Reducing Anxiety and Get Outside More to Improve your Life

Holistic Habits by Cheryl A. Mothes, Ph.D. Natural Health Nutrition Counselor

Content is a daily radio script from my KHIS radio spot - tune in at 6:15 (CST) every morning to Justin and Meredith’s morning show on 89.9 FM. 

Sarah Wilson is an expert on dealing with anxiety and she shares that having a morning routine is very effective in reducing anxiety, carving out time to meditate and exercise, and setting up your day.  She shares that a condition like anxiety can be seen as carrying a shallow bowl of water. You must keep it stable - meaning no late nights, eating healthy, no wild behavior - to keep this bowl of water steady so it doesn’t slosh around because it usually sloshes all over your loved ones and when that happens you must really work hard to fill the bowl back up again.  Mental health management can be achieved with actions that help you live longer and live stronger! 

We've been building a shopping list for transitioning to a healthier life - 80% of our health, energy, and longevity are related to what we eat!  Ramp up the seeds and never buy roasted or salted - hemp, sunflower, pumpkin, chia, and flax are the best.  We should eat them every day.  Spices like cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, and cloves - hang out in the spice section and add them to all your hot dishes, grains, and smoothies.  Lastly, liquid aminos, balsamic vinegar, and salsa are great options for sprinkling on foods and salads - or Google "Vegan Salad Dressings" to find great ones on this Transition Tuesday.

 We’ve spent several days talking about anxiety and the work Sarah Wilson has done to help others with reducing it and coping best.  Suffering from it herself, she shifted to look at anxiety as a beautiful thing that can be put to good use. Throughout history, incredible leaders, poets, and scientists have had anxiety.  Anxiety and excitement trigger very similar responses in the brain. She asks herself, "Am I anxious or am I excited?" and just answering that question is freeing, making the choice to see it as excitement and not a disorder.   Lastly, she shares that meditation is not fun— it’s tedious and hard work, but for her, it was a game-changer.  Have a wonderful Wednesday by learning to meditate to reduce your anxiety! 

In a greener environment, people report fewer symptoms of illness, and have a better perception of general AND mental health––by a lot!  It could mean less air pollution as well, and air pollution is no joke - it is the fifth leading cause of death, killing almost five million people a year. Natural settings may simply promote health-enhancing behavior rather than having specific and direct benefits for health.  Whatever the reasons, we are healthier being outside, walking, riding bikes, and forest bathing! 

Fix-it Friday means delicious Lentil Sloppy Joes! 

In a Dutch oven cook chopped onion and bell pepper in water for 5 minutes or until the onion is tender.  Stir in chili powder, vegetable broth, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, brown lentils, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and vegan Worcestershire sauce.   Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Serve the lentil mixture on buns, add red onion and sliced chili peppers, and additional mustard as desired. 

Ingredients: 

1 cup chopped onion.

¾ cup chopped red bell pepper

3 1/3 cups water or low-sodium vegetable broth

1 T chili powder

1 14.5-ounce can of fire-roasted, diced tomatoes, not drained.

1 ½ cups dry brown lentils, rinsed and drained.

2 T pure maple syrup or date syrup

2 T reduced-sodium soy sauce.

2 T Dijon mustard

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce

Whole grain hamburger buns or Ezekiel Bread slices toasted if desired.

Sliced red onion, sliced fresh chili peppers. 

And a blast from the Past! 

We know that gut health is the foundation for better digestion, increased metabolism, decreased inflammation, and risk of chronic diseases.  But how can we make it better?  This week we'll focus on some simple tips.  Understand that gut health means overall health, meaning it's SUPER important in building your health and reversing the damage that has already been done.  The first tip is, yes like we always say, eat more whole grains, nuts, veggies, beans, and fruits.  And remember the more variety, the better it is for our gut microbiome.  Shoot for 30 different foods every week and go to mondaycampaigns.org for great recipes!  

Though it's so basic, gut health is crucial to our well-being.  Interestingly, Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, believed that all disease begins in the gut.  So, we've known this for a long time!  To decrease inflammation and the risk of disease, we're focusing this week on simple ways to improve your gut microbiome. Brushing and flossing your teeth frequently helps our gut!  Yes, bacteria in our mouths get to our stomachs and cause problems with the balance of gut microbes.  Brush after each meal and floss every day to boost your ability to prevent disease.  Have a terrific Tuesday everyone! 

All week we are talking about the VERY important link to long-term health - the health of our gut microbiome.  Healthy gut, healthy life, meaning it's critical to our overall wealth of health!  In addition to eating 30 different whole grains, nuts, veggies, fruits, and beans each week, eating fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, and tempeh will increase the good bacteria in our gut.  If you're not familiar with tempeh, it's fermented soybeans that can be crumbled up on salads or added to any hot dish.  All these foods can be found locally, so power up your plantified plates with fermented foods and have a wonderful Wednesday! 

Here are some additional tips for boosting the health of our very important gut microbiomes:  consume dark chocolate, red grapes, almonds, onions, blueberries, broccoli, and green teas.  The powerful compounds in these foods improve gut health overall.  Look for the 80% or higher cocoa content for dark chocolate, as you'll get too much sugar with the lower concentrations.  Stock up your health on the shelf with these foods to live longer and live stronger!

 Our last tips for boosting the super important health of our gut microbiomes are to help our good gut bacteria fight the bad bacteria by adding spices such as turmeric, ginger, garlic, and cinnamon to our foods and by limiting artificial sweeteners.  Our gut is truly where all the magic happens to build the foundation of our health, prevent disease, and reverse diseases - you can start improving it today!  Have a fantastic Friday everyone and if you haven't already signed up for Nutritionfacts.org, do so today to get more of these great tips!

 

 

7 Hours of Sleep is Optimal, and Fabulous Fiber!

 

Holistic Habits by Cheryl A. Mothes, Ph.D. Natural Health Nutrition Counselor

Content is a daily radio script from my KHIS radio spot - tune in at 6:15 (CST) every morning to Justin and Meredith’s morning show on 89.9 FM. 

It is surprising to know that a critical function of sleep is the clearance of toxic waste substances that build up during the day. This could explain why those who routinely get less than seven hours of sleep a night may be at increased risk of developing cognitive disorders like dementia. The lowest risk for developing cognitive impairment was found for those getting seven to eight hours of sleep a night, which is also the same optimal range found for diabetes risk. Sleeping too little or too much is associated with cutting our life short, with the best amount at seven hours a night. Shoot for seven everyone to live longer and live stronger!

Probiotics are good microbes that are found in fermented foods. Tempeh, sauerkraut, miso, and kimchi are examples. Prebiotics are fiber that feeds good bacteria so they can produce incredible anti-inflammatory short-chain fatty acids that strengthen the microbiome barrier. You may have heard of “leaky gut” – that microbiome barrier strength is so important, and you can build it up with prebiotic wonder foods like fruits, veggies, beans, grains, and seeds! Plantify your plates on this wonderful Wednesday everyone! 

There are many myths about fiber. One is that all fiber is the same, so we need to just count the grams and strive for 50. This is not true - the fiber in cereal or a breakfast biscuit is different from the fiber in quinoa. Also, some believe that fiber just passes through us - the fact is, our microbiomes contain an insane number of digestive enzymes and there are potentially millions of types of fiber in our diet. Every single plant, every single type of fiber requires a unique team of microbes working together. The breakdown of fiber by our gut bacteria unleashes the most healing nutrient in all of nature:  short-chain fatty acids - fiber is critical to this process. 

It is Fix-it Friday and YAY for Layered Southwestern Salad 

Ingredients: 

4 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips.

2 cups frozen corn, thawed with hot water.

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced.

½ tsp chili powder

1 tsp lime zest

6 cups chopped romaine lettuce.

4 Roma tomatoes, chopped.

1 15-ounce can of non-salt-added black beans, rinsed.

½ cup refrigerated fresh salsa

1 15-ounce can of non-salt-added pinto beans, rinsed.

1 avocado, chopped.

1 recipe of Tofu Sour Cream

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place tortilla strips in a shallow baking pan and bake 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until strips are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. In a medium bowl, stir together the next five ingredients (through lime zest). Season with pepper as desired. In a 4-quart glass bowl, layer romaine and tomatoes. In a small bowl toss together black beans and half of the salsa and spoon it over the tomatoes. Add Corn. In the same small bowl combine pinto beans and the remaining salsa then spoon over the corn. Add avocado. Spread seasoned Tofu Sour Cream over the salad. Sprinkle with crispy tortilla strips and additional cilantro. For the Tofu Sour Cream, combine one 12-ounce package of extra-firm light silken tofu, drain, and 1 Tbsp each of lemon juice and white wine vinegar in a blender. Blend until smooth. Chill until ready to serve.

 And a Blast from the Past:

 On this Meatless Monday, we are talking again about our genetic makeup, that "legacy" that our parents bestow upon us, but we know from last week that there is great news to empower us - we are not victims of our genes. We have more control than we ever thought because most of what we inherit from our family is simply their habits, and we can certainly change our habits! Also, studies show that over 500 genes can be favorably changed through diet. For example, hundreds of oncogenes that promote cancer can be switched off in only three months! And of course, it is by going meatless and increasing vegetables, grains, fruits, beans, and seeds. Stay tuned for more and have a marvelous Monday!

 More today about how you can turn up good genes and turn down bad genes - yesterday it was about turning down genes that promote cancer, but our lifestyle habits also affect genes that promote heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and other conditions. Enzymes called sirtuins (sear-tu-ins) wrap your DNA around proteins to stop bad genes - isn't that just miraculous? These sirtuins that we can turn up through lifestyle changes can be called anti-aging proteins and have an important role in many chronic diseases. Our lifestyles can be HEALING. Have a terrific Tuesday everyone and come back tomorrow to learn more to live longer and stronger!

 Yesterday we talked about sirtuins, those anti-aging proteins that reduce chronic diseases. Glycation is a process where the sugar in our bloodstream attaches to proteins and fats, and it forms harmful molecules called Advanced Glycation End-products - the acronym is appropriately AGE's - AGE's makes you age! They suppress those good guys, the sirtuins, and therefore make us age faster. AGEs are in our food, especially high in meat. They cause oxidative stress and inflammation, leading to all sorts of health conditions. So, on this wonderful Wednesday, consider improving your wealth of health by eating more plants and less meat.

 Yesterday we talked about AGE molecules that make us age by stopping good proteins that help our genes, and those AGEs are found to be exceedingly high in our standard American diet. It is not just the foods we eat but the ways we cook them that can increase the deadly AGEs. Animal foods that are high in fat and protein are AGE-rich and cooking them only increases those AGE's. We know from the book The Blue Zones, that those in the world who live the longest and best eat predominately plants. So again, we can live longer and live stronger by improving our DNA by eating a diet with more of a plant-slant.

 We have talked all week about fixing our genes - yes, we can - increasing good proteins called sirtuins and reducing AGEs, both of which can be accomplished through foods and how we cook, or do not cook them. A soy burger cooked in a microwave has only 20 AGEs - those harmful molecules - and if you add 1 teaspoon of oil to a pan and fry it, that number raises to 131. In huge contrast though, two strips of fried bacon, a piece of steak, and a roasted chicken thigh, all with no oil added, have over 10,000 AGEs to age our cells! And if you barbecue that chicken thigh? It goes to 16.000 AGEs. WOW. Consider overhauling your health on the shelf by choosing low AGE foods - vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruits, beans, and grains, and getting rid of the high AGE meats and have a fantastic Friday everyone!

 References:  UnDo It! How Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse Most Chronic Diseases by Dean and Anne Ornish and The Blue Zones, Eating and Living Like the World's Healthiest People by Dan Buettner