Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
What exactly is Liver Cirrhosis? Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND In my experience as a Naturopath cirrhosis of the liver is one of the most confusing disorders that people can experience. What exactly even is cirrhosis? What cause’s it? What are the symptoms one might experience? …
PRIMARY FOOD, LIFESTYLE AND OUR HEALTH~HEALTH By: Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT HEALTH seems like a no brainer when discussing wellness and lifestyle. However, what does it really mean? Let’s break this down and I’ll go over what this means to me as it …
PRIMARY FOOD, LIFESTYLE AND OUR HEALTH~SOCIAL LIFE
By: Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT
Many people don’t think of having a social life as being part of a healthy lifestyle. I didn’t either for a long time. However, like many of us, my mind was changed during the COVID pandemic and lock down. I can to realize how much I missed being out and interacting with old and new friends alike. So, is the idea of a social life a product of COVID, or is it really a wellness essential?
Believe it or not, socializing or having an active social life, is not only an important part of one heath, but it’s also been the subject of studies in support of this theory. Social interactions have been shown to be helpful in supporting our cognitive functions. An article from Harvard Health Publishing/Harvard Medical School titled ‘Get Back Your Social Life to Boost Thinking, Memory and Health’ discusses how any form of socializing can decrease risk of cognitive decline and improve memory. It can also help to lower the risk of depression. It seems as though it doesn’t matter the type of socializing you partake in, as long as there is some form that you enjoy. As humans, we are social by nature, so we can have a natural craving and need for socialization. It can be as simple as a weekly call with a friend, a monthly meal “date”, a shopping trip or a ball game. Some feel more comfortable in more group social gatherings as parties, BBQs, picnics or happy hours. These can be one-on-one, small groups, community activities or even volunteer work. Find your comfort level and make it part of your monthly routine. How will you make socialization a priority in your wellness plan?
I can tell you from person experience that I never realized how important socialization was to my own well-being until the COVID pandemic hit and caused lengthy shutdowns. I always felt fortunate being an “essential worker” which allowed me to get out of my home, go to work and be around people, even though we were following social distancing guidelines. I even had standing weekly get-together with a friend, still following guidelines, when we sat outside, got fresh air, had something to drink or a snack (at our usual place we licked to visit) and took the time to chat and check in with each other. This was important to us because we always did this and we found that finding a way to keep this routine helped keep things as normal as possible. I often said that this helped me to have “sanity” during such a difficult, stressful and uncertain time. Little did I know that this has actually been shown to be essential?
There are a couple of nutrients that I like to help aid in keeping healthy when increasing social activities. I have always found that adding B-vitamins and supporting the immune system is always important.
B-COMPLEX 100 can be an absolute must-have for many people that have an active social life. One of the things that can often be part of socializing is the incorporation of cocktails. Whether you are someone who only drinks on occasion or someone who is a little more experienced, it can sometimes be easy to over indulge, especially when conversing with friends. The consumption of alcohol can often contribute to some dehydration, as well as deplete the B-vitamins in the body. The result of these deletions is often the “hangover” feeling that some may experience.
IMMUNITY HX is a formula which contains a combination of Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Zinc. While most people are familiar with Vitamin C and Zinc for the immune system, they are often surprised having Vitamin D also recommended. This is because Vitamin D helps to regulate the immune system for proper and health function.
newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-minute-the-benefits-of-being-socially-connected/
www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/get-back-your-social-life-to-boost-thinking-memory-and-health
www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/social-life?msockid=102ffcee009769fa30f8f11d011f685e
www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/7-steps-to-cure-your-hangover
www.buoyhealth.com/health/best-hangover-vitamins
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7281985
Liver Function Tests Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND The Liver Basics! As an Invite health nutritionist one of the most important parts of my job is to help people understand their blood work. In general I find that when it comes to blood work liver …
From a Naturopath Point of View Part 5 Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND You may have heard the saying that sleep and a good healthy diet are both the base of the pyramid of health. As a Naturopath I agree with this concept 100%! But …
PRIMARY FOOD, LIFESTYLE AND OUR HEALTH~AN INTRODUCTION TO A NEW WELLNESS SERIES
By: Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT
Primary foods are an essential part of our health and wellness plan that is often overlooked and even misunderstood. While the topic of self-care in important, it definitely means something different to everyone. However, these twelve topics are lifestyle area that we can all agree can always be improved.
During the course of this series, we’ll discuss twelve topics related to lifestyle and how to incorporate tools to improve our wellness goals. These topics include Joy, General Health, Social Life, Home Environment, Spirituality, Home Cooking, Career, Movement and Exercise, Creativity, Relationships, Finance and Learning. With each topic we’ll do a deep dive to explore the topic, I’ll share what it means to me and tips on how to improve it each day. We’ll also review how to pair necessary supplements and nutrients to help enhance each topic. Some of these supplements will help address stress (L-Theanine), brain heath (Phosphatidylserine), sleep (Melatonin) and even the Immune System (Black Seed).
Studies, from such well respected institutes like Harvard and Berkeley, have shown the positive effect that healthy lifestyle choices can have on our lives. Healthy lifestyle can help improve mood, extend lifespan and even help reduce the risk of illness and disease.
One of my favorite exercises to do is to do The Circle of Life, which I learned for my alma mater The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I like to recommend doing this seasonally, as it can help you to see what areas need a little more focus, as well as to see how much you’ve changed and grown. The way this exercise to done is to go category by category and mark a small circle within the column as to where you’d rate your current grasp. The more you feel a particular category could us more attention, the closer to the middle you would put the mark. The more you feel comfortable and “mastering” a category, the closer to the outer edge would be your mark. Once you’ve evaluated and marked each category, play “connect the dots” to make your personal lifestyle circle. The wavier or smaller your circle, the more attention you may need to give to those topics. The larger and more concise your circle can show how you’ve grown with your healthy lifestyle and where certain topics come more smoothly to apply each day. This is a great guide to help with personal growth, goal setting and can serve as a resource to help you narrow your wellness areas of focus and supplement additions. As you widen your circle you may even notice such changes as better sleep, lower stress and over-all happiness, as I have over the years of doing my own circle of life.
I look forward to exploring these twelve important topics with you over the next month. Happy Healing!!
www.health.harvard.edu/blog/long-lasting-healthy-changes-doable-and-worthwhile-202109142594
www.berkeleywellbeing.com/healthy-lifestyle.html
www.integrativenutrition.com/circle-of-life
