9 Ways to Beat Chronic Stress and Anxiety Naturally

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

As the very fabric of our society has changed, we have all become more stressed. In fact, the data all shows that we are all stressed like never before.

We have more options (some would say too many options), many responsibilities, a digital life to manage, a real life to manage, a job (or two), children, television shows – you can see what I mean.

But stress is also one of the most destructive things for our body – especially chronic stress, which is small, but constant. And guess which category all of the aforementioned stressors fall into? That’s right – chronic stress.

When we are constantly stressed, our entire body misbehaves in a multitude of ways. Hormones are thrown off balance, neurological processes go haywire, and we are left frazzled, anxious and uncomfortable. And all of that leads to poor food choices.

But Wait – Why Is Stress Bad?

Stress is a killer – the research clearly states it. But just how pervasive stress has become is not well understood by the majority of the population. What is also not fully understood is the devastating effect this constant stream of stress has on our body, as well as our minds.

And perhaps worst of all, even if we think we are stressed; our body reacts like we are stressed. It’s truly a vicious cycle. Avoiding stress, or at least trying to limit it, is vital for a variety of reasons. For starters, your eating habits will likely improve, as stress is one of the biggest reasons for poor food choices.

Tied in with this is better sleep. Since a lack of sleep has been scientifically tied to poor dietary choices the following day, you can see just how interdependent all these elements truly are.

The Little Things Add Up

Chronic stress has even been linked to cancer and diabetes – not good. The science here mostly points to a chronic systemic state of low-level inflammation – due to excess stress leading to poor choices. The fight or flight response is just a small part of what is happening inside our body when stress hits us.

Interestingly, small things, like how we start each and every day, can have a big impact on our stress levels.

For example, if you hit the snooze button on your alarm a few times before you actually get up, you are likely already late – causing some stress and a feeling of anxiety in your stomach. You may also skip breakfast as a result – furthering your stress spiral. Chronic stress has even been linked to cancer and diabetes.

See how easily little things can start to add up? You then overeat at lunch (or grab a mid-morning donut) and the day just gets worse from there. You are exhausted and cranky (from low blood sugar) after work, so you skip the gym and grab a drink instead. And repeat. What can you do differently?

1. Wake Up On Time

Contrast this with what happens when we wake up on time, or even 10 minutes early. We are relaxed, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, have no anxious feeling in our stomach, and make better choices throughout the day. Since we’re not run down, we go to the gym after work, and burn off some stress exercising.

This seemingly insignificant change has vastly altered our stress levels, and has caused large amounts of change in our daily life. Now don’t get me wrong, waking up late or turning off the alarm can happen to anyone. But it is when these behaviors become regular habits that we start to slide into trouble.

2. Realize That Everyone Is Too Stressed

I know it may be hard to empathize with your boss who is crushing you at work, but bear with me here. We are all slammed with stress nowadays. As we age, it becomes even more difficult to maintain a healthy stress level.

Your metabolism slows, stress and responsibility goes up. It becomes very difficult to stay healthy. The best time to act is today — no matter how old you may be.

While many have been fooled into thinking that increased stress is “just part of life,” the real truth is that we have failed to correct a lot of little bad habits, and they start to catch up with us when our body and mind are no longer (metaphorically) invincible.

Remember: When it comes to chronic stress, the little things add up.

The real cause of stress as a negative risk factor comes from little, daily, seemingly inconsequential problems. Our body is supposed to handle acute stressors, like exercise, near-crashes in cars, etc.

It is not meant to constantly be worried about social media updates or selfie angles. And therein lies the rub – modern life is too chronically stressful. This is just a fact. But what else can we do?

3. Make A Daily Schedule

Using the example, I’ve already outlined, sketch out a daily routine that allows more time for relaxation. Just having a plan and schedule will allow you to feel less stressed.

Even if work is full of stress, you can dominate the rest of your day – leaving yourself feeling relaxed and better able to focus on the work part of your day. You may be surprised just how much a daily schedule can help things!

4. Eliminate The Fluff

Just as important as making a schedule is eliminating things that aren’t truly important. This step is often the hardest of all, and I’ll admit – I struggle with it too.

For me, it’s reading. I simply want to read every article, book and fact ever written. While this can work to my advantage, it can also be hugely destructive, especially when I’m awake at 3 a.m. reading through the entire New York Times.

I have set times that allow me to do things that I enjoy, without going overboard. There are simply stressors we have less control over (jobs, families, etc.)

Taking charge of the little things we do have control over can help us to build confidence, as well as making us more adaptable to the big stresses we inevitably must face.

5. Meditate

I know some may consider meditation a “soft” science, but chances are that it will make you less stressed and healthier! And it actually does have some science behind it, believe it or not! Fit in 5-20 minutes of daily meditation, and reap the rewards of structural brain changes, as a result.

6. Fix Toxic Relationships

How about those pesky relationships, which are a constant ‘will they or won’t they?’ I’m talking about friends we all have, who are flaky, irritating, but also possibly lovable. Research has shown that these kinds of relationships are actually more stressful than ones we have with our actual enemies!

Set hard rules in the sand with late people, or ones who cancel, and stick to them. It is also possible that they just need to be listened to – because they too are stressed!

7. Protect Your Time

Limit your obligations to things you truly need to do – nothing more. This is a lesson that many of us (unfortunately) learn the hard way. I have learned to protect my weekend time like death. You have to!

With cell phones, texting and email, sometimes the only way to secure some alone time is to not agree to any plans – or sometimes not even answer any messages. Your (less stressed) body and brain will thank you for it.

8. Schedule “You” Time

Take at least 1 day per week, and make it your day. If you are married with children, at least take a few hours (though you likely need this more than anyone!). If we do not do little things like this on a consistent basis, the stress bubble will eventually burst, and the results won’t be pretty.

An overlooked part here as well is to make sure you have a large amount of quiet time. Noise causes stress – yes, even people talking. That is why it is so important to protect your alone time – all this constant stress and sound will eventually break you down. But when you spend some quiet time alone, we are adding a deposit back in to our health, instead of continuing the constant withdrawals.

9. Get Away from Screens

I will freely admit that my generation is quite terrible at time management, and also at limiting stress. We live in front of screens, we work in front of screens, and we relax in front of screens.

Scarily enough, we also fall asleep to screens – truly terrifying for our health. I recommend deleting (or at least deactivating) as many social media accounts as you can.

Think of how many people you really need to be in touch with. It’s not as many as you think. You will be surprised at what a gigantic time saver this can be. And when we have more free time – we are less stressed.

Want to beat chronic stress and anxiety naturally? Watch this video – Daily Habits to Reduce Stress and Anxiety

The Bottom Line

I guess if one needed to sum up this article, they could say that stress is the cause of basically all our modern ills, and avoiding it is probably the best thing you can do.

You will be leaner, eating cleaner, making better choices, sleeping more, and feel happier, as a result.

Get off the computer, get off your phone, and go take a nap! Or go outside and walk your dog (remember, exercise is the only endogenous stress reliever). Drop those flaky friends, and learn to delete emails without replying. Your brain (and body) will thank you for it!

Written by Casey Thaler

Author Bio:

Casey Thaler, B.A., NASM-CPT, FNS is an NASM® certified personal trainer and NASM® certified fitness nutrition specialist. He writes for Paleo Magazine®, The Paleo Diet® and Greatist®. He is also an advisor for Kettle and Fire and runs his own nutrition and fitness consulting company, Eat Clean, Train Clean®.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

6 Best Ways to Build Muscle as You Lose Weight

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Want to build muscle as you lose weight? Try these six tips to help your body get lean and strong.

After fat loss, one of the most common fitness goals is muscle building.

The best ways to build muscle are time-tested and fairly straightforward. Remember, patience and consistency will make all the difference here, so come up with a plan to implement these tips, and stick with it!

1. Eat Protein

Nothing else on this list that will make much of a difference if you do not follow this step. You can lift weights all day, but you will never see proper results if you are not consuming enough protein.

So, how much protein do you actually need? Start by shooting for one gram per pound of body weight, per day. The type of protein is really important here, and complete proteins are far better for you than incomplete ones, like beans. Instead, dig into some Paleo-friendly proteins like grass-fed beef, pastured chicken, farm fresh eggs, sardines, nuts and chia seeds to help you build muscle.

2. Do High-Intensity Interval Training

No need for long, grueling workouts. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) allows you to build muscle in a very short time. In fact, if you are not doing this, you may be losing muscle mass – even if you’re strength training. That is because long bouts of cardio at low intensity can decrease your muscles’ ability to absorb glucose (by immobilizing the glucose transporter).

How do you perform HIIT workouts? It’s pretty simple, just go for all-out bursts of exercise, followed by short periods of complete rest. Think sprints, push-ups, pull-ups or squats, then a rest period of 1 minute. Try this 10 Minute HIIT Workout to get started.

Remember, muscle grows while you rest, so do not perform HIIT workouts more than three or four times per week.

3. Lower Your Stress Levels

One of the biggest issues with both fat loss and muscle growth is the impetus of a chronically high stress level. Of course, we could all use less stress – but it can be difficult to actually make this happen.

The bottom line is that stress hampers your body’s ability to build muscle. What works best for muscle growth is short, acute periods of healthy stress, like lifting weights, followed by long periods of rest.

4. Intermittent Fasting

If you’re already highly stressed, work on step three before trying this step. But for those that are well-rested, live low-stress lifestyles and have a healthy metabolism, intermittent fasting might be a good option.

Intermittent fasting involves consuming all of your calories within a certain window of time. For example, from seven in the morning to seven at night, you might not eat anything. Or you can eat breakfast and lunch, but not dinner. This would effectively have you fasting for 16-18 hours per day.

The goal here is to reach cellular autophagy, a process where your cells clear out aggregated proteins and potential pathogens. Think of this simply as your cells “taking out the trash”.

5. Lift Large

Another way to maximize muscle growth is to simply lift something heavy! I don’t mean that you want to lift to the point of utilizing poor form – but to the point where you are challenged and stressed by the weight.

A good rule of thumb (though you should always use a spotter for this approach) is to make sure your last repetition of your last set is challenging. This is not a step for complete beginners, but can be properly utilized by those who have some background in strength training.

Shorter, heavier sets, like five repetitions instead of eight, will help “shock” your muscles into continuing to grow stronger. Another way to implement this is to simply have one day per week of heavy lifting, followed by a few, less intense days.

Remember – don’t overdo it, and get plenty of rest afterwards to help you achieve your goal.

Watch this video – 17 Min Strength Training Workout for Beginners – Beginner Workout Routine at Home for Women & Men

6. Sleep More

We know that it can be difficult for those who live high-stress lifestyles to “unwind” at the end of the night. But sleep is essential for muscle growth, as growth hormone is secreted as we sleep.

While getting your eight hours of uninterrupted sleep is ideal, it’s just as important to focus on the quality of your sleep.  Make sure your room is quiet and dark, and definitely don’t fall asleep with the television on – toxic blue light disrupts melatonin production, setting you up for a hormonal imbalance.

Watch this video – How to Lose Fat AND Gain Muscle at the Same Time (3 Simple Steps)

The Bottom Line

Though it will take time, patience and discipline to see these changes, you will see real results if you eat a protein-rich Paleo diet, get lots of high quality sleep, and lift heavy weights. Before you know it, you’ll be leaner, more muscular and healthier – and your brain and body will thank you for it.

Written by Casey Thaler

Author Bio:

Casey Thaler, B.A., NASM-CPT, FNS is an NASM® certified personal trainer and NASM® certified fitness nutrition specialist. He writes for Paleo Magazine®, The Paleo Diet® and Greatist®. He is also an advisor for Kettle and Fire and runs his own nutrition and fitness consulting company, Eat Clean, Train Clean®.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

How to Build Strong Bones and Reverse Osteoporosis Naturally

 

Click HERE to Find Out How to Treat the Root Causes of Osteoporosis and Get Your Flexibility Back

Build Strong Bones and Reverse Osteoporosis Naturally – This Healthy Diet Causes Osteoporosis

Numerous studies have found this diet to be extremely beneficial for various health issues, including cardiovascular health, diabetes, and more.

But a new study published in the journal BMC Medicine reveals that it’s disastrous when it comes to osteoporosis.

The researchers used data already collected by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Tens of thousands of British participants were enrolled in the study between 1993 and 2001, with a follow-up in 2010.

EPIC collected its participants’ dietary and health information at the beginning and again at the end of the study period. The authors of the new study divided participants into four dietary groups: meat-eaters, pescatarians (eggs, dairy, and fish, but no other meat), vegetarians (eggs, dairy, and no meat), and vegans (no animal products at all).

They also collected information regarding the total number of bone fractures and bone-specific fractures over the approximately 17-year follow-up period. They found 3,941 total fractures; 566 arm, 889 wrist, 945 hip, 366 leg, and 520 ankle fractures; and 467 fractures in other main bones, like ribs and vertebrae.

After crunching the numbers, they found that vegans, vegetarians, and pescatarians had a higher risk of hip fractures than meat-eaters.

Compared with meat-eaters, the risk of hip fracture was 26% higher in pescatarians, 25% higher in vegetarians, and 2.31 times higher in vegans.

This means 2.9, 2.9, and 14.9 extra fractures per 1,000 people over a ten-year period for the three groups, respectively.

Compared with meat-eaters, vegans also had a 43% greater risk of total fractures, a 59% higher risk of other main bone fractures, like ribs and vertebrae, and a 2.05 times higher risk of leg fractures.

The associations between these diets and bone fractures were weaker after the scientists accounted for body mass index and calcium and protein intake, but they were still statistically significant.

Vegans in the study had a lower body mass index, lower fat storage, and lower muscle mass to serve as cushioning during falls than meat-eaters, which explains why the associations weakened when body mass index was added into the analysis.

Moreover, previous studies have linked a higher body mass index with higher estrogen production and higher bone mineral density, which could also explain why vegans may have a problem here.

On top of calcium and protein, other nutrients, like vitamin K, phosphorous, and magnesium, are equally important for bone health.

This does not mean that you suddenly have to start eating meat if you’re a vegetarian or put on weight if you’re slim. But it does mean that you must do sufficient research to ensure that your diet includes enough important nutrients.

In other words, ditching meat and replacing it with bread and pasta is a bad idea.

Legumes, soy, nuts, seeds, and whole grains can give you sufficient protein, while broccoli, spinach, soy, sesame seeds, tahini, berries, oranges, and nuts can help with the calcium.

Whether you eat meat or not, osteoporosis is a huge problem. But it doesn’t have to be. Because you can regain your strong bones following these simple lifestyle changes explained here…

Build Strong Bones and Reverse Osteoporosis Naturally – A Weird Osteoporosis and IBD Connection Discovered

Inflammatory bowel disease occurs in several forms. Because most cases go undiagnosed, past research has been inconsistent when trying to explain whether there is a link between this disease and osteoporosis.

The World Journal of Gastroenterology has now published a study in which researchers try to answer this question by splitting inflammatory bowel disease into its different types.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of disorders that cause long-term inflammation in the digestive tract. The two main types are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation in the large intestine and rectum, while Crohn’s disease can cause inflammation absolutely anywhere from the mouth to the rectum, with the most common area of infection being the small and large intestines.

For some basic anatomy, let’s remind you that your digestive tract runs from top to bottom from your mouth to your esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and rectum.

This means that ulcerative colitis usually inflames an area lower in your digestive tract than Crohn’s disease does.

Because previous research on the relationship between IBD and osteoporosis has been inconsistent, the authors of this study reviewed all of the available literature, with an emphasis on studies that separated ulcerative colitis from Crohn’s disease in their analyses.

They searched medical databases for relevant studies and also examined studies presented at United European Gastroenterology Week, the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organization Congress, and Digestive Disease Week between 2014 and 2018.

They found 12 studies with 3,661 participants with IBD and 12,789 healthy controls for comparison.

In the healthy controls, the prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia was 3–10%. In people with ulcerative colitis, it was 2–9%. In people with Crohn’s disease, it was 7–15%. In people with both conditions, the prevalence of these diseases was 4–9%.

Therefore, osteoporosis and osteopenia are most common in people with Crohn’s disease alone, who have higher disease prevalence rates than the healthy population.

It is not known why Crohn’s disease seems to put us at risk of osteoporosis.

Your digestive tract is supposed to break down food and extract nutrients from it.

Since Crohn’s disease tends to destroy the cells that are meant to carry out these functions over a larger part of your digestive tract that ulcerative colitis does, it makes sense that people with Crohn’s disease absorb even fewer nutrients than those with ulcerative colitis do.

This can pose an osteoporosis risk by depriving patients of the calcium, magnesium, potassium, and other minerals and vitamins necessary for bone health.

But this does not explain why people with both conditions have a lower rate of osteoporosis than people with only Crohn’s disease.

The most important lesson is that no matter what is causing your osteoporosis, you can reverse your disease and rebuild your bones using the simple steps explained here…

And if you suffer from IBD, you can reverse it using this natural approach…

Build Strong Bones and Reverse Osteoporosis Naturally – Osteoporosis and Heart Attack (strange connection)

Osteoporosis is a dreadful disease that would be enough on its own.

But it isn’t on its own.

A new study in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research reveals a horrifying connection between osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

One that cannot be ignored if you suffer either one.

The British Biobank is a huge repository of medical data on a vast number of people.

The researchers used one specific cohort for whom information regarding bone and heart health was available.

The information to which they had access included bone density via ultrasound, which the researchers wanted to associate with:

1. Arterial compliance and arterial stiffness obtained via cardiovascular magnetic resonance scans, and

2. Heart attack and ischemic heart disease death.

In fact, the measurement they used for bone health was bone’s speed of sound, which measures not only the bone mineral density but also information about a bone’s elasticity, cortical thickness, and structure. In other words, it measures bone health beyond just bone mineral density.

They also had access to blood biomarkers that indicated specific chemicals related to both bone health and heart health, which they used to try to examine the mechanisms through which the two conditions are related.

They found that the subjects with the best bone health had the highest arterial compliance, lowest arterial stiffness, and the lowest mortality rate from ischemic heart disease.

Ischemic heart disease is also called coronary artery disease. This happens when cholesterol, calcium, and other substances that form plaques narrow or block your arteries so that less blood reaches your heart muscle.

Osteoporosis and heart disease share many risk factors, such as age, smoking, and a lack of exercise. The researchers performed calculations to account for these shared risk factors, and the relationship between poor bone health and heart disease remained independent of them.

This means that the two conditions are definitely related. Based on the blood biomarkers and times at which the measurements were taken, the researchers suspected that poor bone health caused heart disease.

Are you looking for ways to build strong bones and reverse osteoporosis naturally? Watch this video – 10 Best Exercises for Osteoporosis “Weak or Thinning Bones”

This is yet another reason to build strong bones and reverse osteoporosis naturally using the simple steps explained here…

And to clear out clogged heart arteries, cut out this ONE ingredient you didn’t even know you were consuming…

This post is from the Bone Density Solution created by Shelly Manning, This Bone Density Solution program for osteoporosis contains all the mandatory aspects of lifestyle that are needed to be taken care of. This program contains all the information on how changing food and lifestyle can cure us of this painfully chronic disease, which makes us vulnerable for a lifetime.

The Bone Density Solution program includes the information that how inflammation markers in the body cause a decline in the formation of new bones. It explains how gut leaching causes inflammatory agents to chase behind the sensitive food particles, thus leading to their gradual accumulation inside the body. These stored inflammatory agents hamper the bone renewing system.

Therefore, it is important that we know which food we are sensitive to as per our body type. You may be reckoning that it is really tough to figure out what to eat and what not as you are not any food expert. But, The Bone Density Solution book gives all the information about the food and its replacement. It also includes easy activities to change your sedentary lifestyle and vanish osteoporosis. These can easily be performed by patients without getting worried about new fractures.

To find out more about this program click on Build Strong Bones and Reverse Osteoporosis Naturally