The Foundations of Health and Wellness
The Pillars of Health and Wellness
Eat • Breathe • Sleep • Move • Balance
EAT
Taking a common sense approach to food and nutrition is always a good idea, and "eating the rainbow" just makes sense. Each colour is packed with different vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that work together to help fight disease and keep your body in the best shape. An ideal diet, is to EAT real food and "eat the rainbow". Try and have food of all colours every day, especially in winter. Coloured vegetables are noted to help keep you from catching that stubborn winter cold, or getting sick with the flu. Rather than specific guidelines or following fad diets, a basic, whole food diet heavy on fruits and vegetables is the healthiest way to eat. Also, don't forget to hydrate throughout the day. The recommended 6-8 glasses of water per day will keep you alert, hydrated, and full of energy all day long.
You can find some really great recipes HERE.
Ratatouille: A Colourful, Delicious Mélange of Vegetables
BREATHE
We BREATHE 5 to 20 times per minute all day long, every day. Regulating our breathing can have a profound effect on both the mind and the body. According to The American Institute of Stress, "to effectively combat stress, we need to activate the body’s natural relaxation response." The “Relaxation Response” was discovered and coined by an American doctor, Dr. Herbert Benson. It is a physical state of deep rest that changes your body's physical and emotional responses to stress. The levels of nitric oxide are increased in your body which helps your 50 trillion cells communicate with each other by transmitting signals throughout the entire body. This contributes to a decreased heart rate, lower blood pressure, slower rate of breathing, relaxed muscle tension, and many other health benefits.
Learn about different breathing techniques HERE.
Inhale-Exhale
SLEEP
Some people say they can function on four to six hours of SLEEP each night, but research shows that adults who get fewer than seven hours of sleep, whether for just one night or over the course of days, weeks, or even months, have more difficulty concentrating and more mood problems than people who sleep seven to nine hours each night. Lack of sleep is also linked to increased mortality, lower pain tolerance, fatigue, and other conditions. Improving the quantity, and quality of sleep is a great benefit to your health, so go ahead and hit the snooze button and sleep baby!
Learn about the benefits of getting more sleep HERE.
Sleep Baby!
MOVE
It is extremely important for your health and wellness to stay active. Movement is invaluable to your health. Walking as little as 20 minutes a day can make a huge difference in your health and in the way you feel overall. Regular physical activity can help you reduce your risk for heart disease, and other health conditions and diseases. Exercise helps you to control your weight, boosts energy, improves your mood, promotes better sleep, and as an added bonus, can even put the spark back in your sex life. So get out there and MOVE!
Learn more about the benefits of physical activity HERE.
A Walk In The Park.
BALANCE BALANCE refers to your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual balance, and it is an important factor for you achieving overall wellness. Wellness means taking care of your social, emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual self. If you feel good socially, emotionally, physically and spiritually, then life becomes easier, and the stress of life is more easily managed. These components are all integrated and influence each other. Many times it is difficult to control the events in your world, but you can control your response, afterall, it's true what they say, "Life is all about balance."
Learn how you can bring balance to your life HERE.
The Key To Life Is Balance.
THE BOTTOM LINE
In order to live a healthier, happier life, follow these five pillars of health and wellness. Just making some of these small adjustments to your everyday life can have huge conciquences in your life. You will be shocked with the improvements in your overall health and wellness, and be amazed at how quickly you will begin feeling better. Give these tips a try and comment below and continue the conversation by telling us how your life has changed for the better, or make suggestions of your own on what you do to stay healthy all year round.
