Enhance Your Health
Health Tip of the Week: A Happier and Healthier Life
Want to live a happier and healthier life? Recent research points us in the direction of energy management. Not the climate type energy management, but the management of the energy in your body.
If you wake up every morning tired and worn out, and caffeine is needed to give you a jump start, it is time manage your energy levels.
The Mayo Clinic says to think of your body’s energy as a bank account. You start each day with a certain amount of money to spend. The amount of money you have varies from person to person based on factors, such as age, sleep, stress levels, medical conditions and lifestyle.
As you go through your day, you withdraw from your energy bank account and make energy deposits into your account. Sadly, you cannot really control your energy withdrawals (as everything you do requires energy). But you can control your energy deposits, depositing more energy into your account.
The first step to increasing your energy is eating wholesome, nutritious food. Vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats provide the best nutrition for you energy needs. Vegetables like broccoli, dark leafy greens, carrots and sweet potatoes are nutrient dense. Lean proteins such as chicken, turkey, free range ground beef and fish give your muscles tissue a metabolic boost.
Healthy fats provide the most energy as they are double the calories of protein and carbohydrates. Healthy fats include avocados, walnuts, cashews, olive oil, avocado oil, walnut oil and fatty fish like herring, salmon and sardines.
The second step is prioritizing sleep. Sleep deprivation can lead to serious health conditions, as well as adversely affect your mood, motivation and energy levels. 7-8 hours is the optimal sleep range.
Three, spend time with people you enjoy and not so much time with people you don’t. People you can’t relate to or who have negativity issues, complain often or make poor decisions will drain your body’s energy levels.
The fourth step to increasing your energy is avoid watching too much news on TV or listening to too much news on the radio. The news can be educational, motivational and uplifting, but those stories are far and few between. Unfortunately, the news tends to be sensationalistic and is more opinion based than reporting on actual news. The overdosing of opinions can alter your view of the world and push us into concentrating on our worst fears and not the majority of good that is all around us.
Five, exercising daily is key to increasing your energy. On the surface, exercise sounds like it is withdrawing energy from your energy account. Exercise relieves stress and tension, strengthens muscles and boosts endurance, which helps your body to work more efficiently during other physical tasks or activities.
When I talk to my patients about exercise, a common reply is that “I get plenty of exercise at work.” My response is always the same, work is work, not exercise. Exercise is something you do in addition to work. And exercising on a regular basis will actually make your work day easier, by building strength and endurance.
The sixth step to increasing your energy levels is to do something that is meaningful to you. Putting an effort into something that means the most to you allows your body to use and conserve energy in away that brings out the best in you. Whether it is listening to your favorite music, playing a game you enjoy or a sport or hobby. These activities are important for your energy well-being.
Lastly, the seventh step to increasing your daily energy is thinking good thoughts for yourself and others. Try to be more positive. Judging others can lead to placing judgment onto ourselves. And all the internal dialogue that comes with personal negativity and judging can be exhausting.
Pregnancy / Prenatal Chiropractic Care
An Israeli company that developed a saliva based covid-19 test has perfected a salvia pregnancy test. No more peeing on a paper strip. The company says it will have the pregnancy test available in the United States in about one year.
More good pregnancy news, pregnant coffee lovers can enjoy their coffee’s health benefits. Consuming a low amount of caffeine during pregnancy could help to reduce gestational diabetes risk, according to researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the National Institutes of Health. The key words are low amounts of caffeine. Two six ounce cups of coffee a day was the ideal amount of coffee during pregnancy according to the prenatal, pregnancy care research.