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Hello February!
Hi Everyone,
Welcome to Creating Your Health's February news-letter. How's everybody doing this winter?
This month a few great things are happening that I wanted to write to you about.
The first one is that February 5, 2016 is National Go Red for Women day. What's not good news is that Heart Disease is the number one killer of women. Heart disease still needs more education and research particularly for women. You can go to the website (linked at the end of the newsletter) and see how you can participate and what events are happening to celebrate the day.
The China study presented some great research detailing the connection between nutrition and heart disease. It's the largest comprehensive study of human nutrition ever conducted and points to the importance of a whole foods, plant-based diet. The China study was conducted by T. Colin Campbell and his partners from Cornell University, Oxford University, and the Chinese Academy of Preventative Medicine. The study also revealed that heart disease can be reversed through nutrition. The intervention not only stopped the progression of the disease, but 70% of the patients saw an opening of clogged arteries.
In addition to a nutrient rich, plant based diet, I also believe that there are many other lifestyle factors that influence longevity and disease prevention. If, for example you were eating a vegan diet, but smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day, it's probably a good idea to put down the smokes, right?
There are some common variables that benefit us all, like good plant based nutrition, exercise, not smoking. In addition, I believe that everyone's maintenance and recovery health plan should also be individualized.
For myself, I ate a pretty good diet, exercised regularly, and hadn't smoked since graduate school (and then just for about a year or so). So, there were some some tweaks I could make in my diet, and maybe workout an extra day a week, but I was doing much of what we think of as the "right things" to do to recover.
However, I was under a very large amount of stress during this time, and personal losses were accumulating. Outwardly, I was handling things pretty well. (I've got some mad skills!) But my body was telling me a different story. The body doesn't lie, and it doesn't forget. Even though I didn't want to admit it, Stress was a huge factor for heart disease in my case. And, I'm not alone.
Stress is a major factor in everyone's life. It doesn't discriminate.
Stress can cause physical, emotional, and behavioral problems.
It affects health, personal and professional relationships, and peace of mind.
Emotional stress is a major contributing factor to the six leading causes of death in the United States: cancer, coronary heart disease, accidental injuries, respiratory disorders, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide. Job stress is estimated to cost American companies more than $300 billion a year in health costs, absenteeism and poor performance.
This is why I've created the program, "Less Stress, More Peace". While we can't get rid of stress, we can learn ways to manage it better, and to reduce it's effects on one's body, mind, and spirit. This program is for anyone who is willing to look at how stress is affecting them. It's for anyone. Anyone, who is willing to take action to create more space, energy, and time so you can cultivate peace of mind. And, it's for anyone who wants to begin making more conscious decisions in their lives to create their health and vitality. Sound good?
The program might not be for you: if you are resistant to looking at your "stuff", want others to fix you, and/or you're content to blame others for the amount of stress in your life.
While not a therapy group, it is a supportive online and interactive group to help you reach your own goals. Here is the information to register for the program. I hope you'll join us.
Stress management was not part of the curriculum in the cardiac rehabilitation centers that I went to in the past. I was really surprised by this. There was a couple paragraphs that said to "decrease stress" in a workbook we were given, but no one detailed how to specifically go about this. I told myself that someday, I would work to create a program to help others make a specific plan that fits into their own lifestyle to better manage stress.
~One that would help others better cope with and tolerate distress.
~One that would assist with finding ways to decrease some of the stress that was leading to feelings of overwhelm.
~A program that would help others to tap into their own creativity to develop healthy outlets for expression.
~A program that would empower others to develop skills of mindfulness.
~One that would also be supportive, encouraging, and fun too. If it feels like work to manage stress, then I'd know that we'd be doing something wrong!
The Less Stress, More Peace online program is the result, and I hope you'll join us!
And, I've got a great deal for you:
Because I want to include as many interested people as possible,
and because this is a new program that is near to my heart,
if you want to register with a friend, the fee would be 50% off for both of you. That's right, so you can split the cost of the 5 week program, if you bring a friend. Just click in the box that you are bringing a friend, and type in their name and email.
Have a great month. Registration ends Monday February 8. Register Today!
https://www.goredforwomen.org/home/get-involved/
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