WELLNESS PATH for Heart Health & Disease Prevention
LEVEL: Beginner
GOALS: Increased Energy, Better Mood, Choosing Better Nutrition, Stress Relief
Here's a great example of a weekly or monthly path to better wellness for people who want to learn about keeping your heart healthy and natural ways to prevent disease. Commit to focusing on a "Well-ement" from each category, everyday for the next week, month or forever!
HERE'S THE PATH
BE WELL
Integrate Pomegranate or Pomegranate Extract into Your Diet.
WHY? Pomegranate has been found to prevent coronary artery disease progression!=
Remarkably, researcher has found that pomegranate extract treatment resulted in the following 7 beneficial effects:
Reduced levels of oxidative stress
Reduced monocytie chemotactic protein-1, a chemical messenger (chemokine) associated with inflammatory processes within the arteries.
Reduced lipid accumulation in the heart muscle
Reduced macrophage infiltration in the heart muscle
Reduced levels of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and fibrosis in the myocardium
Reduced cardiac enlargement
Reduced ECG abnormalities
READ THE FULL STUDY HERE: How to Clean Your Arteries with One Simple Fruit
MOVE
Exercise for at least 30 minutes per day.
....if possible, at the same time everyday. For example, schedule your MOVE TIME at 7:30am - put it on your calendar, or in your reminders. Starting your day with movement can elevate your mood ALL DAY! Here are great guided workouts to follow:
NOURISH
Commit to Drinking More Water
We all have the best intentions of drinking water. But no matter what we do, we can’t seem to get enough water in. The funny thing is, we also all know the benefits of staying hydrated with water.
Staying hydrated leads to more natural energy (no need for 4 cups of coffee a day!), decreased hunger, weight maintenance, better looking skin and hair, naturally detoxing, and even sharper thinking.
How to Drink More Water Easily When It Seems Like a Major Chore:
1. Set a Goal
The key to setting this goal for yourself is to keep the actual water visible.
Start with a big container.
Set a goal that you will drink 1,2,3 etc. of those containers
2. Add Flavor
Adding berries, herbs (such as mint, rosemary, or basil), cucumber, citrus, or melon can be a great way to shake up boring water and make you feel super fancy.
3. Keep it Cold
A really cold, icy glass of water is usually more appealing than a lukewarm glass. Adding ice to your water will create a tempting thirst quenching beverage that screams “drink me now”!
4. Use a Straw
By simply switching to drinking via straw, it is easier to finish your glass before you realize it’s gone. And if you are worried about wrinkles, know that staying hydrated keeps your skin naturally plump and smooth.
5. Carry it With You
Keep your water nearby at all times. Having your water bottle around will eliminate any excuse not to drink. You will likely be surprised how often you are thirsty and go for your water bottle compared to how little you were drinking before it became part of your daily ensemble.
6. Use an App
Need to drink more water? There’s an app for that. Even if you are compelled by some friendly competition, there are apps where you can challenge your friends and colleagues to “water races”.
7. Create Reminders
Most of us function via virtual calendar these days. By creating reminders to ding as reminder to drink water throughout the day we can save ourselves any brainpower of thinking about water, just sit back and wait for the reminder.
The more of a chore it is to stop and drink water, the less likely you will follow through. So prepare a bit ahead of time, keep your glass full and chug when your phone reminds you to.
RELAX
Relieve Stress with Meditation
Take at least 10 minutes every day to meditate. These practices will help you to step beyond the habitual thought loops that are keeping you down. In doing so, they’ll provide you with a deeper sense of peace, calm, and contentment despite what’s going on in the world around you. Here is a great guided audio meditation that focuses on Relieving Stress. Read about the benefits of mindful meditation here.
RESTORE
Stretch Every Day.
One of the most common complaints we hear about is sciatic nerve pain, lower back pain and the feeling of "throwing your back out." The best way to alleviate most sciatica pain is to do any stretch that can externally rotate the hip.
Here are six exercises that do just that: (Click here to read the full article with descriptions of each stretch)
Reclining Pigeon Pose
Sitting Pigeon Pose
Forward Pigeon Pose
Knee to Opposite Shoulder
Sitting Spinal Stretch
Standing Hamstring Stretch
ASCEND
Intentionally Cultivate and Practice Joy
Each day, intentionally bring awareness to something you do regularly and that you know you enjoy. It could be anything: a morning cup of tea or coffee, a walk, a favorite snack, an interaction with someone you appreciate or love, a person or a pet, or a spacious moment in your day while you travel. Commit to being wholeheartedly present, aware of your bodily sensations, feelings, and thoughts. Bring an innocent perception and sensitivity to the experience, to whatever is present in terms of sights, sounds, taste, and touch. Really sense how attention imbued with innocent perception affects the world of the moment. Allow your heart truly flutter in the midst of the experience, gladdened by the simplicity of the moment.
Want to Try This Path?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Douglas Harrington has over 25 years of experience in the research, development, commercialization, and expansion of innovative healthcare technology and services. Dr. Harrington was a member of Dr. Jack Copeland’s, first heart transplant team in Arizona in 1979, and co-founded one of the first clinical molecular biology laboratories in the U.S. with the Nebraska Lymphoma Study Group headed by Dr. Jim Armitage. As former President and Lab Director of Nichols Institute, Dr. Harrington expanded their molecular genetics, infectious disease, immunology, cytogenetic, and anatomic pathology offerings.
Dr. Harrington has developed patents for an automated method for image analysis of residual cancer protein, a patent covering catalytic heavy metal extraction, and a patent pending on biomarker assay for diagnosis and classification of cardiac disease. He has been involved as director or founder of multiple startup companies - from devices to molecular genetics focusing on immunology, cancer and cardiology, where he has taken a number of new molecular technologies through state and federal regulatory approval.
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