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Wednesday, January 18, 2023

Simple Deep Breathing Exercise to Help Beat Chronic Stress

 

Studies show that deep breathing can help reduce anxiety and depression, lower high blood pressure levels, increase energy, relax muscular tension and relieve stress and feelings of being overwhelmed by tasks and work demands. Here is a simple deep breathing exercise to help beat chronic stress.



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



Deep Breathing- The Most Powerful Health Hack

We live in a fast-paced world where constant access to technology and connectivity has dramatically accelerated productivity and progress.

However, the busier our lives get, the greater the demands on the body’s stress hormones in order to cope with the never-ending barrage of emails, late night BlackBerry messages and early morning alarms.

Ironically, one of the most primal actions of the human body may be the answer to increasing your resilience, balancing stress hormone production and overcoming the frenetic pace of today’s workplace. We all do it, every single day: breathe.

Breathing is essential for life, giving us the vital oxygen our heart, lungs and cells need. But there is also a powerful relationship between your breath and thoughts. Your breath has a tremendous influence on your thoughts and physiology, just like your thoughts have a tremendous influence on your breath.

Studies show that deep breathing can help reduce anxiety and depression, lower high blood pressure levels, increase energy, relax muscular tension and relieve stress and feelings of being overwhelmed by tasks and work demands.

Throughout our existence, the physiology of breathing has remained the same, yet something has changed. Busy, stressful days and negative thoughts all impact the stress response system, increasing stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) that raise your blood pressureblood sugars, heart rate and breath rate.

Increased stress also reduces your breath quality, leading to short and shallow breaths that trigger your “fight or flight” sympathetic nervous system, your survival switch that warns your body of incoming danger. Too many days stuck in this “go-go-go” sympathetic overdrive mode will drain your body, impair concentration and lead to poor memory and productivity.

In contrast, when you sleep, you inhale deeply as your diaphragm, the biggest muscle in your body, contracts and relaxes. This type of deep breathing activates your parasympathetic “rest and digest” nervous system and vagus nerve in your brain, the signal that tells your body to relax and remain calm. This parasympathetic state is what “builds up” the proverbial candle you too often burn at both ends during stressful and busy days.

Some stressors are unavoidable, and a simple reality of your working environment. For example, a recent study found that middle managers have far greater cortisol output than CEOs and presidents of corporations.

The researchers concluded that not knowing when the stressor will come (i.e. when more work will hit your plate) is a potent stressor that puts you into “fight or flight” overdrive. Similarly, workers who do not have defined roles or expectations in their jobs also have dramatically elevated stress hormone levels.

Research also shows that people who react strongly to daily hassles – having to wait in line, being stuck in traffic, having to stay late at work – have significantly higher cortisol stress levels. Your breathing may be the ultimate health hack for getting yourself back on track.

While you can’t necessarily change your job, how busy you are, or demands at home, you can improve your resilience or capacity to cope with stress.

Let’s take a look at a simple breathing program that you don’t have to be a yogi to do! Try it for just 10 minutes and pay attention to the physiological effects you feel.


Deep Breathing Simple Exercise

Deep diaphragmatic breathing is a simple exercise and powerful health hack to reboot your breathing. Find a quiet space and spend a few minutes exercising your diaphragm with the following steps:

1. Start by lying on the floor with your legs bent, feet flat on the floor.

2. Place a book or similar-weight object on your belly, then rest your arms on the floor next to you, palms facing up.

3. Close your eyes and inhale through your nose. As you inhale, push the book (i.e. your belly) up toward the ceiling. Inhale for two seconds.

4. Hold your breath for one second.

5. Then, exhale through your mouth with pursed lips (i.e., like you’re blowing out birthday candles) for three seconds, and feel your belly fall down toward your spine.

6. Continue this process for 5 minutes, then stop.

Goal: Build up to 8-10 minutes over the course of several weeks or a month.

You may notice while trying this exercise that breathing might feel more challenging than usual, and it may be difficult for your belly to rise up during inhalations. This will let you know you’re likely a chest or “pump-handle” breather.

Chest breathing encourages short, shallow breaths in your upper chest and doesn’t allow for the full volume of oxygen to reach your lungs. However, keep practicing and you’ll soon become comfortable with the proper method of breathing.

(Read: The Best 10-Minute Meditation)

Once you feel comfortable doing this lying on the floor, there are a series of progressions you should do to help ingrain this deep, diaphragmatic breathing pattern:

Practice your breathing while sitting. Place your hand on your belly instead of a book and perform the same exercise as above, simply seated in a chair.

Work your way up to a standing position. Stand with your feet hip- to shoulder-width apart, close your eyes, and place one hand on your belly. After a few breaths, remove your hand and continue with the deep belly breathing.

Get moving! Start with a 10-minute walk. Inhale every 2-3 steps and exhale for the same number of steps. Try to recreate the rhythm you felt when practicing on the floor and in the chair.

Your breath is the connection between your mind and your body, and between your brain and your stress system. Take control of your breath to calm stress hormones, improve your focus and increase your resiliency. You don’t need any fancy

equipment or expensive supplements. You can practice in your car, on the subway, or even in the office. You just need to sit still and breathe.

(Read: 9 Ways to Beat Chronic Stress)

You’ll take about one billion breaths in your lifetime, and whether they help calm your body and mind or accelerate stress and aging is up to you. Make a simple change and discover how breathing can upgrade your health, wellness and performance.

Happy breathing!

Watch this video – Relieve Stress & Anxiety with Simple Breathing Techniques



Written by Dr. Marc Bubbs

Author Bio:

Dr. Marc Bubbs, ND is a Naturopathic Doctor, Strength Coach, Author, Speaker, and Blogger practicing in Toronto, Canada. He believes that diet, exercise, and lifestyle factors have the most profound impact on your overall health and performance. Marc is the author of The Paleo Project – A 21st Guide to Looking Leaner, Getting Stronger, & Living Longer and currently serves as the Sports Nutrition Lead for Canadian Men’s Olympic Basketball Team.

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

Tuesday, January 17, 2023

How Chronic Stress Can Lead to Signs of Alzheimers?

 

We all deal with stress on a regular basis, but when it gets to be too much, science says it can lead to dementia, like Alzheimer’s disease. Here’s how chronic stress can lead to signs of alzheimers.


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



Science Links Stress Hormone Cortisol to Early Signs of Alzheimers

We all deal with stress on a regular basis, but when it gets to be too much, science says it can lead to dementia, like Alzheimer’s disease. Here’s what you need to know.

If you’re feeling chronically stressed out, you’re not alone. Tension stemming from work life, relationships, money, and more has become the norm, but this mental state is directly affecting our health by weakening our immune system, causing digestive health issues, and even pointing towards cognitive decline.

So, are we all doomed? Not necessarily. Here’s how to tell when your stress levels are above normal healthy areas, and how to prevent yourself from falling prey to chronic stress.

Chronic Stress vs. Acute Stress

There are two different kinds of stress, and they affect the body differently. Acute stress is the type of stress that many of us experience regularly from things like work demands and everyday obligations.  

Acute stress can be helpful in small doses, as it triggers the body to release certain hormones, like cortisol and adrenaline, which can be helpful when dealing with the stressful situation.

When your stress response is responding appropriately, the increase in cortisol levels that are released during periods of stress go back down once that specific threat has left.

Chronic stress is when your body gets stuck in a fight-or-flight response. When this happens, the stress hormone cortisol is released, causing your heart rate and breathing to speed up and your digestive system to slow down.

While this system works really well when you are dealing with an actual physical threat, such as being chased by a wild animal, this does not serve us well when dealing with everyday stress.

When the stress response is chronically activated, you risk major health issues like obesityheart disease, and cancer.

Before we dive into how chronic stress impacts cognitive function, let’s take a closer look at cortisol and the role cortisol plays in our body’s stress response.


What Is Cortisol?

Often known as the “stress hormone”, cortisol plays a very important role when it comes to our body’s stress response. When you are under stress, your body releases cortisol, which increases glucose levels in the blood and puts other functions on “hold” that may not be completely necessary to fight the stressor at hand. This is where that fight-or-flight response comes in, and things like the immune and digestive systems slow down.

One of the issues with chronic cortisol exposure and stress is that after long periods of excessive cortisol exposure, you may be at a higher risk of developing many different health conditions. These include:


The Mental Health Consequences of Chronic Stress

While we know that chronic stress can lead to physical health issues, it can also affect our mental health.

Studies show that by-products of stress hormones act as sedatives in the body. When you are under chronic amounts of stress over an extended period of time, it’s common to experience symptoms like low energy and even depression.

In a recent study, participants engaged in cognitive testing that looked at memory, abstract reasoning, and visual perception. The results found those with higher cortisol levels had difficulty with memory and visual perception tasks – and even linked higher cortisol levels to lower brain volume.

Today, chronic stress is a driving cause of Alzheimer’s disease, and can even make symptoms of this disease worse. Another study looking at the connection between stress and Alzheimer’s found that participants with cognitive impairment also have high cortisol levels.

This connection is likely due to the fact that chronic stress triggers inflammatory mediators in the brain, primarily in the hippocampus. This specific type of inflammation is strongly linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

A study conducted by The University of Gothenburg in Sweden also makes a connection between stress and Alzheimer’s disease. They found that “information stress”, or the demand for handling a rapid flow of daily information, can cause mild cognitive impairment, a precursor of Alzheimer’s disease.

One shocking observation found that patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in this study were relatively young, with an average age of 64 (early onset of Alzheimer’s is considered under age 65). This indicates the dangers of dealing with chronic levels of stress and pressure on a regular basis.


5 Tips on Preventing Chronic Stress

Now that we understand how chronic stress can lead to cognitive impairment, it’s important to take preventative steps to gain control of your stress levels. Here are the best ways you can get your stress under control, preventing early cognitive decline and other health issues.

1. Eat a Nutrient-Rich Diet

Believe it or not, what you eat can impact how well your body responds to stress. Consuming a nutrient-dense diet that includes complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and clean protein can help stabilize blood sugar levels, which is an important part of balancing hormone levels and supporting a positive mood.

Here are some of the best foods to enjoy to help stabilize blood sugar levels to support your body’s stress response and hormone balance:

Make sure you’re also eating enough calories each day. With so many fad diets out there, many people simply aren’t consuming enough calories to sustain overall health. This is bad news, because not getting enough calories in your diet is actually linked to an increase in cortisol levels.

The total number of calories you need depends on your age, activity level, gender, height, and weight.

As a general guideline, adult women typically need 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day, while the average man needs 2,000 to 3,000 calories per day. While the exact number is going to be different for each person, you don’t want to go below the low end of these daily calorie requirements.

2. Breathe Deeply

Something as simple as the way you breathe can significantly reduce levels of chronic stress. When you breathe deeply, your body will literally respond by telling your brain to relax, which can help lower blood pressure, lower heart rate, and slow rapid breathing.

Try to practice deep breathing every single day, and especially during periods of increased stress. You can start to practice deep breathing as often as you can in about one-minute sessions, and more if you are feeling especially tense.

Mindfulness is another great way to reduce stress. You can practice mindfulness daily by setting aside five minutes and finding a quiet place to sit and just notice your body. Take a few minutes to be mindful of your breath, and take notice of when your thoughts start to wander. Acknowledge your wandering thoughts without judgment and just bring your attention back to your breathing. Sit for five to ten minutes and just be present, coming back to your breath each time you start to become distracted. Practice this daily.

This can become an essential tool in combating stress during other moments of your day. You will literally train your brain to be mindful of how your body is feeling during periods of stress, and then bring your awareness to your breath to help calm both your mind and body.

3. Improve Your Sleep Habits

Sleep is essential for overall health, and it certainly plays a role in how stressed out you feel. One study found that 47 percent of Americans lie awake at night because of stress! It’s a double-edged sword, because not getting enough sleep can also make you even more stressed out.

Try to get at least seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep per night, and set a calming bedtime routine to wind down your day each evening. An hour or more of calming music, reading, a warm bath, or any other kind of relaxing activity you enjoy can greatly improve your overall quality of sleep.

4. Learn to Say “No” More Often

If you tend to say “yes” to everything that comes your way, then you may be dealing with chronic stress due to overcommitment. It’s so easy to overcommit, but it definitely doesn’t do our health or our stress levels any good.

Make it a point to start saying no to the obligations that no longer serve you. Start by saying that you will think about it before immediately responding with a yes, then give yourself time to truly consider if you have time for another commitment.

Just taking the time to pause can be life changing, as it can really help free up more time for you to practice self-care (a biggie, see below) and reduce your overall stress levels.

5. Practice Self-Care

Self-care is one of the most important steps you can take to reducing the stress load you carry. Make it a priority to take some time for yourself each week, and if you can manage self-care daily, do it!

Even making time for little things, like a five-minute meditation or a brisk walk, can significantly help to reduce your stress levels. Then, schedule in time for something a little bigger each week, like going out to lunch with a friend. These may seem like small changes, but trust us, they make a big difference to your wellbeing.

Taking care of yourself is an essential part of reducing stress and lowering cortisol levels.

Watch this video – The Effects of Chronic Stress on the Brain | Brain Talks | Being Patient Alzheimer’s



The Bottom Line

Chronic stress can significantly impair our overall quality of life and can throw our hormone balance out of whack. The chronic exposure to elevated cortisol levels has been found to hold some pretty detrimental effects on the body and cognitive function, so it is our job to take matters into our own hands and turn things around to prevent this from happening.

Evaluate what changes you can make in your diet, get into bed earlier, learn that saying no can be the biggest gift to yourself, and take care of yourself each and every day! With just a handful of steps, you can help reign in your chronic stress and safeguard both your physical and mental health for the long run.

Written by Rebecca Jacobs

Author Bio:

Rebecca Jacobs N.C is a Certified Holistic Nutrition Consultant, specializing in digestive and women’s health. She takes a holistic approach to wellness, doesn’t believe in “dieting,” and believes that healthy eating must be delicious. Rebecca is also a recipe developer and creates healthy alternatives to traditionally unhealthy foods.

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


Paleo Dairy-Free Naturally Sweetened Salted Caramel Chia Seed Pudding

 

Paleo Dairy-Free Naturally Sweetened Salted Caramel Chia Seed Pudding - Transform dessert into a healthier-for-you treat with superfood chia seeds. These tiny powerhouses are packed with fiber and have the ideal omega-3 to omega-6 ratio.



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



Salted Caramel Chia Seed Pudding with Hazelnut Butter

Dig into this decadent chia seed pudding filled with toasted hazelnut butter and a dreamy caramel made with medjool dates.

Transform dessert into a healthier-for-you treat with superfood chia seeds. These tiny powerhouses are packed with fiber and have the ideal omega-3 to omega-6 ratio.

For the caramel, we swap the butter and gobs of sugar with medjool dates as a healthier alternative.

Note: To get a silky caramel date sauce, make sure that the dates are moist and fresh. If the dates are hard, they won’t blend as well and will require soaking in hot water for 5-10 minutes until soft enough to blend.

The hazelnut butter adds a warm flavor when mixed with the salted date caramel.

Luckily, making it at home is easy and is a great alternative to the store-bought version that is filled with refined sugar and artificial preservatives. To make it, simply blitz toasted hazelnuts in a food processor for a few minutes until it forms a paste.

If you want to enjoy this recipe as a quick breakfast, mix the hazelnut milk, honey and chia seeds the night before, then chill it in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, quickly put together the salted date caramel and hazelnut butter and divide it evenly between the chilled chia seed pudding cups. Top it all off with a few more toasted hazelnuts and enjoy!

Tips:

If you are in a hurry, you can warm the hazelnut milk before mixing it with the chia seeds, as the warmth will help the chia seeds expand faster.

If you like your caramel sauce with more texture and spread-like consistency, reduce the amount of water.

You can store the salted date caramel sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Use it as a topping for ice cream, brownies, or even as a sweet dip.

Salted Caramel Chia Seed Pudding with Hazelnut Butter

Recipe by Dina Hassan

Dig into this decadent chia pudding filled with toasted hazelnut butter and a dreamy caramel sauce.

Tools:

  • Medium bowl
  • Food processor

Ingredients for the chia pudding:

  • 2 cups organic hazelnut milk
  • 2 t raw honey
  • ½ cup chia seeds

Ingredients for the Salted Date Caramel & Hazelnut Butter:

  • 4 oz toasted hazelnuts
  • 7 oz pitted medjool dates
  • ½ t salt
  • ¼ cup water

Ingredients for the Topping:

  • 2 handfuls of toasted hazelnuts

Instructions to make the pudding:

  1. In a medium bowl, combine the hazelnut milk and raw honey. Stir until the raw honey is completely dissolved.
  • Stir in chia seeds and pour into two separate cups.
  • Place in the fridge and allow the seeds to expand for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Instructions for the Salted Date Caramel

  1. Place the hazelnuts in your food processor and process for 2-4 minutes until you have a fine powder; use a spatula to scrape down the sides as necessary.
  • Once the hazelnuts begin to form a paste, add the pitted dates and salt. Blend until you have a smooth butter.
  • Add the water gradually and process until the mixture is smooth and has a heavy but caramel-like consistency.

To serve:

Remove the chilled chia seed pudding from the fridge and distribute the salted date caramel evenly over the top of the pudding.

Top with extra toasted hazelnuts. Serve immediately or return to the fridge until ready to eat.

Watch this video – 6 Dairy Free Ice Cream Recipes (Vegan, Whole30, Sugar Free, Gluten Free) Nice Cream



Written by Dina Hassan

Author Bio:

Dina Hassan is a recipe developer, food photographer and food stylist. She believes that the key to a happy life is eating natural food, and when she’s not behind the camera, you can find her cooking up a new healthy recipe.

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


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