Wellness – Page 6 – NutriFoody Wholly Holism

Why Should We Drink Water

Let me tell you something about water: it’s everywhere! From soil moisture and ice caps to the cells inside our bodies. Just like the surface of the earth, the body is made up of 60 to 70 percent. Our cells need water for our bodies to function at an optimal level. Water is one of the best cleansers our bodies need and also a healing agent for our bodies. When we don’t drink enough of it, it can lead to many signs and symptoms that we may not even realize comes from not drinking enough water.

Let me tell you some more interesting facts about water. Water is not only in the blood, but the heart and the brain is also ¾ quarts water. The lungs are made up of 83 percent water. Water helps us to lubricate the joints, regulate body temperature, and nourishes the brain and spinal cord. That alone goes to show you how many body systems can be affected if you do not drink water so the next time your joints hurt think to yourself are your joints properly lubricated? When our brain realizes that we have not had enough water it then signals the hypothalamus to release diuretic hormones which in return tells our kidneys to enable the blood to absorb and retain more water, leading to darker urine. Why do the kidneys do this? Because the body has to hold onto whatever water is available so that you do not go into full dehydration.

Now, when we drink water we need to make sure that we have the perfect balance not to drink too much and not drinking too little. Below I will list some of the symptoms we can experience when we are either dehydrated or over hydrated.

Dehydration causes:

-Drops in energy
-Mood Swings
-Skin moisture decreases
-Blood pressure
-Brain can temporarily shrink

Over hydration causes:

-The brain slows down
-Sodium electrolytes become diluted causing cells to swell
-Kidneys can’t keep up with hydration and may cause headaches vomiting seizures so drink 8 to 10 glasses a day

Did You Know?

When we don’t drink enough water our body responds to that by not telling us to drink enough water, and when we do drink water our body responds to that by telling us to drink more interesting right?
Each day we lose two to three liters of water from activities the body carries out such as breathing, sweating, urine, and bowel movements
Drinking water can lower the chance of stroke, manage diabetes and reduce the risk of some types of cancers

Reference(s):

National Association for Fitness Certification, Nutrition Coach Foundations© 3rd Ed.

Deeply Holistic. Pip Waller

Signs of Heart Attack in Women

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Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Signs of a Heart Attack in Women

If you did not get a chance to read my previous blog post on heart health and women, please go and check that out. So, this year women’s history month I wanted to keep the topics simple, so I choose to speak about women and heart health. As I said in my last post women suffer from heart disease just as much as men do. It is the number one killer in America. That is really concerning but as we know our country is filled with a lot of fast foods and processed foods and it is everywhere and it is easy for busy people like ourselves. Even though it is unavoidable we can still work on getting better and making healthier whole food choices.

In my last blog post, I realized that I left out one key important thing the signs of a heart attack in a woman. The symptoms may be different from how men experience it which is why we must not leave this out and talk about it. So, let’s jump straight into it. Listed below are the signs and symptoms of a heart attack in women.

Signs and Symptoms of Heart Attack in Women

Pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. The pain can last more than one minutes stop and return
Pain in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness.

** The thing when it comes to signs and symptoms is that certain signs and symptoms can be signs and symptoms of something else and not necessarily a heart attack. Some people may experience some of these symptoms daily and may not be able to tell the difference. This is why it is very important to pay attention to your body on a daily basis. If you have any of these symptoms, please do not hesitate to get checked out. Go to your nearest urgent care center or emergency room.

Written By: Vanessa J

For more information please visit the American Heart Association website and talk to your primary care provider.

World of Flavors

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Celebrate a world of flavors

The month of March is National Nutrition Month, and the month is almost over! But the good thing is that you can continuously follow these guidelines and routines time and time again and make these tips a part of your daily life and lifestyle. This year the academy’s theme is to celebrate a world of flavors and embrace different cultures which is something we most likely already and for some people may be not but why not start now!

Sometimes we get used to eating the same thing that food becomes boring, and we become disinterested in cooking so why not introduce some new meals and new flavors from different cultures? I always say have a flavorful and colorful palate so that food never gets boring! There are so many cultures that you can try out to have a good nutritious healthful meal. Every week you can explore a new culture or part of the world, for example, one week you can go to the Caribbean which is where my family is from the country of Haiti. You can pick five to seven different dishes that you would like to try from the country of Haiti, one dish that is my favorite that can be a vegetarian/vegan dish is “legume” and it is optional to add meat. The name of the dish is all in the name itself legume! This dish can be made with a tomato paste-based sauce then you can add spinach, coyote, carrots, eggplant, white cabbage, or red cabbage. You can even throw in bok choy which is from the Chinese/Asian culture. After you gather all your vegetables you can season to your liking for me, I like to add all-purpose Goya which some salt and pepper a little Cajun seasoning and vegetables seasoning but really you can season it any way you’d like to and let it slow cook for about 2 hours and you’re done. This dish is usually served with white rice, but you can go for a healthier choice of brown rice or quinoa.

It’s as simple as that then the next week you can plan to have maybe Indian dishes on the menu, then the next week Chinese dishes on the menu and so on. There is so much to choose from that you can really have fun with this and maybe you may like some of the dishes so much that they become a part of your lifestyle. So, this month remember it’s all about exploring and embracing the different cultures and dishes in our world!

Written By: Vanessa J

Heart Disease and Women

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For Women’s History Month I want to talk about diseases and disorders that affect women, especially from a nutritional aspect and heart disease tops the list. Did you know that heart disease is America’s number one top killer? Heart disease kills more American than all the wars combined that this country has had (referenced from the book “How Not To Die by Dr.Gregor).

The thing about this about heart disease is that it is totally 100 percent preventable. That is if we aim to eat a healthy diet of course. The typical standard American diet is far from healthy, unfortunately. The American diet is made up of mostly what is considered fast foods such as hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, pizza, onion rings, chicken nuggets, and milkshakes. Now that is not a diet we can survive off of for a long time because it’s so detrimental to our health and is doing so much damage to our bodies on the inside.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women killing about 1 in every 5 female deaths (CDC). Now that is a high very high number and very frightening. Many things can fall under the bracket of heart diseases such as coronary artery disease, arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, hypertension, heart failure, and heart attack.

I will explain what each is that falls under this category.

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD): Coronary arteries supply blood to the heart muscle and are the large arteries found on the surface of the heart. When someone had CAD the arteries become diseased or damaged. This is caused by the buildup of cholesterol plaque in the arteries blocking the blood flow to the heart.

Arteriosclerosis: This happens when blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients away from the heart to the rest of the body become thick and stiffen up. Healthy arteries should be flexible and elastic.

Atherosclerosis: This is a type of arteriosclerosis where the buildup of fat and cholesterol forms something called plaque in the arteries. This can eventually lead to arteries being blocked.

High Cholesterol: The level of cholesterol in your blood is high which can be a predisposition to heart disease.

Hypertension: High blood pressure which can affect the heart leading to a heart attack or stroke

Heart Failure: In this condition, the heart doesn’t pump blood as well as it should.

Heart Attack: Total blockage of an artery leading to the heart

Despite knowing all this the rate of heart disease continues to rise. Some things you can do to improve your heart health are

Limiting your intake of fast foods. Fast foods are meant to enjoy once in a while not eat everyday
Limit your intake of processed foods. Sometimes it can be hard to avoid processed foods because these days it can seem like everything is processed but try swapping out processed foods for whole foods. Whole foods like eating fruits and vegetables are more filling and don’t raise your blood sugar so high and keep you fuller throughout the day.
Drink WATER! Drinking water is essential to life. Drinking water helps keep our circulatory system moving along and helps rid of the toxins in our bodies. Stay away from juices and sugary drinks that provide nothing but empty calories.
Limit your intake of certain types of meat such as red meat. Yes, it can be hard do that but consuming too much meat can clog up our arteries
Lastly, keep those sweets in check! Avoid eating too many candies, cookies, pastries, and cakes. It may be good in the moment be eating this regularly does not do any good for our bodies.

References: Centers of Disease Control: Lookup Heart Disease

How Not To Die By: Dr. Gregor

The Ultimate Act of Self-love

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Photo of me taken by me on Valentine’s Day

An ode to Women’s History Month, I want to talk about the ultimate act of self-love. So many things fall under this one term like self-care, self-awareness, loving yourself, mental health, and physical health which is why I labeled ultimate because you have to love yourself as a whole and not in parts. You can’t just love one part of yourself and not the other you have to love it all.

Now I know that that is easier said than done loving all of yourself. For me, for the past year, I’ve struggled with a lot of insecurities about my weight. I’ve watched my body change over the past three years gaining more and more weight. My stomach is bigger, my arms are bigger, and my face is bigger. I can definitely say that I was not loving myself at all more like letting myself go. I have struggled with weight loss even when I would exercise and eat clean the weight would not shift or go down. But then I started to look at other women who are my size and they are owning it. They are in love with their bodies and making it work for them. For me, it was more of an acceptance being this new weight and new weight but I realized I too have to own it and make it work for me. I started to no longer think about trying to fit into my pre-pregnancy clothing and started to focus on what would work for my current body weight. I am starting to get into a mindset of loving myself no matter the size because I am still me. My weight doesn’t define me or change the person that I am. Now being on a holistic journey with nutrition and lifestyle I am learning a lot about taking care of myself from the inside out. I am learning to love myself and accept myself as a whole and this applies to any aspect of life. It’s not just about weight, it is about giving the love you know you need and not allowing anyone to take that away from you or affect that. When we love ourselves and put ourselves first we don’t have to rely on others to make us feel like we are loved because guess what we already love ourselves first.

Now I am going to share with you all a mantra from the book: Deeply Holistic By Pip Walter

This is called Loving Yourself:

Sit or stand in a relaxed way in front of a mirror. Begin with your eyes closed, and take several slow relaxed breaths breathing in fresh energy and out old energy. When you feel ready and relaxed open up your eyes and look in the mirror.

Say this to yourself while looking into your own eyes out loud: (Your name) I like you and I always will. I love you and I always will. You are beautiful just as you are. Repeat this at least three times.

How did that make you feel? Try doing this daily at least for a month. Come back and leave any comments on how did this make you feel.