5 Healthy Fun Facts
Meditate Daily to Protect Your Mental Health
Cortisol is a stress hormone that, when produced at high levels (often in response to emotional stress: can have a toxic effect on the hippocampus, the area in the brain with an important role in memory. Our bodies typically make higher levels of cortisol early in the morning, and levels decrease throughout the day. Stressful situations can keep your cortisol levels extremely high into the night time. Study results from the National Institute on Aging, reveal that high evening cortisol is related to reduced cognitive functioning. On the contrary, higher levels of cortisol in the morning aids in processing information more effectively, as well as executive functioning. Commit to start your day with prayer and scripture meditation to keep your cortisol levels balanced in the morning and well into the evening.
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its
inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You,
leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.
Get Adequate Sleep to Promote Wellness
Inflammation is a subject that everyone is talking about, because it contributes to a number of health issues. A Study in the Journal of Biological Psychiatry reports that elevated inflammation is prevalent in people with poor sleeping patterns, as well as long sleep duration. What this means is that that both too little or too much sleep may cause inflammation. This fact is significant due to the fact that inflammation contributes to depressive symptoms, as well a myriad of other health issues. The National Sleep Foundation has stated that insufficient sleep is a public health epidemic. Insomnia and other sleep disorders have been associated to inflammatory disease and increased mortality. Create healthy habits to ensure that you’re getting adequate sleep every night. Establish an environment within your home that promotes a restful and peaceful atmosphere. Set a regular bed time every night to condition your body to “unplug” for the day. Turn off all digital devices such as TVs and cellphones. If you need noise to help you fall asleep, diffuse Lavender Essential Oil in your bedroom and consider playing white noise such a rain, wind or nature to drift off into the land of sweet dreams.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows;
for so He giveth His beloved sleep.
Chocolate Lovers, Say Yes to Cacao!
One of my all-time favorites! Raw cacao nibs or powder contains four times the antioxidant power of even the best dark chocolate and 20 times that of blueberries. Raw cacao is packed full of B-vitamins, flavonoids, magnesium, calcium and essential fatty acids. All of these elements work alongside naturally occurring phytochemicals that have incredible benefits such a lowering LDL cholesterol, improving heart function, and reducing cancer risk. Please remember that drink mixes for prepared hot cocoa are processed, heated and refined from cacao and is full of sugar (even high-fructose corn syrup) all of the micronutrients are gone. Cacao is a great addition to your diet and can be added to your morning smoothie, mixed with almond butter and raw honey and spread on celery or whole grain toast.
[Trust in God,] who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for [our] enjoyment.
Are You Magnesium Deficient?
Magnesium is the fourth most common mineral in our bodies, and half of our total body stores of magnesium is our bones. The importance of this mineral is that every body system requires magnesium for its function. The majority of Americans today do not obtain enough magnesium from dietary sources. The main reasons are that municipal water supplies and bottled purified water are lacking in this mineral, medications can deplete the body of it, and our food sources are magnesium-deficient due to depleted soils and harvesting before ripening occurs. Magnesium promotes good cardiovascular health, lowers, the risk of stroke, regulates blood sugar, prevents migraines, and supports bond health. It is imperative to replace magnesium in the diet of adults and children using a mineral supplement or ionic magnesium.
Keep Your Blood Sugar Levels Regulated
Researches have shown that fasting blood glucose (sugar) levels at the high end of normal, also known as, pre-diabetes, resulted in brain shrinkage. This decrease presented in the hippocampus and amygdala, which would show up as a poor memory that worsens over time, a finding which is vital. The majority of Americans experience higher-than-necessary fasting glucose levels in the blood and, consequently, our rates of early dementia and poor cognitive function in middle age continues to rise. So you might be asking, how does someone remedy this? It begins with eating a plant-based diet on a daily basis which includes a variety of colors, sprouted legumes and ancient grains. These nutrient-dense and fiber-filled complex carbohydrates break down slowly. Plant-based nutrition allows for a very slow and steady rise in blood sugar followed by a slow decline.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit
of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
