It's That Time of Year Again...Resolutions!

Well, we made it into the new year alive and well. All the hype surrounding December 21st being the last day of civilization didn't really end up panning out too well for those that truly believed it was going to happen, which means one thing must now occur...Dun, dun, dun...the dreaded Resolutions list. You know that joyous list that we make every year, like clockwork, stating all the ways we are going to make our life better, or drop those last 10 pounds we've been holding onto for the last ten years, or blah, blah, blah, whatever. Now, I pride myself on being the ever-so-happy optimist, but even I know the reality of what happens when you make a resolutions list.

Nothing.

That's right.

Absolutely nothing happens.

Don't get me wrong...we all start out with the best of intentions, but then life starts to get in the way, priorities happen, those 10 pounds never do come off, in fact, we probably end up gaining a few more, and our life getting better, well, there's always next year. However, I have come up with my own way of getting around the list of resolutions. Besides the fact that I never make one to begin with, I do make a concentrated effort to reflect on the year that just passed to see what went right, what went wrong, and how I can go about not making the same mistakes again. It doesn't work out for me every year though. Sometimes I do end up making the same mistakes year after year. For instance, losing those last 10 pounds...I’m still trying to and will probably be trying the rest of my life, but I'm learning not too stress out about it too much.

No, instead of a resolutions list, I set myself up with a "ways to feel better" list. This list includes all the things that I need to work on appreciating more because I end up taking them for granted day to day. You know...the little things, like kissing my man more often, spending less time on the computer, continuing to be a good person (because I am a good person, and don't need a resolution to help me with that), holding the door open a couple more times, maybe smile a bit more, stress less, say please and thank you. At the end of the day, I make a list that will help me be a better person, overall. Because I do have to live with myself 24/7 for the rest of my life, I want to make sure that I am happy, healthy and grateful while getting there.

My son, who is 16 months old now (almost 17 months), has taught me some of the best lessons in life already. He has taught me that to wake up every morning happy makes the rest of the day go smoothly, that crying when he is hurt or frustrated is exactly what the soul needed at that very moment in order to "right" itself again, and that a simple hug and kiss makes all the fear or pain in the world better. He is teaching me to appreciate those little things in life and I am forever grateful that I am able to see the world in a whole new way again because of him.

Listening to the sounds of the leaves rustling on a windy day or watching the beauty of the first snowfall draping the landscape in pure white, these beautiful moments offered to us by the earth are the rare moments when we need to stop and take it all in. They are gifts to us to keep us moving at a healthy pace. If you are missing these moments, you must ask yourself....what else are you missing?

Resolutions or not, I wish all my readers a very happy and healthy new year!

Cheers to your Health,

Katerina

GEM Magazine LI, Health and Wellness

Positive Thinking: Is it Really Something to Think About?

Have you ever wondered how our thoughts impact our physical, emotional and mental health? Do you think there is any truth when someone says to you "take a walk on the bright side of life?". The Mayo Clinic has been conducting numerous studies that are concluding that our thoughts have a very deep meaning to how our body reacts. Here is an example I think many of us can relate to; your standing in line at the grocery store and the clerk is brand spanking new and struggling with some of the procedures. She is trying to move as quickly as she can, but is making mistakes and begins fumbling. The person in front of you is obviously in a foul mood and is reflecting her bad energy onto the clerk and everyone around her. With her frustration mounting she eventually blurts out a very rude and unnecessary comment as the clerk completes the transaction and then leaves the store, but not without having ruined the day of 3 other people. Sound familiar? I have seen this all too often and, suffice it say, have also been one of those rude and disgruntled customers going around ruining other peoples days. So what does positive thinking really do for us and how can we go about making the small changes on a daily basis to encourage positive thoughts. I reflect on these questions below. First up: health benefits of positive thinking

1. Weight Loss - Obesity has been linked to depression and depression is a form of negative thinking. We, as humans, are built to move. Our jobs, unfortunately, restrict much of our movement on a daily basis as we are chained to a desk, stuck in a chair for 8-12 hours a day (depending on your job). When people include some form of physical activity in their everyday regime, be it walking, running, swimming etc., they are less likely to suffer from depression as physical activity promotes the release of all those "happy hormones" called Endorphins. People who move around on a daily basis are also less likely to gain weight as they are using the food eaten throughout the day as a source of energy or "fuel" to keep us moving.

2. Happy Thoughts - Back to those endorphins I mentioned earlier - Positive thinking helps to keep those feel good chemicals secreted from your brain flowing, which in turn makes us feel pretty darn good. However, start thinking negative thoughts, and the brain will actually start to secrete hormones which will keep us in that negative state of mind. Those hormones are serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.

3. Physical Effects - Thinking positive reduces our bodies overall feeling of pain and lethargy as well as gives us an extra boost of energy to help us get through the day!

4. Future Effects - By thinking positive, we are able to easily influence others who will enjoy being around us simply because we are happy and positive. For example, the last time you went in for a job interview, can you recall what your mood was like? If you walked into the interview feeling strong and confident and made sure to answer the questions with a positive outlook and a friendly smile, did you get a call back or better yet...land the job? It is a well known fact, that interviewers will look for a candidate with a positive outlook on life to help keep the morale of the team up. A grumpy candidate just doesn't land the job. Something to think about when going out for your next interview...put on your best smile!

5. Karma - We've all heard the saying "Karma is a bitch" and you know what? that bitch is right. You are what you reflect. By reflecting a positive vibe or feeling onto others, your more likely to influence another person or attract another person with the same feelings. In a grumpy mood, it's almost a guarantee that the majority of people you run into that day or week will also be grumpy. On a side note, it takes more muscles to frown then it does to smile, so why are we prematurely aging ourselves?

6. Financial Effects - Your wallet will thank me for this one day - Comfort spending is at an all time high when you are in a negative kinda mood. I too have been a victim of comfort spending. You walk into the mall, telling yourself that your not going to buy anything, but then it spirals out of control suddenly and you end up leaving the mall with 2, 3 even 4 bags in hand! What happened??? Your mind sucked you into it that's what happened! Your emotional state of balance needed some comforting so your mind did the only thing it knew how to do in that particular moment. Searched for comfort. Now, your wallet hates you. Now you hate yourself and now you have to make another trip back to the mall to return all the items you never should have purchased to begin with. It's amazing how what was purchased only felt good for a short period of time thereafter. Comfort spending happens because we aren't dealing with the issues that are causing us to spend money in the first place. Deal with your issues and your wallet will thank you.

Now we come to the second part having looked at some of the benefits to positive thinking, we take a look at some ways to help us change our habits to increase our positive thoughts throughout the day.

1. Talk to the mirror - saying positive things to yourself about how you look, feel and what you desire first thing in the morning and during the day will help you to believe it. The more you believe it, the more you will reflect that image onto others.

2. Find humour in Everyday life - laughing brings out those happy hormones which helps to reduce stress and encourage positive thoughts!

3. Make a "Dream Board" - find a wall in your house that you walk past everyday and place your dream board there - make it pretty too. Fill your dream board with everything that makes you smile, makes you think, makes you persevere.

4. Positive People - surround yourself with positive, action minded people to keep the positivity flowing. As your positive energy builds, you will naturally start to attract like minded people.

5. Positive Media - find songs or books that inspire you and encourage you. Find media that will help you relax, make you laugh and keep you learning, all in a positive way. The more we train our brain with positive information, the less likely the negative information will try to take over.

Can I say that I do this on an everyday basis, truthfully, no, but I am only human and I do try to go about my day with a genuine smile on my face when greeting new people or dealing with lifes' dilemas. Nothing in life is perfect, and I have learned that if you try to fight every tug and pull of the rope, then you will always go through life in turmoil. If you can learn to just "roll with the punches" suddenly, life seems a little bit easier and alot less stressful.

I would like to pose a challenge to those who are reading this post - I would like you to start each day with a smile and greet everyone you meet the same way you would like to be greeted each and every day and then write down or try to keep tab of the reactions you received. Comment below on how your day(s) went as you took this challenge on. What was the general consensus you came to after having completed the challenge.

Can't wait to read your replies!

Until next week, keep a happy spirit and enjoy a happy life!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Katerina
Health and Wellness Blogger, GEM Magazine LI

Foods That Help You Combat Colds

Sniff, sniff...Achoo!

It's that time of year again. Cold and Flu Season is back and are you prepared? I find this time of the year the most difficult. Never sure what to wear on a daily basis as the weather patterns are continuously fluctuating. One day hot, the next day cold and wet. Arggghhhh!!! What a pain. I have found that the best way to combat the cold and flu season is to stay prepared for it throughout the year. Sounds funny doesn't it though??; preparing the whole year for a season? But, when it comes down to it, the winter season is 6 months long approximately, give or take a month, which is roughly half a year. That's a long time to be consistently sick, so its worth the effort to try to maintain a solid base of good health leading up to the cold and flu season.

To help me combat the Cold and Flu Season, I consistenly throw in the following top 10 foods to support my immune system and to help keep me in tip top shape:

1. Cremini, portobello or white button mushrooms and barley ~ mixed in with soups, vegetable stir-fry, or eaten entirely on their own, these guys pack a powerful amount of beta-glucan. It is widely known that beta-glucan is one of the most powerful immune stimulants known to man. A dose of 200mg is all you would need to help support the immune system.

2. Garlic ~ I love Garlic and cook with it almost every chance I get. I'm talking heaping spoonfulls of this amazing stuff. Garlic is a well know bacteria killer. It contains high amounts of phystochemicals which help to give your immune system an anti-bacterial boost! I love to use garlic when slow cooking meats and veggies.

3. Green Tea with Honey ~ Yes, yes I know, tea is not a food group, but you cannot go through a cold and flu season without having green tea with honey! The green tea leaves themselves contain a substance called L-theaninie, which helps to strengthen the immune system and specifically fight the flu. The Honey offers incredible antibacterial, antioxidant and antiviral polyphenols which can help in treating sore throats all the way to bacterial infections.

4. Warm Broth ~ Mmmmm, picture yourself sitting in front of a roaring fireplace, with your feet up, nuzzled under a thick blanket while sipping on warm broth. Sounds amazing doesn't it? Warm broth, when taken from steeped vegetables, offers the body a boatload of phyto-chemicals which in turn helps your body absorb all the anti-bacteiral properties the broth offers; Thus, assisting your immune system to a) ward off a cold and b) help fight the cold/flu faster so you get better quicker!

5. Tomatoes paired with Olive Oil ~ This combination is not only delicious but extremely powerful. The tomatoes contain a powerful antioxidant called Lycopene that can help protect against degenerative diseases. It does this by neutralizing free radicals in the body which in turn helps to protect you from disease. The Olive oil helps to bolster the immune system, which in turn helps to protect against viruses. What a great mid-night snack no?

6. Apple Cider Vinegar ~ Paired with some EVOO, Apple Cider Vinegar is delicious as a salad dressing! But it does more than just offer up some amazing flavor. When your battling a cold or flu and congestion has set in, Apple Cider Vineger has the amazing ability to help cut through and banish the accumulated mucus congestion. A serving a day on your salad can help to keep your sinus passages and respiratory tract mucuous free!

7. Oregano ~ If you are not yet familiar with Oregano...then you need to be! Oregano has the highest anti-oxidant compound out of all the herbs!. It contains thymol and carvacrol, two oils which have remarkable bacteria-fighting power...research has shown that “…On a per gram fresh weight basis, oregano has demonstrated 42 times more antioxidant activity than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges and 4 times more than blueberries.” Order Up!

8. Red Bell Peppers ~ This beautiful vegetable packs a remarkably high source of phyto-chemicals, beta-carotenes and Vitamin C. Twice the amount of Vitamin C than most of the vegetables eaten. What does this mean to you? Well, in a nut shell - vitamin C helps in the immune system function to fight against bacteria, viruses, and infection. It also serves as an effective antihistamine which can help to lessen the unpleasant effects of the common cold, including inflammation, stuffy nose and unpleasant aches and pains.
Tossed into salads, stir frys or eaten raw straight off the shelf (figuratively speaking, of course), red bell peppers could turn out to be your best "food" friend.

9. Pumpkin ~ Not only for Halloween! Pumpkins are packed with beta-carotene; a nutrient that helps the body make Vitamin A. Vitamin A helps to regulate cell to cell communication which is the basic foundation of our immune system. Bottom line, if our cells are communicating well together then they are better able to detect when a virus or bacteria has entered into our system which thus enables the immune system better access to ward off the cold and flu. A simple serving of pumpkin 2-3 times a week will suffice.

10. Broccoli ~ The mini tree vegetable! Broccoli contains extremely potent antioxidant compounds which help to combat disease; cold, flu and otherwise. High in glucosinolates - which helps to stimulate the bodies immune system - these little trees do more than just look great on a plate, they help to keep the roots of your immune system strong and stable.

Well, there you have it. My top 10 favorite foods that I eat on a regular basis to help me survive the cold and flu season. I hope that you find this information serves you and your body well. If you haven't already included some of these power house foods into your daily/weekly regime, try to add in a couple a month until it becomes a habit. It takes 30 days to break old habits and replace them with new ones. The first step though in anything we do is to just take that first step. The rest will follow!

Let's get moving :)

Cheers to your health!

Katerina