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HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

12/25/2017

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Live Your Personal Values and Discover Greater Happiness

12/20/2017

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2018 is almost year and I, like many, am setting intentions/goals for the new year. This is not about making resolutions, which I believe is different from settings goals and intentions. For me, setting goals and intentions is about making changes and/or improvements in my life to live according to my values, thereby living a happier and healthier life.

Few things are more useful than knowing your values. Knowing your values results in clarity and focus. Your values can be used to define your priorities. These priorities can determine how to best spend your time and energy. Knowing your values can greatly streamline your life and your efforts. Decisions become easier to make.

1. Live your personal values and feel more fulfilled:1. First, you must know your values. Have you ever taken the time to determine your values? Now is the time! Make a list of your values. Just write them down. If it means even a little to you, list it.
  • Prioritize your list. It doesn’t matter if you have 100 values or only 10. Put them in order from most important to least.
  • Reexamine your list. Now that you have a prioritized list, decide if you’re happy with it. Consider the life you’d like to live. Will your list of values get you there? Reorder your list as appropriate.
​2. Use your values to choose a career or hobby. Suppose your top values were love, contribution, and peace, you probably wouldn’t enjoy a career as an investment banker. Your hobbies probably wouldn’t include trapping animals for fur. But you might enjoy a career with a non-profit organization or as a life coach.
  • Does your current career line up with your values? If not, can you change career? If you don’t want to change careers at this point in your life, can you do something on the side that will allow you to live your values? Using the previously mentioned values, you could volunteer to work with homeless children on the weekends.
  • It is just about impossible to be happy and fulfilled if you spend most of your day living a life that is not aligned with your values.
3. Create habits in alignment with your values. Suppose one of your highest values is health. It only makes sense to have eating and exercise habits to support that value. It will also be easier to create a habit that supports an important value.
  • Examine your list of values and determine if your current habits support those values. What else could you be doing to live your values more consistently?
  • List your habits that are counter to your values, too.
4. Choose the people in your life. No matter how independent you might be, the people in your life influence your thoughts, decisions, and behavior. Consider how you think and act around each of the people in your life. Consider spending less time with the people that pull you away from your values and more time with the people that push you toward your values.
  • Be strong. Some of your longtime friends might be having a negative effect on your ability to be true to yourself.
5. Make decisions with your values in mind. Knowing and living your values can make your decisions much easier. Imagine you’ve been offered a big raise, but you’ll spend less time with your family. That would be a hard decision for many people.
  • If you know that your primary value is wealth, the solution is obvious.
  • If you know that your primary value is family, the solution is also obvious.
  • Use your values when making decisions.​
Learn and live your values. You’ll be able to make decisions easier and more quickly. Life has fewer options when you’re familiar with your values, and the best option is more obvious. Practice this important concept and you’ll streamline your life and decision-making process toward greater happiness.
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The Gut-Brain Connection: How To Feed Your Brain

12/4/2017

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If there was ever a call for "digestive health," this is it!
 
Yes, it's true. Your gut is considered your "second brain."
 
There is no denying it anymore.
 
And because of the new scientific discoveries about the vagus nerve, the enteric nervous system, and the amazing influence your gut microbes can have, it's no wonder what you eat feeds not only your body but can directly affect your brain.
 
I find it amazing (but not too surprising).
 
What exactly is the "gut-brain connection."
 
Well, it’s very complex, and to be honest, we’re still learning lots about it!
 
There seem to be multiple things working together.  Things like:

The vagus nerve that links the gut directly to the brain;
 
​The “enteric nervous system” (A.K.A. “second brain) that helps the complex intricacies of digestion flow with little to no involvement from the actual brain;
 
The massive amount of neurotransmitters produced by the gut;
 
The huge part of the immune system that is in the gut, but can travel throughout the body; and,
 
The interactions and messages sent by the gut microbes.
 
This is complex. And amazing, if you ask me.
 
I’ll briefly touch on these areas, and end off with a delicious recipe (of course!)
 
Vagus nerve
 
There is a nerve that runs directly from the gut to the brain.
 
And after reading this so far, you’ll probably get a sense of which direction 90% of the transmission is…
 
Not from your brain to your gut (which is what we used to think), but from your gut up to your brain!
 
The enteric nervous system and neurotransmitters
 
Would you believe me if I told you that the gut has more nerves than your spinal cord?
 
I knew you would!
 
 And that's why it's referred to as the "second brain."
  
And, if you think about it, controlling the complex process of digestion (i.e. digestive enzymes, absorption of nutrients, the flow of food, etc.) should probably be done pretty "smartly"...don't you think?
 
And guess how these nerves speak to each other, and to other cells? By chemical messengers called "neurotransmitters."
 
In fact, many of the neurotransmitters that have a strong effect on our mood are made in the gut! e.g. a whopping 95% of serotonin is made in your gut, not in your brain!
 
The immune system of the gut
 
Because eating and drinking is a huge portal where disease-causing critters can get into your body, it makes total sense that much of our defense system would be located there too, right? Seventy-five percent of our immune system is in our gut!
 
And you know that the immune cells can move throughout the entire body and cause inflammation just about anywhere, right?
 
Well, if they’re “activated” by something in the gut, they can potentially wreak havoc anywhere in the body. Including the potential to cause inflammation in the brain.
 
Gut microbes
 
Your friendly neighborhood gut residents. You have billions of those little guys happily living in your gut. And they do amazing things like help you digest certain foods, make certain vitamins, and even help regulate inflammation!
 
But more and more evidence is showing that changes in your gut microbiota can impact your mood, and even other, more serious, mental health issues.
 
How do these all work together for brain health?
 
The honest answer to how these things all work together is that we really don't know just yet. More and more studies are being done to learn more.
 
But one thing is becoming clear. A healthy gut goes hand-in-hand with a healthy brain!
 
So, how do you feed your brain?
 
Of course, a variety of minimally-processed, nutrient-dense foods is required, because no nutrients work alone.
 
But two things that you many consider eating more of are fiber and omega-3 fats. Fiber (in fruits, veggies, nuts & seeds) help to feed your awesome gut microbes. And omega-3 fats (in fatty fish, walnuts, algae, and seeds like flax, chia, and hemp) are well-know inflammation-lowering brain boosters.

Recipe (Gut food fibre, Brain food omega-3): Blueberry Hemp Overnight Oats
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​Serves 2
 
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup oats (gluten-free)
1 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon chia seeds
2 tablespoons hemp seeds
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 banana, sliced
¼ cup chopped walnuts
 
1.Blend blueberries in the food processor until smooth.
2.Mix blueberries, oats, almond milk, chia seeds, hemp seeds in a bowl with a lid. Let set in fridge overnight.
3.Split into two bowls and top with cinnamon, banana, and walnuts.
 
Serve & enjoy!
 
Tip: Your gut microbes love to eat the fiber in the blueberries, oats, seeds, and nuts. Meanwhile, your brain loves the omega-3 fats in the seeds and nuts.
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