Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Take a Nap!

In March, one of my #winewellnesswednesday posts was on sleep. Today, after several days when I could have used a nap (and after one day when I had a very nice long nap) I want to talk about naps.

How is it fair, dear universe, that when we are small children, we don’t want to take naps, and when we are adults, we rarely seem to have the time? The joys and benefits of a good nap are definitely wasted on the young. :)

Naps have many health benefits; you can find yourself more alert, more relaxed, better able to solve problems, or all of the above. How long is the optimal nap? As with so many other things, it depends on who you ask. 20 minutes, 90 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes…it is highly varied. I napped for close to two hours this past Monday and while I felt a little groggy afterwards (and I was concerned I wouldn’t sleep well that night), generally I felt a lot better than I had before my nap!

Have a nap! It’ll be good for you. :)

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

 

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Positive Self-Talk

Words can hurt. Words can heal. What you say to other people matters. What about what you say to yourself? For this week’s Wine & Wellness Wednesday, I want to talk about positive self-talk.

Many years ago, my father kept telling me, “the body doesn’t hear negatives.” The philosophy he’d picked up was that if he told himself, “I’m not sick,” the body would hear and absorb “I’m sick” and then it would become a self-fulfilling prophecy, and he’d get sick. However, if he said to himself, “I am well,” it would also become a self-fulfilling prophecy and he would stay healthy. I didn’t think much about it for years, until I came down with pneumonia and then pleurisy after surgery for kidney cancer. It was at about that point that I decided I was DONE being ill. I started saying to myself, “I am healthy. I am healthy.” More importantly, I put conviction behind it. Instead of feeding myself a negative (“I’m not sick”), I invested in a positive (“I am healthy”). It worked. For the better part of two years, I avoided coming down with anything. Eventually, a point came when my immune system was run down enough that all of the positive self-talk in the world couldn’t prevent me from coming down with something. For the most part, when I feel as though I’m starting to be run-down enough to get sick, if I focus on “I am healthy,” for example, as my mantra when I’m meditating, I can (mostly) avoid coming down with whatever-it-might-be.

Positive self-talk can take many forms. I am focused. I am successful. I am kind. I am…any manner of positive things. (It sort of follows the theme of “eliminate should,” from several weeks ago.)

What positive message to yourself can you put conviction behind? Your health will thank you!

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine and Wellness Wednesday: Learn to Cook!

Learn to cook! (Wait…why is that good for my health, exactly?)

Cooking at home is good for your health and your wallet. For example, we occasionally enjoy steak. (Yup. As a health coach. :) With bacon!) If we order from one of the local restaurants, a steak, with sides and a salad for one person, can be anywhere from $20 per person and up. On the other hand, if I buy a steak at my local grocery store, I can frequently get two, perfectly-sized cuts of meat (with bacon!) for $8. Let’s say the potatoes are $1 each and I buy two. So far I’m at $10 for a meal for two people. Let’s work on the expectation that I already have the fixings at home for a salad or for a green veggie on the side, so that expense has been figured in and stretched over several meals. $10 for dinner for two people instead of $40 or more? That’s pretty good! I have to invest some time in the preparation and cooking, but that doesn’t take long. (Of course, I’m a moderately experienced cook. As a new-to-the-kitchen sort, it will take longer.) I have dinner on the table in a fairly rapid fashion and for a reasonablecost. (Granted, sometimes I don’t want to do the cooking and I’d rather let someone else do the dishes…) I will frequently make random meals out of whatever veggies I have in the kitchen, tossed with a little chicken or gluten-free pasta. One of my favorite fall meals is a huge pan of ratatouille, which is a fancy way of saying veggie stew. And the leftovers are good for several meals over several days!! So that's good for the wallet too!

So there’s an example of why learning to cook can be good for the wallet. What about good for your health?

Let’s start with salt. I like salt in moderation. I find, more and more, that restaurant food is too salty for my taste. So if I’m cooking at home, I have more control over how much sodium is in my food.

I have control over what kind of oil I use to cook, and how much. I have control over the ingredients, for example, I can choose to spend a little more on organic or chemical free produce from a local grower. (Huh. I never thought of it this way. Cooking at home might make me a bit of a control freak!) :) I have control over how I choose to prepare the meal. I can make it exactly the way I want it.

Learning to cook can be overwhelming. Recipe instructions are not always complete; the authors make certain assumptions that everyone who reads the recipe will know exactly what they mean by <whatever>. (Yes, it is necessary to boil water before cooking pasta; it is at least faster and more effective.) Recipes can look complicated, and if you haven’t done much cooking, trying to wing it and do something by yourself can be completely intimidating

Learning to cook can also be an adventure! If you like to experiment or do new things, then playing in the kitchen can be a lot of fun.

I’m not suggesting you start cooking with an eye toward becoming a chef (although kudos to you if that’s the adventure you choose)! I’m not even saying “EVERYONE SHOULD LOVE TO COOK.” I know people (I’m related to people) who think cooking is one of the most awful chores on the planet and they don’t want to have to do it. Ever. I’m suggesting that learning to cook some basic, simple, healthy recipes at home can have a huge impact on your health and your financial bottom line. And in the long run, that’s critical to your success!

Cheers! :) Here’s to your health!

Wine and Wellness Wednesday: Take a Vacation!

For this Wine & Wellness Wednesday, having just planned a single vacation day for later in June, I’m thinking about the health benefits of taking vacations.

Take a vacation. Yes, I know, you don’t have time. Or you don’t have the money for three weeks in Tahiti. Or whatever the reasoning may be.

Take a vacation anyway. Even if you only take a day off and you only go a few hours away, or if you simply stay home but don’t do much other than relax, take a vacation.

It seems an obvious thing to talk about at this time of year as schools are letting out for the summer and many people plan big family trips. (I’m also fairly certain that some people will say, “A family vacation is not healthy! It’s stressful and we eat too much! That’s a different conversation entirely.) So why is it a health topic?

When you’re on vacation, your brain is relaxed (hopefully) and processing things differently. Things you’ve learned at work or have been working on may suddenly come into clearer focus and make more sense. (Make sure you spend the vacation actually vacationing, and not checking your work email!) Going somewhere new or seeing new things while you’re on vacation could give you new ideas to take back to work with you.

Working too much is a fabulous way to get run down. When you’re on vacation and sleeping better, your body can heal and regenerate. You can even take that benefit back with you when you go back to your regular routine!

Planning a vacation, even if it’s just a day, can give you a short break from the run-of-the mill. And that is a benefit that everyone could use!

Cheers! Here’s to your health! :)

Wine and Wellness Wednesday: Chiropractic Care

This week’s Wine and Wellness Wednesday come to us from Dr. Rodney Langel, a chiropractor in West Des Moines.

Chiropractic care is performed by a licensed chiropractor, concerned with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and the effects of these disorders on the function of the nervous system and general health. These disorders of the musculoskeletal system come in the form of misaligned joints also known as subluxations. Those misaligned joints can affect all areas of the body in men, women, children, and the elderly. When there is a subluxation, it can put pressure on the different nerve roots that travel throughout the spinal column and in turn cause health concerns, including back and/or neck pain. Most people think of a stiff neck or lower back pain when they hear the word chiropractic, which chiropractic adjustments do help with those symptoms along with so much more.

When you’re in pain and can’t go about your regular day-to-day life, it can be hard on your body and make it difficult to concentrate, which makes your life more stressful. Chiropractic adjustments are administered to alleviate pain in any area of the body. The key point to remember is chiropractic care is not JUST for pain! It has been show to help with allergies, ear infections, digestive problems, the flu, and so much more. Everything in the body is connected to the nervous system and chiropractic care works directly with the nervous system to keep the body running at its full potential. Chiropractic care is whole body health care and it can improve your life physically, mentally, and financially.

http://www.langelchiropractic.net

(Here’s my 2 cents!) :) Personally, I started going for chiropractic care when I had severe tingling in one leg. It turned out that a really, really bad habit I had of sitting on one foot was causing misalignment in my spine, which led to some damage and pressure on a nerve, which led to some really not comfy feelings in my leg. Dr. Langel cured me of that bad habit! Conversations with him also inspired me to cut way, way back on drinking carbonated soft drinks (a habit I’d tried to kick with moderate success over the years). I look at chiropractic care the way I do massage, acupuncture, and other things: it’s another tool in my wellness toolbox.

What tools do you have in your wellness toolbox? What will you add to your wellness toolbox?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Go Outside!

Go outside.

Even if you aren’t an outdoorsy type, go outside. Five minutes, 15 minutes, 50 minutes; it doesn’t matter. If you’re at home, or at your office, or at the mall, or wherever you happen to be, step outside. I forget, sometimes, how much better I feel if I go outside for even a few minutes. Today I was lucky enough to get outside twice; once as part of my lunch hour I played with the dogs and meditated in the hammock. After work, I sat in the hammock again (are you sensing a trend?) and did some coloring in an adult coloring book. The trend here? It isn’t just the hammock. It was being outside, in the fresh air and sunshine, away from my desk, and having a change of scene. It was temporary, and it was terrific. I went back to my desk refreshed and ready to refocus on the rest of the day.

It doesn’t have to be for hours on end, and it probably wouldn’t be good to go out during a lightning storm, or a blizzard, or when the temperature is 105F in the shade, or during a hailstorm. (During a light rain, though, if it’s warm? That can be an awesome time to be out playing in the garden!) It’s a lot easier to think about being outside when the weather is as nice as it is right now in Iowa; 4ºF in January is less inspiring (but no less energizing).

So! Go outside. Your health (mental and physical) will thank you. :)
Cheers! Here’s to your health!

My first Wine & Wellness Wednesday (12/9/15)

It's Wednesday and I have a glass of wine; let's talk about wellness! I'm fond of alliteration, and the wine-wellness-Wednesday combo tickles my funny bone. :) For starters, since I have a glass (and anyone who knows me knows I have a ridiculous number of bottles in the house), let's talk about the benefits of wine!

You may have heard that tannins are good or bad, resveratrol is good, red wine is always better, etc., etc., etc. Let's be honest. The science is always evolving and it can be super confusing. (Also? The benefits in wine can be found in other foods as well.) So at the end of this I'll add one interesting link. 

Wine is a lovely thing to share with friends, and friends are lovely to spend time with. Laughter and good conversation are good for the soul!

Wine can be fun to cook with, and often enhances the flavor of food. (I’m a fan of cooking with what I’ll be drinking, too. Or drinking what I’ll be cooking with!)

To be clear, while it might occasionally be entertaining to over-indulge, I'm not advocating getting drunk. That will tend to negate the health benefits! And wine has a fair number of calories, which is also a good reason not to over-indulge. 

Also, if you aren’t a wine drinker, there’s no reason to start. You can find some of the health benefits from wine in Concord grape juice (or just eating red or purple grapes), or possibly in other foods, such as blueberries. (Again, the science can be confusing; give me a call & we’ll chat about it sometime!)

For now, here’s more reading, and…cheers! Here’s to your health!

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/red-wine/art-20048281?pg=2

#winewellnesswednesday