In Whole Health: Behavior and Self-Esteem

One day I noticed my daughter was watching a reality television show about high school students. The lack of respect that many of them showed towards other students was stunning. What was even more disconcerting was their lack of awareness that the people they were taunting and verbally abusing had the same range of feeling they did; wanted to be accepted and valued as they did; and wanted to belong within their peer groups, just like they did.

The main theme of the program was having a facilitator come into the school and educate the verbally abusive students on the basics of how to have appropriate relationships. It was portrayed that these young people had never seen respect or compassion modeled for them at home. They were not “aware” that other students, young people like themselves, had essentially the same need to belong and the same feelings and desires that they did.

My daughter commented that it was obvious that these insensitive high school students were suffering from low self-esteem to be treating other people that way. This started a conversation about “where do we develop healthy self-esteem from” and why do some people develop it easily and others not at all.

Self-esteem is so intimately connected to whole health and how we treat ourselves; which is also connected to how we treat others. The role of a patient advocate is to instruct a patient on “how to be in the world” and to provide the training, if you will, to have the skills, tools and awareness to develop a strong sense of self and self esteem.

“Roots and wings” was the expression many years ago, which refers to the stability, discipline and security that allows us to go out into the world and have the confidence in ourselves to “spread our wings” and fly.

As parents we have the profound responsibility of modeling to our children what they need to learn to be both healthy and happy. Children learn with their eyes, their ears, and their hearts. It really does not matter what we say to our children, or what we say to others, it is what we do that counts. When we take the easy way out as parents and do not provide our children with a strong example and foundation of learning responsibility, integrity and how to respect others, we fail them and we hurt them.

To educate our children to be healthy and happy we must advocate the number one rule of liking themselves, which leads to liking others: When our behavior is congruent with our values, with what we know intellectually and intuitively is right and good, we like ourselves. When our behavior goes against our values and what we know is the right way to behave, we have low self-esteem. We don’t like ourselves when we behave in a way that directly or indirectly hurts ourselves and others.

I remember talking one time with one of my children who was complaining that they “didn’t like themselves.”

I asked them an appreciative inquiry question: “Do you think that feeling might come from something you know about yourself that the rest of us don’t?” Several days later he shared with me that it “was one of the best questions anyone had ever asked him” and that it helped him to stop doing something that he felt really bad about doing.

This is a question to ask ourselves and to model to our children, who learn more from our non-verbal communication than anything we might “tell” them about how to live a happy life and support their own whole person health.

For more whole health discussions, listen to Dr. Georgianna Donadio’s radio show Living Above The Drama.