A Healthy Tomorrow

Building Wellness Into The Next Generation

stress reduction

Change 1 Thing November Challenge

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“Change 1 Thing” Challenge

Have You Accepted the Challenge?

Take One Year to Develop a Lifetime of Optimal Health!

The “Change One Thing” Challenge is a 12 step process over one year to help you achieve your health goals.  You simply commit to make one change in your lifestyle every month, so that by the end of the year, you will have completely transformed to a healthy lifestyle.  Why each month?  It takes about 21 days to establish a new habit.  So each month, you will firmly establish one change before starting another.  Are you willing to take the challenge?

Your November Challenge (should you choose to accept it):

“I Will Start Practicing Stress-Reducing Strategies Every Day”

80% of diseases are stress related!  How does stress contribute to disease?  Life stress causes the body to release catecholamines and cortisol which are chemical and hormones that contribute directly to cardiac risk by:

• Increasing blood pressure

• Increasing blood thickness (making it more prone to clot)

• Increasing inflammation

• Increasing production and release of triglycerides from the liver

• Increasing LDL (bad cholesterol)

You can’t avoid stress, because life happens.  But you can protect your body and your mind from being damaged by stress.  So here are 4 strategies to protect your body against the effects of stress:

  • Exercise: Exercise reduces stress hormone release, and the effect last for hours after exercise is finished.  Exercise also makes you feel good, by causing the release of endorphins (feel good chemicals) in the brain.
  • Choose Optimism:  Studies have shown that people who reported high levels of optimism had a 55% lower risk of death from all causes, and a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular death. 
  • Get connected: Intentional connection (group support), interpersonal connection (marriage, friendship, pets), and community connection (participation in church groups and social groups) have all been shown to decrease life stress.  On the other hand, social isolation is a significant risk factor for coronary artery disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality.  Therefore, maintaining relationships with family and friends is important to your health.
  • Meditate: Meditation has been shown to reduce stress hormone levels, and to decrease the “fight or flight” response that the body assumes when you’re stressed out.  But this shouldn’t surprise us.  The Bible constantly encourages us to meditate.  And meditate simply means to focus your thoughts on something, or to reflect on something.  It means to “think on these things.”  Meditation works best when it is a daily practice.  The Bible encourages us to meditate:

“…on God’s wonderful works” Ps 145:5

“on God’s promises” Ps 119: 148

“on God’s unfailing love” Ps 48:9

“on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

      Don’t forget to continue your:

January habit of drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day (1/2 your weight in ounces of water per day)

February habit of eating 7 to 9 servings of fruit and vegetables per day

March habit of replacing refined white foods with whole grains

April habit of exercising for at least 30 minutes 5 times per week

May habit of detoxifying your system daily

June habit of sleeping for 7 to 8 hours each night

July habit of Eating early, eating often and stopping before it’s too late!

August habit of Increasing Omega 3 Fatty Acids in your diet

September habit of sharing a home-cooked meal with your family at least 5 times per week

October habit of reducing your media diet

Change 1 Thing! May Challenge

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“Change One Thing” is a 12 step process over one year to help you achieve your health goals.  You simply commit to make one change in your lifestyle every month, so that by the end of the year, you will have completely transformed to a healthy lifestyle. Are you willing to take the challenge?

Your May Challenge (should you choose to accept it): 

“I Will Start to Detoxify My System Daily” 

Healthy eating concept. Word ‘detox’ from green tea with colorful smoothies and fruits. Top view

We are surrounded by a toxic environment.  Toxins abound in our foods, water, and air in the form of pesticides, heavy metals, air pollutants, harsh cleaning products, etc.  We can’t avoid many of these toxins, and therefore, we need to be proactive in protecting our bodies against the harmful effects of these agents.  Therefore, the following is a plan for you to detoxify your system daily. 

Stop toxin intake! The first thing we must do to detoxify is to stop taking toxins into our systems.  The biggest offenders are cigarette smoke, alcohol and drugs.  But there are other chemicals that we use regularly that are also toxic to our systems.  Sugar, for example, causes inflammation in our bodies.  Excessive caffeine stresses our bodies through elevated blood pressure and heart rate.  Artificial flavors and colors in many snack foods are also inflammatory, and linked to increased frequency of mental health problems, such as anxiety and reduced memory.  So the first step to detoxification is to stop taking in toxins! 

Eat detoxifying foods: Dr. Alan Logan, author of The Brain Diet has rightly said “Your ability to detoxify is only as good as the quality of your diet.”  You need to fill your diet with foods that support the liver and gastrointestinal tracts, which are our body’s main detoxification organs.  For example: 

  • Fiber binds toxic chemicals and removes them from the body through the GI tract.  It also promotes growth of “good bacteria” in the gut.  Therefore, eat fiber rich foods, such as brown rice, barley, beans, fruits and vegetables. 
  • The cruciferous vegetables, which include cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts and cauliflower, support the liver’s detoxification process.  
  • Organic foods are foods grown or raised without use of hormones, pesticides and other harmful chemicals.  I realize these foods are more expensive, but they are worth it in the long-run.  The best foods to eat organically include beef, and fruits and vegetables with thin or edible skins, such as apples, pears, and berries. 

Obtain a healthy weight: Guess where toxins get stored in the body? In fat cells.  In fact, one important reason to avoid eating animal fat is because many toxins that the animal has ingested are stored in the fat.  By losing excess weight, you give your body less opportunity to hang onto toxic chemicals. 

So focus this month on incorporating these strategies to reduce the toxic load in your body. Are you up to the challenge? 

      Don’t forget to continue your: 

January habit of drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day (1/2 your weight in ounces of water per day) 

February habit of eating 7 to 9 servings of fruit and vegetables per day 

March habit of replacing refined white foods with whole grains 

April habit of exercising for at least 30 minutes 3 times per week 

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