Monthly Archives: January 2020

3 Simple Ways You Can Care for Your Health in an Eco-Friendly Manner

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With 72% of respondents reporting that they actively purchase more eco-friendly products than they did five years ago, it’s clear that such products are very high in demand. And, with that demand comes many innovative outcomes, especially when it comes to your whole health.  From brushing your teeth to taking care of your skin and even your menstrual cycle, here are some simple ways you can become more eco-conscious in your everyday routines.

An eco-twist on dental care

Whether you’ve realized it or not, a traditional dental routine involves a lot of plastic waste. From toothbrushes that need to be changed every few months to plastic flossing devices and even the wasteful habit some of us have of leaving the sink faucet on while we brush, there’s no doubt that much of the population is having a negative effect on the environment every day. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to lessen your environmental impact, and it may just benefit your wallet too.

One of the most innovative and eco-friendly trends in the dental care industry involves bamboo toothbrushes — a plant-based alternative to the plastic ones that can biodegrade in a couple of months as opposed to many years. Bamboo toothbrushes can also hold up better than plastic ones, meaning you can save money in the long run by not having to purchase a new one so often. Other ways you can reduce your dental hygiene waste include using a biodegradable floss, reusable floss pick, and shutting off the water while you brush. 

A better skincare routine

Taking care of the skin is a priority for many people. With everything from lotions, creams, makeup remover, and more, many skincare routines are filled with the unnecessary plastic packaging of bottles and tubes galore. For a better skincare routine, using eco-friendly brands, and incorporating as many reusable glass jars as you can is a great idea, and can help in creating a zero-waste beauty routine. Making your own skincare products is another option, as you can cut out the use of plastic by making your own product to go into reusable containers. Going bare is also an idea worth considering. By using bars of lotion and face wash, you can simply skip the packaging altogether.

 Zero-waste periods? 

While it might be hard to believe, a woman’s menstrual cycle has a significant and negative impact on the environment. In fact, just one woman will use between 5 and 15 thousand pads and tampons over the course of their entire lifetime, which will wind up in landfills (for the most part). With that said, a zero-waste menstrual cycle might sound impossible to some, though those who have already made the switch to a menstrual cup may beg to differ. 

A menstrual cup, or a silicone cup used in place of a tampon or pad, is worn inside the body to collect menstrual fluids, removed after 12 hours, emptied, cleaned, and reused. Not only can one single cup be used for your whole cycle, but can be used for years depending on the brand (some may suggest you replace it every year, while other brands suggest replacing every 2+ years). This proves the pad alternative to be an extremely sustainable option when it comes to the environment. While the price can be more expensive than a box of tampons (a cup by the brand DivaCup retails around 25 dollars in-store), they can last several years, thus saving you money and the environment at the same time.

With eco-friendly products on the rise, it comes as no surprise that there are many sustainable products for your everyday healthcare routines. From menstrual cups to a plant-based toothbrush, incorporating even just one eco-friendly product into your life can be a great thing for the environment. 

Author Credit: Allie Oliver

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



What Is Stress And Where Does It Come From?

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What Exactly Is Stress And Where Does It Come From?

A statement by the well-known mind/body physician, Herb Benson, M.D. says that 60-90% of all visits to the doctor’s office are due to stress. We all hear about stress, experience stress, but what exactly is stress? Most of us think of stress as the emotional conflicts we experience in our daily lives, but our emotions are just one category or one type of “event” explored in health coach certification that can cause us to experience stress.

In order for us to survive in our ever-changing environments, our bodies are designed to adapt and it does so through a series of biochemical reactions. These chemical reactions are natural and necessary, but they are the wear and tear of living that we call stress.

Here’s an example I like to share in our whole health program because it gives a clear vision of this principle. When I was living in New York City, I drove my little stick shift through the stop and go traffic. Imagine the wear and tear (stress) on the clutch.

There are many events that might cause similar stress to our bodies. Some may surprise you.

  • Weather
  • Excess Exertion (such as too much exercise or lack of sleep)
  • Trauma or Injuries
  • Allergies and Immune Insults
  • Infections
  • Reproduction Related Events (monthly cycle, pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, etc.)

While the common nature of these events does not sound encouraging, there is some good news. If we have a stress response that is short term, like when the phone rings and the nurse tells you that your child had been vomiting, our bodies do just fine.

It is the prolonged stress, like anticipating for two whole weeks a root canal or that pesky “annual office evaluation.” That does us in! In our whole health education programs, students learn that this extended stress affects our digestive system, immune system, cardiovascular and even reproductive systems. Couple this with poor eating habits or insufficient sleep, and we are not happy campers.

While excessive or chronic stress is definitely not good for our health, we need stress adaptation for survival, so it is actually a very good thing. How this adaptation takes place is by way of specialized hormones from our adrenal glands, located in our kidneys. They change our heart rate, blood pressure, lung capacity, and a host of other functions, for our survival. However, these hormones, if secreted too much or too often can suppress our immune, digestive and reproductive systems and even damage our cardiovascular system. Chronic stress is one very large reason why some of us have fertility problems.

So how can we make friends with stress? The answer is good old moderation. Remember being told “all things in moderation leads to a healthy body.” It is true. We do not have to learn to do anything exotic to reduce stress, we just need to balance our lives and avoid excess.

Nevertheless, there is the rub, given modern life. We are all excessing more and more and moderating less. This is part of the reason why health coach certification is essential. For a great book on this subject, check out Why Zebras Don’t Have Ulcers by Dr. Robert Sapolsky. It is a very witty and informative book.

Laugher, as we know, is “our best medicine.” It is also a great stress reducer.

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

Why Is Chicken Soup So Good For You?

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Why is Chicken Soup So Good For You?

Generations of parents have spooned chicken soup into their sick children. Now scientists have put chicken soup to the test, discovering that it does have effects that might help relieve cold and flu symptoms in two ways. First, it acts as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the movement of neutrophils — immune system cells that participate in the body’s inflammatory response. Second, it temporarily speeds up the movement of mucus, possibly helping relieve congestion and limiting the amount of time viruses are in contact with the nose lining.

The National Institute of Whole Health supports this integrative approach to nutrition. In addition to supporting the body, food has the ability to stimulate and aid healing. When it comes to chicken soup, the healing qualities come from the ingredients. Let’s break down the components to identify the source of the immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory agents in chicken soup.

Considering that chicken is one of the most popular ingredients in the stock used to prepare chicken soup, it makes sense to understand what exactly it is that chicken has to offer. Chicken contains an amino acid called cysteine, a substance released when you make the soup. This amino acid is similar to the drug acetylcysteine, which is prescribed by doctors to patients with bronchitis due to its ability to breakdown proteins found in mucous that settles in the lungs.

Cysteine can be found in proteins throughout the body and when used as a supplement it is usually in the form is N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC). The cool part about this is, cysteine, whether taken in supplement form or not, converts to glutathione. Glutathione is a potent antioxidant, protecting fatty tissues from the damaging effects of free radicals. The antioxidant activity of glutathione is attributed specifically to the presence of cysteine in the compound.

In addition, glutathione also plays a vital role in the detoxification of harmful substances by the liver and can chelate (attach to) heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. It is also believed that glutathione carries nutrients to lymphocytes and phagocytes, important immune system cells.

Next, we have the carrots. Carrots, one of the routine vegetable ingredients found in chicken soup, are the best natural source of beta-carotene. The body takes that beta-carotene and converts it to vitamin A. Vitamin A helps prevent and fight off infections by enhancing the actions of white blood cells that destroy harmful bacteria and viruses.

In addition to their antioxidant and immune-enhancing activity, carotenoids have shown the ability to stimulate cell to cell communication. Researchers now believe that poor communication between cells may be one of the causes of the overgrowth of cells, a condition which eventually leads to cancer. By promoting proper communication between cells, carotenoids may play a role in cancer prevention.

Onions, another chicken soup regular, contain quercetin, another powerful anti-oxidant. Quercetin is a bioflavonoid that is found naturally present in teas — both green and black — apples, onions, and beans. It offers many benefits including maintaining the health of collagen. which is responsible for the firmness and health of our skin. Quercetin also improves the health of capillary and connective tissue (alleviating bruising, edema, varicose veins, etc.).  Other benefits include its ability to inhibit histamine, acting as a natural anti-histamine in many bronchial related conditions, such as allergies and asthma. In addition, quercetin has been ascribed anti-inflammatory and decongestant properties. For individuals who live in high pollen count areas, quercetin is extremely advantageous as it limits allergic reactions due to pollen.

To top it off, stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken-down material from cartilage and tendons–stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.

I could probably keep going but I will let you learn more by giving it a try. As any of you reading this probably would assume, it is best to use only organic, free range protein, organic veggies and filtered water to get the best results from your broth.

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

A New Year – A New Start

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“Happy New Year” is a greeting that fills us with anticipation, excitement and hope. The anticipation is for the new beginning we feel as the ball drops and we say good-bye to the past and look forward to the future. Our excitement is for the many possibilities that may lay ahead in the coming year and the hope is for a better 12 months than those that came before.

What are some simple, positive and productive actions we can take in this New Year that will support our optimistic January resolutions?

  • Start with a clean slate. – Cleaning and organizing your home space is one of the most positive ways to start the New Year. It has been shown in numerous studies that a clean, organized environment provides a sense of relaxation and calm and also helps us to be more productive because we are more organized and this results in a more efficient work or study outcome.
  • Commit to spending less and saving what you don’t spend. – By setting a goal of saving a realistic amount of money each month and achieving that goal by spending that much less each month is an empowering and satisfying way to take more control over your finances and reinforce that you can transform your savings/spending patterns without much stress and strain.
  • Eat less processed foods and more living foods. – This is not only a healthy resolution but also a cost saving one as well. We as Americans enjoy an abundant lifestyle and have the highest obesity rate in the world to prove it. By focusing on life giving plant based foods, we nourish our bodies and save a lot of money by not buying high priced processed and often non-nourishing “foods”.
  • Identify an organization, charity or cause that you can either provide a small but heartfelt donation or voluteer time to. Participating in meaningful assistance to others is rewarding on many levels and is good for our health as well as our sense of contributing to the greater good.

Each New Year is an opportunity for a new beginning…and life, it is often said, is a series of new beginnings.

Happy New Year,

National Institute of Whole Health

 

Join the conversation.

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