Category: Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

Organic: What is it? How do we know if it’s organic? Why choose organic?
Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

Organic: What is it? How do we know if it’s organic? Why choose organic?

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellnessLeave a comment

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Organic means that a food/crop has been grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers (think ChemLawn). Organic has not been processed using industrial solvents, chemical ripening, and without additives. Organic has not been genetically modified (GMO) and in organic meat no growth hormones or antibiotics have been used.

(GMO: a laboratory process that forces genes of unrelated species to into each other causing unintended changes which create possible differences in the food’s nutritional values, toxic and allergic effects, lower crop yields and unforeseen harm to the environment. GMO’s are pesticide/herbicide tolerant causing an increase in the amount of these used, leads to poisoning & killing birds and insects that help pollinate natural foods, have toxins, cause illness)

Why Choose Organic?

Chemicals enter the body through eating conventionally grown foods and these chemicals have been known to cause loss of brain function/development, cancers, respiratory issues and disease, thyroid disease and dysfunction, autoimmune disease, and behavioral disorders, but not limited to this list. If you’ve been feeling sluggish, slow, tired, lethargic, low-energy and such, your body could be overloaded with these chemical toxins’ one way to clean them out is to do a cleanse and to switch to an organic diet. Not all organic is necessarily healthy for you such as junk foods, salad dressings, cookies, crackers, candy etc. since it’s still “junk” food. So choose wisely.

How can you tell if something is organic?

Most organic foods are labeled “Organic”, but if they’re not you can find out by a few ways; at a farm stand or farmer’s market you can ask, if they don’t give a straight answer there’s a good chance it’s not organic. To find organic in a supermarket look for the number labels on produce and sometimes meat: if it begins with a “4” followed by 3 other numbers it has been conventionally grown with chemical pesticides and herbicides, if it begins with an “8” followed by 4 extra numbers, it has been genetically modified and grown with pesticide and herbicides, and if it begins with the number “9” followed by 4 numbers, it is organic.

Even organic crops can get contamination through pollution, overspray, and other environmental factors. It’s always good to know where your food comes from and you should always wash it at home before ingesting it, even if it says it has been triple washed at the farm/factory.

Washing your produce whether organic or not is important. You can wash easily by soaking the produce in a bowl of cold water with white vinegar; 1 cup vinegar to 1 gallon of water, soak for 20 minutes, rinse and dry well.

Choose to be pure inside and out. You truly are what you eat and you are what ‘they’ eat in terms of meat. Increase your vegetable, fruit and berry intake and limit [or omit] your animal foods for overall good health.

Start from Where You Are; Do the Next Right Thing
Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

Start from Where You Are; Do the Next Right Thing

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellnessLeave a comment

You start something new; eating better, exercising, less sugar, less snacking, quit smoking, drinking etc. You start out strong and well-intentioned but one day during lunch you slip up a little and you talk yourself into feelings of failure & inadequacy, reminding yourself of all the times you’ve repeated this behavior in the past and so you unintentionally give up for the day or for the week or month. You tell yourself this was a bad time to start and you justify your thoughts with excuses and decide that next month will be a better time to start.

That type of behavior is what keeps us from ever reaching our goals. That behavior comes from within your mind’s self-sabotaging ego. Self-sabotage is our emotional way of coming to terms that something probably won’t work; it helps us to excuse our failures ‘just in case’ we need to. Self-sabotage also excuses us from having to do something to reach our goals, our plans and our wishes.

Before you begin any project it’s important to prepare for it. When we do a household project we first need to take the steps necessary to begin, we decide why, how and we list what we will need to get it done. These steps are important in everything we do because without the why, how, what, and what if’s, we have no direction, no path to follow.

If you are planning to lose weight or just eat better for good health, you need to be fully in it and committed. Your first step is to decide if you truly want it for yourself or if you’re doing it because you ‘have’ to. If you are doing it because you were told you need to, there’s a good chance you won’t follow through and be successful. You must want it for yourself. Then you can list the why, how, what and what if’s and be more successful at reaching your goal.

If you’ve already begun or if you plan to begin better lifestyle habits, take a little time to write your “why, how, what and what if’s”; doing this will help you get on track and stay on track.

1- Why are you going to eat better and exercise?

2- How are you going to do this?

3- What will you do daily?

4- What if you slip up on one meal, one day or for a weekend?

What if? If you slip up you start from where you are and “do the next right thing”. So, you splurged a little, you ate more, you ate the wrong thing, you didn’t exercise today…so what! Put on your ‘can do’ attitude and start from where you are at each moment.

Don’t judge yourself by your failures but by your attempts at success.

What Does Food Mean to You?
Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

What Does Food Mean to You?

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellnessLeave a comment

Food means something different for each of us. For me it means satisfaction, indulgence, self-complimentary ( I think I’m a pretty good cook), savory as in savoring the positive moments in life (because I, like many, have had too many negative moments throughout my life), gorging on second helpings because of life’s limitations. My excuse for eating more than I need sometimes is self-justified by ‘because it tastes good’ and I deserve it. Deserve it! Honestly? We don’t deserve much. We are given, blessed with, fortunate, etc. to have abundance of food; let us not gorge ourselves! The answers I gave are almost certainly a result of my past and present emotions; food becomes comfort, memorable, it’s social, it’s personal, it’s public, it pleases, it displeases, it even simply fuels our body but it’s rare that we think exactly that when we are eating; it can become self-sabotage.

We relate food to who we are, who we were and who we want to be. We use food as a tool to bury feelings, to celebrate feelings and to blame our shortcomings on. We often rate ourselves by our commitment to what we eat, how we eat, why we eat and we let food define us.

Once we can understand and accept the reasons we treat food the way we do, once we really get to the bottom of our relationship with food we can develop a new relationship with food; we can let food be our friend instead of our enemy. Food feeds our cells, it fuels our body giving us energy, balancing our moods, our blood levels, sleep, making our health the best it can be given that we eat the right foods and the proper amounts on a regular basis. As Hippocrates said many years ago, “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”.

The next time you feel particularly connected to a certain food in a sort of disconnected way, stop yourself, go deep inside and try to relate how the particular food makes you feel when you eat it. There’s no right nor wrong about it, it just is and that’s okay. Slowly you will be able to better control the way you relate to and treat food.

If you’re in need or in search of professional help in your eating and lifestyle habits, you are in the right place. Email me to get started on your journey to better health, better habits and heading up the road to happiness. You CAN be in control when you have the tools to help.

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Take A Hike!
Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

Take A Hike!

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellnessLeave a comment

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Keep moving – never stop moving.

Take the long way around, zigzag, take the stairs, park the car far away from the door, take a long walk, a short run.

Take dance breaks, let everyone join in, take time to play, test your limits, let it go, spend time alone, walk in the woods, hear the birds, the leaves, the breeze.

Step outside first thing in the morning and breathe in fully, feel the sunshine warm your face, let it go.

Step outside late at night, breathe in fully, look up at the stars, let it go. Be in the moment daily.

Take a hike!

Breathing Space for Healthy Lungs
Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

Breathing Space for Healthy Lungs

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellnessLeave a comment

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Breathing Space for Healthy Lungs

Fall weeds and molds, winter dampness & closed indoor allergens, spring pollen and the pollution from daily living can wreak havoc on your lungs. The pollution doesn’t stop there; electronic gadgets such as computers, TV, tablets, e-cigarettes, space heaters affect the air quality. Then there are toxic cleaning supplies, pesticides in the air and on produce that we ingest through the mouth and through the nose. What can you do to ensure healthier lungs and easier breathing?

There are a few simple steps you can incorporate into your daily habits for healthier lung function, and there are bigger steps you can take if you’re up for making major changes – you choose but please, make some type of change for your better health. If you smoke, consider kicking that habit too-need help? I have a few tips on how to help eliminate cravings for that next butt – just ask!

Breathing space in your home begins with clean surroundings by removing dust, debris, and dirt from your walls, window hangings & bedding, furniture and floors on a regular basis. If you’re surrounded by electronics daily at work and home, it’s helpful to invest in air cleaners & Himalayan salt lamps – for more information on which one to buy, read here:  http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/cr-05-2005.pdf

Breathing space for your lungs begins with food. Some foods cause congestion and gunk in your lungs while other foods help to open up your airways by reducing inflammation. Some foods help oxygenate and purify the blood helping you breathe easy and feeling energized.  The following is a list of the foods you should be eating every day for healthy lungs.

  • Vitamin A foods: pumpkin, spinach, carrots, dark leafy greens, lettuce, fish, bell peppers, winter squashes & sweet potatoes
  • Vitamin C foods: citrus, watermelon, celery, parsley, kiwi, papaya, broccoli, berries, melons
  • Vitamin D foods: egg yolks, fortified milk & juice, fortified grains/cereal, cod liver oil, sunshine. If you take a D3 supplement it is good to take a magnesium supplement too so that the D3 will get absorbed.
  • Vitamin E foods: seeds, nuts, peanut butter, mango, broccoli, spinach, beet greens, red peppers, avocado, swordfish
  • Magnesium foods: tuna, halibut, beans, milk, yogurt, brown rice, prunes & other dried fruit, dark leafy greens, broccoli, avocado, bananas, dark chocolate (70% & higher)
  • WATER: Water helps hydrate your lungs and keep it free of mucous. Drink at least 6-8 10 ounce glasses per day.

As you can see, many of the same foods are in more than one category so eating healthy isn’t very difficult to do. You are what you eat so be wholesome, natural, fresh, light and energetically affected by what is around you and what is inside of you.

Mind, Body, Spirit Pause
Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

Mind, Body, Spirit Pause

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellnessLeave a comment

Which of these words or phrases apply to you?

Full mind, off-track, focus issues, multi-tasking, not finishing things, loss of interest, loss of motivation, easily distracted, feeling flighty, unsatisfied, going through the motions, auto-pilot, not remembering how you did something or got someplace…and there are probably a large number of other descriptions of feeling disconnected between your head and body.

When you feel this way, it’s necessary to take a mental break. Sometimes an hour is all you need to feel reconnected and with it but other times you may need a day, a weekend or a week. Vacations are given for a reason, so take your seriously. We all need to exhale from time-to-time. Taking a much-needed break is healthy for your body, your mind and your spirit. When you get yourself back in touch with feeling and being, remember to keep your peace by taking time out weekly; even daily to keep yourself grounded. Daily moments can release anxiety and toxins. Plan your week with a few minutes each day to reconnect with your body; know what your hands, legs, feet and the rest of you is doing…feel it. As often as you can, touch the earth with your feet and hands. Breathe the air, feel the sunshine, rain and breeze.

To get your daily dose, try this simple yoga pose called mountain pose. By doing this you allow your mind and body to become aware as one whole unit. Always remember to breathe consciously, inhaling, holding and exhaling…do it often throughout every day, it’s cleansing and releasing.

Here is a simple instruction on how to properly do “Mountain Pose” found at https://www.doyouyoga.com/mountain-pose/

Mountain Pose Step-By-Step

  1. Come to stand with your big toes touching and your heels slightly apart. Lift and spread your toes wide, releasing them down to the ground, and root down through all four corners of your feet — the big toe mound, pinky toe mound, and the two outer edges of your heels.
  2. Engage your thighs to lift your kneecaps slightly (without hyper extending your knees). Gently draw your energy in toward the mid-line of your body.
  3. Lengthen your tailbone down toward the floor and find a neutral pelvis.
  4. Draw your low ribs in to your body and press your shoulder blades into your back, lifting your sternum. Move your shoulders away from your ears, and broaden your collarbones.
  5. Relax your arms by your sides, turn your palms to face forward to open up through your chest.
  6. Bring your chin parallel to the floor and soften your face and jaw. Get tall from the soles of your feet up and out through the crown of your head.
  7. Remain in the pose anywhere from 5 to 10 breaths.

Take time to breathe. Take time to just be. ❤

Beta-Blockers and the Migraine Connection
Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

Beta-Blockers and the Migraine Connection

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellnessLeave a comment

1518028735562_fx.jpgA while ago I was talking with a relative about headaches; particularly migraines. I get them too often and she mentioned that she used to get them until she began taking beta-blockers for high blood pressure. This information caught my attention and my desire to find an organic supplementation of beta-blockers and the following is what I found.

Beta-blockers relax blood vessels in the body.

Migraine occurs when the arteries around the brain are inflamed.

If you suffer from frequent migraines or any other types of headache, consider trying the following remedies. If you’re on prescription beta-blockers, talk to your doctor before you change you diet even if the change is for the better.

 Natural Beta-Blockers

 Foods:

  • Olive, avocado and grapeseed oils,
  • 70% dark chocolate
  • Berries – blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries & Fruit: apples, bananas, pineapple, pomegranate, pomegranate juice, and citrus
  • Nuts/Seeds – walnuts, pecans, almonds & sunflower seeds
  • Fish – baked, sautéed or poached, not deep fried
  • Vegetables – broccoli, leafy greens,
  • Garlic
  • Oats

Herbal supplements/remedies:

  • CoQ10 – an antioxidant that helps convert food into energy; also may lower blood pressure
  • Hawthorn berry leaves and flower
  • Feverfew – increases circulation throughout the body & relieves muscle tension
  • Chamomile tea – calms and relaxes muscles and blood vessels

Other helpful habits include:

  • a proper amount of sleep on a regular basis
  • exercise and meditation & yoga for relaxation.

Try one or more of these remedies to see of they help you out so that next time you get a headache, maybe it won’t be as bad or last as long as they do now. Know your headache triggers and try to avoid them. By eating the foods on this list you will be improving your blood pressure, and stress & tension levels as well as cleansing your blood and liver.

Winter Woes, Water and Vitamin D
Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

Winter Woes, Water and Vitamin D

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellnessLeave a comment

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Water

Most of us drink plenty of water during the warmer months; or so I assume everyone does. If you don’t, I urge you to work on making water your new best friend; that and sunshine.

In the winter months, we tend to drink more hot drinks like coffee, hot chocolate and tea, and often alcoholic drinks to ‘warm the blood flow’ – all of which are dehydrating. Tea is probably the least harmful especially if you’re drinking herbal teas and a few cups of plain green tea without sweeteners every day. Why drink water in the winter? Your body is made of 70% water! It needs clean, fresh water every day to filter toxins out of your blood and flush them away. When you don’t drink enough, your body will hold on to whatever water it has to store no matter how clean or ‘dirty’. Dehydration leads to water-weight gain. The more you drink, the more you flush out.

Water can also help alleviate the following symptoms:                                                          

  • Depression
  • Heartburn
  • Chest/ heart pain
  • Abdominal/digestive/reflux pains
  • Lower back pain
  • Joint pain
  • Migraine headaches
  • Colitis pain
  • Fibromyalgia pains
  • Morning sickness during pregnancy
  • Bulimia
  • Obesity
  • Cholesterol plaque
  • Osteoporosis
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Gout
  • Strokes
  • MS, MD and Parkinson’s disease

Many of us take medications on a daily basis to make life bearable when we simply could benefit more from water. In return we often get side effects from the medications such as organs becoming toxic and our dependency on the drug.

Infuse your water overnight with lemon juice, citrus fruits, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cucumber, melon, mint, lavender, chamomile (tea), cinnamon & apple slices for mild to bold flavoring.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6543766  

Vitamin D

We get most of our vitamin D from sunshine but in the winter months even if we’re outside a lot, we don’t get enough due to long pants, winter coats, hats and gloves. Healthy levels of vitamin D are responsible for helping the body utilize calcium properly which in turn alleviates overactive neurological reflexes, hand and foot spasms, and cramps and spasms of the vocal box.

Healthy levels of vitamin D also:

  • Supports and regulates the immune system
  • Supports brain function
  • Maintain a healthy body weight and aids in weight loss
  • Headache support – lessens frequency and severity
  • Asthma – lessens the frequency and severity of attacks
  • Rheumatoid arthritis in women
  • Protects against radiation damage
  • Can lessen depression
  • Protection from cancers – a recent study showed a deficiency in vitamin D among cancer patients no matter how good or bad their diet was.
  • Supports heart – lower D levels may increase risk of heart attack

Women with arthritis and diabetes are more susceptible to lower vitamin D levels all year but especially during winter months.

Natural ways to get enough vitamin D:

  • Fortified foods – milk, cheese, cereals, bread
  • Natural ways – egg yolk, some mushrooms, salmon, tuna, mackerel, cod liver oil
  • Supplements – prescribed OTC supplements daily 2000-5000 i.u. daily as well as a good quality fish oil capsule daily.

Drink your water, eat the right foods and take a daily vitamin D supplement for optimal winter and year round health.

 

 

New Year & Throughout the Year Recharge
Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

New Year & Throughout the Year Recharge

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellnessLeave a comment

A few times throughout the year you might find yourself worn down, out of energy, physically & mentally drained; January is most often one of those times due to the hustle/bustle of the holidays. When you find yourself in need of a recharge the following tips can help boost your energy and alertness.

  • Get enough sleep. Go to bed just one half hour earlier than usual, it can make a big difference after a week or two.
  • Drink enough water. Often in the colder/cooler weather we forget to drink plain, clean and delicious water. Your body is about 75% water – drinking more water helps flush toxins out that can make you feel sluggish.
  • Eat enough veggies and fruit. An ultimate amount of fruit and veggies is 8-13 servings a day but a large majority of us don’t even get 3-5 servings a day so shoot for at least 3/day. A serving can be estimated by using your hand, a half cup is a cupped palm-full, aim for one half to one full cup per serving.
  • Choose beans, nuts and fish for your protein instead of meat a few times a week. They have low to no fat, lots of fiber and iron.
  • Supplement your daily intake with a good quality fish oil, learn how to choose the right fish oil HERE and Supplement with 1000-5000mg of vitamin D daily. If you have not been tested recently and are not sure how much to start with, my suggestion is 2000mg/day – but knowing your blood panels for certain can help your health in many ways, so if you have not had a physical and blood work lately, don’t forget to make an appointment with your PCP.

It’s important and necessary to take time for yourself every so often so that you can catch your breath, recharge your energy and mind and to just exhale stress. Make scheduled appointments with yourself throught the year to do what you need/want to do – it helps you keep a healthy mindset and it can put you back on track with your personal goals.

In order to take care of others you must first take careof yourself.

Setting Goals
Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

Setting Goals

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellnessLeave a comment

20150313_084209As each new year settles in, many of us have set goals for ourselves for the coming year. It’s common habit to follow through for the first few months but often by April, we have forgotten our plan. Why does this happen? There are a few likely reasons that we let go of our resolutions. We might lose interest in our goals, our goals are set too high, we get busy, we didn’t plan well, we are overwhelmed, we slipped so we gave up, or even worse, we lose faith in ourselves. Whatever reason you might have personally, probably has happened more than once.

Resolutions and goal setting around weight loss is one of the most popular subjects followed by eating better, working out, and tidying up. Important goals to achieve that aren’t always in the forefront is emotional relief and personal care. Taking care of yourself includes mind, body and spirit.

A few quick guidelines to goal setting include:

  • 1 – Make your goal(s) reasonable, don’t over-burden yourself with too many goals at one time
  • 2 – If you slip up, don’t give up – never use the word cheat it’s a negative word and you need positive encouragement
  • 3 – Set a time when you will work on your goal each day or week depending on your personal goal
  • 4 – Be held accountable and learn what works for your particular body-type and schedule.

When you set goals, it’s important to plan properly, make sure your goals are reasonable, and figure out why you can’t seem to stay on task. Getting guidance from a certified wellness coach is an important step in setting and reaching your personal goals. Learning the proper steps and what works for you specifically, will ensure lifelong success.