Tag Archives: health

Mighty Muscles and Bones: How Do The Muscular And Skeletal Systems Help Us Work?

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Our Mighty Muscles And Bones

In the past our accredited health program has explored the nervous system, brain function, cranial nerves, digestive function, adrenal function, and the immune system. Now let’s take a look at the most glamorized, yet under-appreciated, part of our body—our mighty muscles and bones. So, how do the muscular and skeletal systems help us work?

Muscular Attraction

The muscles get a lot of attention with regard to how they can make us look attractive and sexy to others. Our muscle tone communicates how healthy our body is. The strength of the muscles, the lack of water retention or fat in the muscles, and how flexible we are, all indicate that we may be a good reproductive partner and produce strong, healthy offspring. This is one of the functions we all can relate to, but it is certainly not the most important function of our muscles.

Try to imagine what your life would be like if your muscle tissue could not form the shape of your body. What if it didn’t allow you to physically move around your environment? Without locomotion, thru muscle strength and movement, we would be a lump of humanity, never moving from the spot we found ourselves in.

Mighty Bones

Our bones are so amazing too. Remember that apart from their distinctive and critical role as part of the immune system carrying precious bone marrow, they are the armature upon which our muscles are draped. Bones allow cooperation between the muscles, to physically move, play, exercise, work, eat, sleep and achieve all of the mobility we experience throughout our day.

When we look at people stooped over with distorted posture and their musculature not functioning properly, we immediately associate this with either being ill or not “vital.” Our posture is the number one thing people notice, followed by how we are dressed. Our body language is expressed thru our bone/muscle function. In essence, our personality and how we view the world are all communicated in how we move through the space we inhabit.

Working Together

Physiology teaches that our muscles and bones not only share the work load in glucose and immune regulation, body heat production, fat metabolism, mineral storage, and the ability for “fight or flight”—self-preservation. They also communicate to the world what we think about ourselves, others, and the world through the expression of body movement and non-verbal communication. This can be one of the most attractive or frightening aspects about us – depending on how we express our movement and actions.

Keeping your muscles and bones strong thru exercise and a healthy diet is a wise move. Without them, we are literally “going nowhere.”

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

Avoid Boredom To Live Longer And Healthier

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Do you know anyone who is often bored on a regular basis? Do you find yourself feeling bored? A study, conducted in the United Kingdom identified a connection between individuals who experience chronic boredom and a shorter life expectancy. The expression being “bored to death” has some literal truth in it, according to the 1980’s UK study that followed 7,500 civil servants in the UK for a period of 25 years. NIWH explores the study to see what applications can be derived from the results.

Bored To Death

The study conducted interviews on the civil servants, recording attitudes and their outlook on life. The updates continued until 25 years after the initial interviews. The data found that subjects who stated they were bored in the original interview screening were almost 40% more likely to have died during the 25 year period than those who found life to be interesting.

This same study revealed that people living with “high levels of tedium” were 2.5 times more likely to die of heart disease than those who lived a more varied lifestyle. This particular study is a wonderful example of the connection between our mind and body and how our thoughts and feelings have a huge impact on our health and even longevity.

Examining Discontent

According to Daily Health News journalist Lauren Zander, most of us live with experiences of boredom, but when our lives take on a chronic sense of boredom, the effects can be destructive to our work, relationships and, ultimately, our health and longevity. When we are willing to examine what aspects of our lives feel “boring,” we can identify in which areas of our life we feel stuck, frustrated or unfulfilled. This allows us to make a plan and take action toward change.

Boredom is a loss of interest or enthusiasm for aspects of your life. You “go through the motions” rather than being engaged and enjoying life. For instance, in personal relationships it is easy to get in a rut and not look for new ways of enjoying the company of the people we care about most. By taking a step back and looking at our relationships as if we were meeting the person for the first time, this brings a renewed perspective and interest in what we may take for granted on a daily basis.

Renovate Your Life

This information lends to several suggestions. To start, your work, family life, or love life is leaving you disinterested or bored, try “renovating” your relationship by adding new and imaginative ways to refresh your communication or shared experience. Kiss your special someone in the car instead of waiting to get home to physically connect. Bring home some special “treats” your kids or partner will love and serve it with breakfast, lunch or brunch instead of going out to eat. Plan a lunch time activity at your office with co-workers or a mystery party at home with your friends to liven up rapport.

Find new ways to refresh your relationships and your life. Encourage those around you to do the same. It’s not only fun, but this can help you live a longer and healthier life!

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

Dogs Are An Essential Support To Senior Wellbeing

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Dogs Are An Essential Support To Senior Wellbeing

Animal therapy has become recognized as an alternative method in helping seniors remain healthy, both mentally and physically. In fact, a study published in the journal Pain Medicine found that therapy dogs helped to significantly reduce pain and emotional distress in individuals battling chronic conditions. Moderate exercise and eating right are key to a senior’s ongoing well being, but having a four-pawed companion can have tremendous whole person health benefits as well.

Dog Walking Takes Steps Toward Better Health

On the physical side, having a dog provides a mandatory excuse for a senior to get outside and walk. There’s also the physical movement of feeding and providing water everyday. These activities all contribute to lower blood pressure and fewer occurrences of chronic health conditions like obesity.

In fact, a University of Missouri study showed that walking a dog regularly can lead to a lower body mass index. This can positively contribute to overall health and help prevent conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Seniors in the study who walked their dog also reported fewer doctor visits.

Emotionally, for a single senior, whether home alone or in an assisted-living facility, a dog provides heart-felt companionship to battle loneliness, and gives the senior a purposeful reason to get up and moving every day. Dog-walking also has social benefits. Seniors who walk dogs have an easy way to connect with other pet lovers who cross their path.

Pets Help Maintain The Brain

Memory loss and cognitive health can be a side effect of aging. However, new research has shown that having a pet in the twilight years can spur extended brain strength. These daily routines of pet ownership help keep a senior’s brain focused and even improve memory as we age, according to Dr. Penny B. Donnenfeld. “I’ve seen those with memory loss interact with an animal and regain access to memories from long ago,” the psychologist explains. “Having a pet helps the senior focus on something other than their physical problems and negative preoccupations about loss or aging.”

Assisted Living Pet Friendly Places

Recognizing the correlation between pet ownership and whole health, senior assisted-living communities are now allowing and encouraging ownership. And while on top of paying rent, pets can be another financial commitment, there are federal programs like Medicaid that minimize health care and prescription costs. Those savings can be used by seniors on a budget to feed and support their furry friends. For those seniors who don’t want to own a pet, many facilities and nursing homes have created programs where rescue organizations bring in dogs during the week for resident interaction during so-called “pet therapy” sessions. Staff often report positive changes in mood and behavior of the folks during and after these visits.

Caring and feeding of a dog can have rich results on a senior’s physical and mental health. Walking a dog literally keeps a senior on his or her toes, and takes a person’s mind off pain or loneliness. Dogs remain man’s best friend and maybe even more so in a person’s twilight years.

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

Use Stress Reduction To Avoid Chronic Disease

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Patients my use stress reduction to avoid chronic disease

Understanding the connection between brain function, cranial nerves, digestion and immune functions illuminates how and why dysfunction and “dis-ease” occur in the body. Just as our machines need electricity to operate, so do our internal organs and cells require electrical impulses to function. The degree to which a patient’s nervous system is balanced and well-functioning – or not – is the degree to which they are healthy and able to function at maximum capacity in the world. This is the key to how students of the accredited health program can guide their patients in using stress reduction to avoid, or reduce the symptoms of, chronic disease.

Many healing arts, such as acupuncture, yoga postures, meditation, chiropractic, breathing techniques, biofeedback, hypnosis, EMDR and others attempt to restore balance to the nervous system as the pathway to improving internal and external bodily function. These methods address the cause of the presenting condition, rather than just treating the pain or symptom of the bodily malfunction.

By looking more closely at the digestive system and its intimate relationship with the immune system and the nervous system, we can easily follow the pathway of how brain function and the nervous system can create a “whole body” systemic cascade of bodily reactions, which over time lead to chronic illness and disease. Our nervous systems are impacted by stressors; however, stress is not limited to just the emotional realm as many believe. The broader topic of stressors and adrenal function are explored throughout NIWH’s health coach and holistic nurse certification programs.

stress reduction whole health educationFor now, keep in mind that when our stress or anxiety causes our limbic system to send biochemical messages to our cranial nerves, our digestive systems can be functionally affected. The anxiety and stress increases our adrenal function output, and this increase of adrenal hormones and steroids in turn decreases our digestive and immune system functions.

A written schematic would look like this:

Stressor = A limbic system response and/or increased adrenal cortisol secretion. = Decreased digestive function thru sympathetic cranial nerves (vagus nerve) and decreased immune (bone marrow) function.

The effect of a stressor on the body in the short term can be readily overcome by a healthy, adaptive nervous system. It is the longer stress–the chronic ongoing conditions and issues–that place wear and tear on our nervous systems and organs. It is this friction or wear and tear that leads to chronic illness.

By understanding the intimate dance of our body’s organs and systems and how to maintain a balanced, healthy nervous system we can help patients use stress reduction to avoid illness and chronic disease, and to live long, productive and disease free lives!

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

Looking Beyond The Hype: Digging Deep into the Reality of Supplements

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Market research conducted in August 2018 found that the Vitamin and Supplement Manufacturing industry in the US ballooned to profits of $31 billion. This number is a clear sign of the American public’s great desire to pursue a greater level of whole health and integrative nutrition. The debate, however, still continues to thrive in regards to the safety, efficacy, and even necessity of taking supplements. While supplements aren’t new, it’s still worth exploring and discussing them before jumping on the bandwagon.

The Rising Popularity of Supplements

A commissioned study from 2017 found that 76% of respondents say that they consume dietary supplements. The supplements they take commonly come in the form of pills, powders, and even herbal teas. The common responses when asked why they took supplements were to “improve” and “maintain” their health. Another 15% claimed that taking supplements boosted their immune system and that they were getting sick less often. Word of mouth and social media have all been conducive in spreading the glowing reviews of satisfied users to entice other people into using dietary supplements, as well.

The Unforeseen Risks

The issue begins when the supplements that people purchase are fake and contain harmful elements that end up compromising their whole person health. Even when the supplements are authentic, there’s a risk to combining different ones and using them with medication. Taking too much of certain nutrients like iron can cause hemochromatosis, as warned by the FDA. Popular supplements like St. John’s Wort originally enjoyed a reputation of being effective in boosting moods and chasing the blues away. It wasn’t until later when people found that it curbs the efficacy of antibiotics and even antiretrovirals. You just might be risking your health because of a post that you read online, so it’s best to be careful.

A Life Without Supplements

Consumers that are skeptical or have heard horror stories about fake ones wonder if it’s possible to survive without them. It actually is; it’s just going to involve a lot of dedication. A lot of the vitamins and nutrients that supplements claim to give you are readily available in the food we consume regularly. When you carefully plan the food that you eat, you can actually get the nutrient count that you need. You can try to create a food plan that maximizes your nutritional intake or you can have a health coach or dietitian help you out.

Finding the Right Balance

There are supplements that do as advertised and there are all-natural diets that work. It is entirely possible to reach some sort of compromise between supplements and diet; all that’s needed is due diligence. Read up on different findings to build a study-based and fact-based opinion on supplements and nutrition. There’s a wealth of information out there about integrative nutrition. If that isn’t enough, you can always ask your trusted nurse coach or other healthcare professional for their educated opinion.

At the end of it all, doing research about supplements will safeguard your whole person health. As a consumer, it’s your responsibility to see if something trendy is worth dabbling into. Always avoid putting your health at any unnecessary risk.

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

Author Credit: Allie Oliver

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. 

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.

Becoming You – Developing Self-Esteem

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Becoming You – Developing Self-Esteem

The Merriam Webster definition of self esteem is “a confidence and satisfaction in oneself; self respect.” Self-esteem and self-respect are two important aspects of whole person care at any age. During the years of adolescence, however, personal and social differentiation is at an all time high, with peers playing a significant role in how our self-esteem expresses itself. As you are probably very well aware, your self-esteem is especially a front and center issue from middle school through high school.

According to Marilyn J. Sorensen, PhD, author of numerous books on self-esteem, our self-esteem is formed in childhood, when we develop an initial conscious and unconscious impression of ourselves. What we hear said about ourselves has a lasting impact on the messages our brain records as being our worth or our value in the world. It is these messages or neurological records that get “triggered’ when our peers either respond positively or negatively to us.

During the adolescent years, as you are physically developing and becoming young women and men, your appearance and how others respond to you can certainly become important. Other peer related issues such as belonging or being part of a particular group or activity are, as well.

It may surprise you that current statistics show seven in ten females believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members. And for males, the statistics over the past 25 years have gone from 15% dissatisfaction to 45% dissatisfaction regarding how they feel about their physical appearance.

The developing and confusing years of adolescence are filled with exploring and identifying what you think of yourself or what social direction you may wish to go in. It is also a time that you can begin to know yourself outside your family environment and develop who you are in a more meaningful and realistic way. This means sorting through the many reflections of “who and how you are” in relationship to the large world around you.

It is during this time, no matter what kind of earlier conditioning you have received, that you can take control over your self-esteem and self-respect. I would like to share with you a story about one of my children. She has happily given permission for me to share this with you because she feels it is an important story to tell.

At the age of 15, my daughter was very unhappy and struggling with feeling badly about herself. That whole year for her was filled with tears and poor grades. One day, we took a walk and talked about what she was experiencing. She said many times during that conversation, “I hate myself. I don’t want to be me.” I gently asked her why and she said that she “she didn’t think she was a good enough person because of the problems she was having with her peers.”

Not wanting to pry, I did not ask for details and she did not offer them. Rather, I shared something with her I learned about whole health and self-esteem when I was much older than her 15 years of age. I shared with that what is important, at any time in our life for us to feel good about our self, is that when we behavior in a way towards ourselves and others that is in agreement, or congruent, with our personal values – we feel good about who we are. Bottom line: No matter what anyone else says or does towards us, when we act in concert with our personal values, we feel good. Our perception and expression of ourselves can largely impact our whole health, which is far more important than what others think. We many not like the way others treat us or how they hurt our feelings, but our self–esteem and self-respect are high.

When we do not act in agreement, or congruently, with our personal values and inner beliefs of right and wrong, then we feel badly about ourselves; no matter what positive or flattering things someone else may say about us. Self-esteem and self-respect, like beauty, start from the inside out. No one can make us feel badly about ourselves when we know, and are confident, that our behavior towards ourselves and others is from a place of our values and of respect.

If you are working through this natural adolescent sorting process, reflecting on this information may assist you in changing how you feel about yourself, how your treat yourself and how you create relationships with others. My daughter, who is now in college, told me our walk together that day was the most important thing she has ever earned about how to feel good about herself. I hope it is helpful for you as well.

References & Resources:

www.learntobehealthy.org
http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/emotions/self_esteem.html
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breaking-the-chain-of-low-self-esteem-marilyn-j-sorensen/1102088340

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

 

A Natural Approach to Resolving Acne

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A Natural Approach To Acne by Dr. Georgianna Donadio of National Institute of Whole Health

Parents as well as teenagers know one of the most frustrating events at any age is having facial blemishes and acne. A universally important aspect of a person’s appearance is clear, healthy skin.

Given this, it is little wonder that billions of dollars are spent every year on achieving good skin as well as billions spent on cover-ups and make-up to cancel skin blemishes.
Our skin appearance is important to overall appeal. Our skin tells a story about our internal health and hormone function, both of which are tied into our attractiveness.

In my Whole Health and nutrition practice, assisting adolescents in clearing up their skin problems is one of the conditions we see that responds well to a natural approach to the problem.

By educating on how acne and pimples develop on the skin, this allows for various lifestyle changes that can naturally improve or resolve the skin breakouts. Skin blemishes are related to the production of androgens, which are hormones secreted into the blood stream.

Androgens are potent “chemicals”, specifically hormones. Androgens are secreted into our blood stream. Our liver produces blood plasma proteins, which bind up and inactivate the majority of androgens, so that only a small percent of androgens are free to enter our cells.

In adolescence, the body needs time to adjust to and regulate hormone secretions, and a young body and brain can become physically and even emotionally overwhelmed by the effect of androgens on the cells and on the brain.

Androgens enter hair follicles and sebaceous cells. Once the androgens get inside the cell, a specific enzyme converts the androgens into a more highly active form. The active androgens then enter the nucleus of the cell where it interacts with genetic material. This can lead to highly stimulated oil glands, which creates acne.

Depending upon:

a) the amount of androgens available to enter the cells

b) how well the liver is controlling the active androgens

c) the nutrition of the person and its effect on liver metabolism

d) the amount of waste and/or toxins being re-absorbed into the liver from the bowel environment and importantly – the amount of exercise the adolescent is doing that will utilize the androgens to build and create muscle tissue, thus reducing the amount of androgen that might be absorbed into the cells.

A successful and natural way to clear up adolescent acne is with exercise – vigorous, regular exercise. Within a few weeks, the androgens are utilized to build strong muscle fibers and the skin blemishes can clear up so well it can seem like a miracle!

When someone is taking steroids one of the side effects is significant acne that is seen on the back and the face. When the steroid use is discontinued the acne goes away.

In addition to regular vigorous exercise, healthy eating which includes vegetables and fruits, drinking plenty of water, skin hygiene and proper amounts of sleep all help the body to function well thus supporting the proper regulation of androgens and the resultant healthy, attractive skin.

Adolescence can be a challenging time for our skin, as the body is learning to regulate the hormone secretions that new to our systems. Skin is an external reflection of our internal health. By taking a health hygiene and whole person approach young skin can glow with radiant health and not blemishes.

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