If you don’t have the time to sift through all the wonderful trending health news and make matching changes (we call them edits around here) to your lifestyle despite being a health enthusiast, don’t fret. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. Here are the top 4 write-ups (according to me) of the at least thousand pieces that I have read in the wellness world this mid-month. One of them is just a facebook update of one of my favorite health gurus, and the other a gist of a television show, but the information is just as exciting and the advice, just as sage.
Walk a Labyrinth
Labyrinths are circular walking paths designed to put you in a contemplative mode and unlike mazes, they are not intended to confuse and you will never get lost inside one. An ancient practice, walking one helps people meditate and just be. Walking a real labyrinth in the backyard (or front-yard) of a church is a wonderful experience, but I often ‘walk’ on online versions. Whenever I need to find a creative solution to a problem or just need to heal, I walk into one and always come out feeling a bit more courageous, committed and compassionate. While she is not a health guru, Martha Beck’s posts on her blog are a constant source of inspiration. Turns out that she’s building a labyrinth in her yard. Here is what she has to say about walking one, “You’re walking the labyrinth of life. Yes, you’re meant to move forward, but almost never in a straight line. Yes, there’s an element of achievement, of beginning and ending, but those are minor compared to the element of being here now.” So true and so wonderful!
Diet and Acne
I have said it once, I’ll say it again, there’s nothing hocus-pocus about the acne-diet connection. Dr. Frank Lipman, through his monthly column for Refinery 29 confirms and validates what I have always believed; the gluten and dairy that you eat today can show up as a chin zit tomorrow, especially if you are prone to breakouts. Inflammation and hormone-imbalance causing foods such as artificial sweeteners, cows milk dairy, bakery goods and vegetable oils can lead to breakouts in the short term and manifest into many other health issues in the long run.
Drink (more) Water
Huh, that’s hardly groundbreaking information, you’ll say, but we all need a reminder blackjack online every now and then. If you are mildly aware of your surroundings, you may have noticed spring is about to spring and along with the chirping of the birds, you also hear the orchestra of sneezes and sniffles around you. I love Dr. Mercola’s facebook update and simple advice of drinking more water during this season. He says, “When you feel yourself coming down with a cold, make sure to drink plenty of pure water. Water is essential for the optimal function of every system in your body and will help with nose stuffiness and loosening secretions. You should drink enough water so that your urine is a light, pale yellow. (Unless you’re taking B vitamins which turn your urine bright yellow).”
The Power of the Female Brain
Dr. Daniel Amen, a psychiatrist and the director of Amen clinics was on the Dr. OZ show recently to discuss the results of a large independent study that compared the brain scans of more than 40,000 men and women. It turns out that women have significantly more activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain and we rule when it comes to empathy, intuition, collaboration, self-control and appropriate worry. According to him, “We found that females have stronger activity in an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex, which is involved with planning, judgment, empathy and self-control. I think of the prefrontal cortex as the brain’s brake. It helps keep you on track and stops you from saying or doing stupid things.” Although we did not have access to 40,000 high-tech brain scans, we lovely women ‘intuitively’ already knew this, didn’t we?
After reading this post, if you still want to partake in that ‘happy meal’ along with a dubiously sweetened diet soda, you are on your own. I’m off to walk on an (online) labyrinth, after drinking a large glass of Brita’d water to protect my fabulous female brain. The weight of carrying the world on my shoulders, that comes with the territory of empathy, has to be balanced with some self-care, after all.
Sources:
Martha Beck;The Labyrinth of Life..Insight from Martha Beck
Refinery 29; Breaking Out Again?
Facebook; Dr. Joseph Mercola
The Dr. Oz Show; Unleashing the Power of the Human Brain
Image Credit: freedigitalimages.net
