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How to Start your New Year with a Health Self-Assessment Instead of Resolutions

Well, it’s likely that you’ve fully embraced your New Year’s resolutions and are hot on the path of pursuing them, you have them written down, or you have them tallied up in your mental storage.

But if you want to make life changes, is that the best way for you to start?

Instead of coming up with an endless list of resolutions, why not try a more focused approach, one that is more likely to bring you success.

Why not try formulating an annual overall health self-assessment first?

 

Advantages of first doing a health self-assessment—

Most people realize that the majority of New Year’s resolutions are abandoned with the first month of the new year. While there may be many reasons for that, an important one is that the resolution was either not carefully thought out or planned out.

There really was no solid basis for the resolution and logical path to follow to get there.

 

What is a health self-assessment?

With a self-assessment, you can gather the critical information to allow you to take a magnifying glass look at exactly where you are in life, identify the paths that need the most attention, care and adjustment and give you a guide for designing a change blueprint, making those important changes, increasing your chances of success and enjoying satisfying and effective life changes.

But what areas should you target in your assessment?

 

5 self-assessment focus areas—
  1. Spiritual. While most professionals will list physical s the first category, I argue that your spiritual life is the most important one and the category upon which you structure and develop the other four.

Why is spiritual so important? Because a healthy spiritual life, with weekly church or religious organization attendance and involvement, has been shown to be a critical component in all communities where longevity and effective aging are the most successful. (We’ll explore this more when we talk about Blue Zones.)

Studies show spiritual health is associated with greater wellness. So if your aim is for wellness, why not use spirituality as your strong foundation? Something that involves more than just personal meditation (which is a critical component), or interacting with nature (also important).

My Meditation Mondays blog posts can help you with the spiritual category; but for now, make a personal assessment on how much time you spend—

  • Meditating
  • Praying
  • Attending church or a religious service
  • Gathering with like-minded friends of the same faith

 

Decide what you need (more Bible study, more prayer, engage with a local congregation) and take whatever steps are necessary to open and enrich your life to your spiritual needs and health.

 

  1. Physical. Always focus on staying healthy, but make sure you fashion your fitness plan or program to meet specific goals.

Don’t be vague or general. Make a list of specific goals you want to meet. If you want to gain a certain cardiovascular fitness, decide what that fitness level will be and what it will take to reach it and maintain it.

What if you’re older and just want to aim for having more energy to run around with your grandkids, without having stiff knees or back, or couch-calling fatigue. What is it that’s driving you and the change or goal?

Knowing the specific answers to these questions will help you stay motivated and enjoy more success.

 

  1. Intellectual. Make sure you devise a category, and activities, to exercise your brain and mental stamina.
  • Learn something new.
  • Play board games or crossword puzzles.
  • Study a subject you’re unfamiliar with.
  • Pick up a new activity. Exercise a different way. (Yes, this does trigger brain neuron growth.
  • Take a class at a local college or community college. Many colleges allow senior citizens to audit classes without charge.
  • Take an existing passion or skill to a new level. Improve upon what you already do or know.
  • Join a book or chess club, or conquer your public speaking fear by joining Toastmasters!

 

  1. Social. This is another Blue Zone must—having a strong social network. We’re not talking a fraternity house number of friends, but a handful of really close people you can share your heart with. People who support and encourage and pray for you. Those you can call for help and rely on. People you can laugh and cry with, dine with, and live out life with.

 

  1. Financial. Stressing about financial issues is one of the type 5 stressors on the life stress and depression-triggering list. It’s also one of the top reasons couples end up in counseling and divorce court.

So do the dirty (and probably unsavory) work of figuring out your financial status and what you need to do to improve it. While some of the changes you have to make may be drastic, like forgoing any dining out or downsizing from a spacious home to a cozy apartment. Purging the stuff you hoarded and stored in the garage. Living more simply.

These are not quality of life changes, but they might be quantity. Once you bite the bullet, so to speak, and make them, you’re likely to enjoy the simplicity and freedom you feel as you reduce your debt and feeling of being chained to work and monthly debt payments.

Decide what you want to do—like travel more, maybe—and draw up some plans and charts to meet that goal.

 

So start your 2019 right! Take the steps to really make this new year happier health-wise.

 

NEXT WEEK: We’ll take a quick look at the new fitness guidelines and talk about what they mean for you!

Until then,

Blessings,

Andrea

“Certainly there was an Eden….We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it.”  —J.R.R. Tolkien

FOOD: How it Can Affect Your Mood

It can either improve your mood or send your mood spiraling into the abyss.

What is it?

Food.

And the human gut, and its microbiome, or environment.

A recent Harvard HEALTHbeat issue said,

 

“Researchers agree that a person’s unique microbiome is created within the first 1,000 days of life, but there are things you can do to alter your gut environment throughout your life.”

 

Clearly, the research also shows that what we eat can negatively or positively affect our gut environment and increase or decrease our risk of diseases.

 

The effects of ultra-processed foods and your tummy health—

When you consume processed foods, you’re ingesting a chemistry lab full of substances extracted from food, like sugar and starch along with food constituents like hydrogenated fats, or food actually designed and made in a laboratory. Flavor enhancers and food colorings not sourced from real food like beets are examples of chemistry lab foods.

And those are the ingredients that make your fast food so extra tasty. They’re designed that way so you’ll keep coming back for more. One former chemist that worked for a large food company realized that the load of additives the company wanted put in the cookies and treats actually contained addictive flavor enhancers that made people eat and crave more of the food! He was promptly fired when he made a stink about it. Then he was blackballed from ever working in another food company.

Unfortunately, these enhancers and additives also make the food cheap, which is appealing to the consumer.

 

Some “tasty” examples:

  • canned foods, like soups with monosodium glutamate and other natural flavorings
  • sugar-coated dried fruits (dried fruits are sweet enough without adding any sugar)
  • salted and nitrated meat products, like deli meats
  • sodas
  • sugar or savory packaged snack foods
  • packaged breads, many of which contained dough enhancers
  • buns
  • pastries
  • fried fish or those ultra-tasty chicken nuggets (made with little real chicken)
  • instant noodle soups (can any poor college student yell “Ramen!”)

 

While they may be cheaper to cook and prepare with, those flavor enhancers and unwholesome ingredients do come with a price. And that price is your health, and mood.

 

The food-gut-mood connection—

The first thing you need to know is that 90% of your serotonin receptors are located in the gut. If you need a chemistry refresher, serotonin is a chemical that sends signals to your nerve cells. Low levels of it have been linked to depression, digestion issues, sleep problems, decreased libido, mood, behavior and appetite issues.

That ultra-processed food you’re consuming—especially this time of year with the ubiquitous plates of cookies scattered around the workplace and within easy reach at parties—can throw your gut microbiome way out of whack. It can disrupt the good bacteria that helps you digest your food properly, the immune system in your gut that fights disease and make you more vulnerable to nasty diseases, like:

  • asthma
  • obesity
  • metabolic syndrome
  • diabetes
  • cognitive and mood problems
  • irritable bowel syndrome
  • depression

 

The famous Mediterranean diet and depression—

The Mediterranean diet has been touted for years as the go-to diet to improve health and decrease depression. And now scientists are suggesting that its anti-inflammatory properties can also protect against depression.

My November 28 blog post provided a list of good, anti-inflammatory foods to consume, especially this time of year when stress and fatigue run high and poor food choices usually prevail.

 

And if you’d like a good science-based list, the World Journal of Psychiatry recently published a study, “Antidepressant foods: An evidence-based nutrient profiling system for depression” (September 20, 2018). In it they give a chart listing how both animal meat, fish and vegetable and fruits rank on their antidepressant scale.

 

They also listed food categories and their mean antidepressant food scores (AFS). Their results were, in highest to lowest:

 

Vegetables     48%

Organ meats  25%

Fruits              20%

Seafood          16%

Legumes         8%

Meats              8%

Grains             5%

Nuts/Seeds    5%

Dairy               3%

 

One comment they made in the “Discussion” section of the study is telling:

 

“Interestingly, many foods with a high AFS are not commonly eaten as part of the Western dietary pattern. Specifically, the majority of the United States adult population does not meet daily recommendations for vegetables.”

 

Does that statement surprise anyone? How does your own daily vegetable consumption measure up?

Maybe that’s one of the reasons depression seems to be reaching epidemic proportions, or so it would seem based on the number of anti-depressants prescribed and consumed. With depressive disorders ranking as the leading cause of disability worldwide among people ages 15-44, maybe adding food and diet to the prescription is warranted.

Maybe all of our moods would improve if we could discard the fast and convenience foods for whole, fresh, anti-inflammatory foods.

 

This holiday season, help keep your mood high and your depression low by choosing wisely.

Your gut and brain will thank you!

 

Until next week,

keep the veggies fresh and flowing.

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by Edgar Castrejon on unsplash

Signs and Symptoms of Chronic Depression (aka Dysthymia or Persistent Depressive Disorder)

 

“I’m in shock!”

“She always seemed so happy.”

“I didn’t have any idea.”

“Everyone loved her! She was so talented and had so much to live for.”

“I just never knew.”

 

The horrible reality of High Functioning Depression (HFD)—

Unfortunately, these are some of the first comments you hear following the suicide of a depressed friend or family member.

The survivors didn’t know. They were so surprised, didn’t have any idea.

Unfortunately, this is so often the tragic scenario. We’ve experienced a couple of these tragedies in my own hometown in the last couple of years. Young men who seemed to be blessed with talent, personality and great families. A bright future ahead of them.

Little did their adoring friends know they suffered such internal pain and turmoil.

But why don’t we know and recognize that pain?

Is it because we’re just not really paying attention to others, their actions and words? We’ve lost our empathy for others? We’re afraid to reach out to others to divulge our pain?

Or is it because we just don’t recognize depression in others or happening to us?

Or maybe it’s just really difficult to diagnose, like High Functioning Depression can be.

 

Become familiar with HFD or Chronic Depressive Disorder—

Due to the recent suicides of high-profile people, it seems depression is gaining more attention these days. With 350 million people worldwide and 3.3 million people in the United States suffering with this serious disorder, you’re bound to know someone who is chronically depressed. A family member, co-worker or friend may be suffering with, so it’s important to learn more about the disorder.

 

Know the warning signs of High Functioning Depression—

Because sufferers can look and act normal—and even be successful, high-achieving, and social—recognizing and diagnosing persistent depressive disorder is sometimes challenging.

In this wonderful infographic by my friends at BetterHelp, you’ll discover the warning signs and symptoms of what is known as High Functioning Depression, also known as

 

  • Chronic Depressive Disorder
  • Dysthymia
  • Persistent Depressive Disorder

 

The kind of depression your seemingly happy family members or super-efficient, successful co-workers might be suffering from.

 

People like—

  • the popular student
  • the successful lawyer
  • the smiling co-worker

 

BetterHelp gives you the:
  • Signs
  • Treatment options
  • Risk Factors
  • The two sides of high functioning depression

 

A timely topic—

And what better time of year than the holidays to discuss this issue? The time when so many of us feel overwhelmed with life, exhausted and depressed by the expectations of others and of ourselves, at a time in history when we spend so much time comparing ourselves to others on social media platforms, and become depressed about our own lives in comparison to others’.

Christmas can be a challenging time of year for anyone, but for someone who suffers from depression—any kind of depression—it can be particularly rough. They may be even more fragile than normal at this time of year.

That’s why I’ve chosen now to provide you with this beautiful infograph my friends at BetterHelp have put together. In it they highlight:

 

  • The definition of High Functioning Depression (HFD)
  • The risk factors associated with HFD
  • The 2 sides of HFD
  • The signs of HFD
  • The treatment options

 

Please take the time to read this information-packed graphic BetterHelp has put together for you. If you identify with it, hopefully it’ll prompt you to seek help from counselors, like the licensed experts at BetterHelp, who are trained to help you heal and conquer this and other types of depression.

 

Are you or a family member suffering with high functioning depression?

For all of you going through life pretending to be happy, this may be the wake-up call and permission you need to admit that you’re not, that you want and need help.

Print it off and hang it up in a prominent location at work, maybe the break room, water cooler, or on the notice bulletin board.

Know that you and your family members, friends and co-workers are not alone, and others want to come alongside you to help.

 

Get the help you need—

To learn more about depression, go to BetterHelp.

And if you think you or someone you know is suffering from persistent depression disorder, or any kind of depression, don’t wait any longer to get help.

You can contact BetterHelp to connect with a licensed expert. You’ll learn more about how online therapy with a licensed therapist can help you; and they’ll walk you through the process of finding the best therapist for you, all from the convenience, comfort and privacy of your own home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until next week,

bring some hope—and help—to the hurting.

Blessings,

Andrea

Andrea Arthur Owan is an award-winning freelance writer, speaker, teacher and blogger. Her nonfiction and fiction work has appeared in books, secular and religious magazines and newspapers, teaching manuals, devotionals and theater productions. She is also a certified fitness pro and licensed, ordained chaplain.

Conscientious Eating: Tips for Eating Healthy During the Holidays

So how did you do with your conscientious eating on Thanksgiving, Black Friday outings and throughout the weekend?

Did you manage to alter some of the expected family gathering eating habits a bit, or fall a little short of your hoped-for goal?

 

A (little) different Thanksgiving—

Here at the Owan household, we had a mixed bag. I didn’t tell anyone in the family about the changes or transitions I planned to make, or expect them to go along with me. I just got up in the morning, strapped on my post-surgery shoe, and set about fixing a brunch spread for Chris and my younger son, Cory, to enjoy before the main three o’clock feast.

By the time Cory rolled out of bed (around 11:00ish), the kitchen counter was spread with baked brie, grapes, crackers, soppresatta, (in honor of Cory, who fell in love with the Italian sausage while studying abroad), turkey summer sausage (in honor of Chris, who grew up on the fattier variety in Wisconsin), Basque cheese (in honor of our recent pilgrimage through that gorgeous country), blueberries, raspberries, navel orange slices, and several other minor selections. Oh, and Café con Leche and spiced apple cider, of course!

 

It was a hit! Not all items would have made the top 10 (or 20) health foods list, but it was a nice assortment that filled us up sufficiently to avoid gorging at the big meal. In fact, we enjoyed it so much, that Chris and I decided we’d opt for that kind of Thanksgiving meal every year from now on, were it not for the other family members expecting the regular turkey and sides.

 

The main meal fare—

At dinner I started off with a plate-filling salad of mixed greens, (no Romaine, of course), fresh pineapple, heirloom tomatoes and mandarin orange slices with just a swish of olive oil and Thai ginger salt. By the time I got to the “main course,” I was full enough to opt for just a couple of small turkey pieces, and a little stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, (the tastiest Chris has ever made, I might add), and two of those ubiquitous crescent rolls (items for my mother and Cory, who can’t seem to celebrate Thanksgiving without them).

Then I actually finished the meal with a bowl of butternut squash soup.

And much later, after cleaning the kitchen, I did sit down with a slice of relatively healthy pumpkin pie, although it is beyond me why American dessert makers feel a need to overpower the wonderful natural flavors of the ingredients with an overload of sugar.

The following day Chris and I sent Cory back to grad school with a grocery bag full of leftovers—ham (one of his favorites), mashed potatoes, turkey, and stuffing. And the remainder of the corn bread (I’m allergic to corn), and the three leftover crescent rolls. (I love those things, but the dough conditioner and other assorted preservatives and flavorings in them never fail to make me feel bloated and sick!)

Chris had one more piece of pecan pie and then, without prompting, tossed the rest of it in the garbage. We did kill the pumpkin pie, ourselves, though.

 

Looking ahead—

Don’t fret if you feel as though you failed at your first conscientious eating attempt.

The holidays are a tough time to initiate a new eating paradigm, not just because there’s an avalanche of health-compromising food available. It’s also because your loved ones, friends and co-workers are often your biggest saboteurs in your efforts. If they feel the least bit convicted, they’re likely to go to supreme efforts to squash your intentions. The status quo social pressure can be your undoing.

As you go forward to Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, keep the following tips in mind—

 

 

First step: Pray, pray and pray some more! For resolution, direction, protection and determination. Don’t plan to fail. Plan to persevere and succeed!

As you move forward toward Christmas, have a plan in place and work the plan. Don’t attend events where you feel you’ll have tremendous difficulty making healthy choices, of any kind. It’s better to stay away than lead yourself into temptation.

Decide ahead of time what you’re going to eat, and what you will stay away from.

Give yourself permission to indulge a few fattier or sugar-laden treats, but make sure you have a number of items or number of bites already programmed into your brain before you head to the buffet or dessert table.

Remember, you can only control the things you can control! Don’t try to control others or even make comments about their lousy meal choices. Be uplifted and internally happy about the choices you’re making and the success you have.

Again, remember to tend to yourself first. If you’re not in prime condition, how much energy and time can you devote to someone else and their needs? How effective will you really be at it?

Keep a running mental check on how you feel. Are you feeling sluggish? It may be that you haven’t had enough water to drink, so reach for 8 ounces of water and drink that before opting for another cup of coffee or an artery-clogging Red Bull!

If you’re going out to eat, access the restaurant’s menu on line and decide what you’re going to order ahead of time. Ask a loved one or trusted confidant to steer you clear of the desserts. Two truly are better than one in this game.

For every meal you successfully manage to avoid health-diminishing food and choose something health benefiting, give yourself a non-food treat—a certain amount of time to spend uninterrupted in the spa, reading a good book, adding the money you would have spent on the food to a personal “Reward” piggybank.

If you are experiencing flu-like symptoms, (I bring it up here because we’re into flu season and food and social exposure does play a part), STAY HOME FROM WORK! And avoid sugar like the plague. Processed sugar actually stifles the immune system so it can’t do its job. More scientists and doctors are recognizing sugar’s role in a plethora of diseases.

Make sure you get 7 – 9 hours of sleep a night. Being tired suppresses the immune system and also makes it difficult to make sharp decisions, like choosing good foods.

Whenever possible, cut out oils made from seed or vegetables. They cause damaging inflammation.

Don’t try to keep up with everyone else! You’ll feel stressed, and your brain won’t function properly. When you’re under stress, you crave sugar, fat and salt, and there is no satiation point for these ingredients. Your body will want and demand more and more and more.

AVOID ANY food that contains high fructose corn syrup. It functions like crack cocaine to your body and brain—highly addictive and damaging.

Be aware of your emotions. Emotions cause people to reach for the wrong kind of food. And once the decision is made in the brain, it’s nearly impossible to reverse it.

If you want some relaxation, reach for a piece of cheese. Cheese contains opioid-like compounds.

For lunch and breaks, go outside to enjoy the fresh air, and stay off your phone and computer!

If you feel compelled to eat crummy food, stop and ask yourself why. Do you really just need an outside-in-the-fresh-air break; some prayer time to connect with the Lord, who can direct you to a better way? What is it you’re hoping to accomplish by eating the food? And will it satisfy you the way you hope to be satisfied? Probably not.

Stay away from white foods—white bread, cakes, rolls, etc.

Plan some intermittent fasting days, to give your digestive system a rest and divert digestive energy into healing. (We’ll talk a lot more about that in 2019.)

It’s okay to allow yourself some weekend treats. Just make sure you keep them to a minimum.

 

When selecting foods look for:

natural (no GMOs, artificial coloring and minimal processing)

organic

grass-fed

antibiotic-free

hormone-free

unsalted

non-GMO

 

Aim for eating 8-10 servings of plants daily. That amount will outway the risk from the chemical farming poisons in them.

Aim to keep your body and brain happy and your immune system strong.

Guarantee that you will stay healthy and well through the stressful, overfull holiday season emotionally, physically and spiritually, and sail into 2019 with a bright outlook for the new year!

 

NEXT WEEK we’ll look at some exercise basics and helps to see you safely and happily through the holidays. And join me this Friday when I provide you with a great Functional Depression info-graphic, care of my friends at BetterHelp.

Until then, enjoy your holidays even more with good food choices and transitioning your new food plan into place before the New Year!

 

Blessings,

Andrea

May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

Photo by Marcus Wallis on unsplash