How is your health? In the past year have you gained some extra weight? Maybe not feeling as fit as you would like? The world has changed over the past 14 months and it has not been for the better, especially when it comes to our overall health. With stress, fear, and anxiety increasing during the lockdowns, many have gained 5, 10, or even 30 pounds.
Health doesn’t just happen unfortunately. This has become more obvious the older that I get. Most of us assume that our genetics determine our health status, but this is not entirely true. Think of your genes as a deck of cards that you are dealt, but you can decide how those cards are played. The study of this is called epigenetics – “the study of how our behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way our genes work” according to the CDC.
April is both National Gardening Month and Stress Awareness Month. Gardening has many health benefits besides homegrown food one of which is stress reduction. Check out just how great gardening can be for your health.
Have you ever wondered how old your body is compared to your actual age? I think this is something we may think about more as we get older. Chronological age is easy to determine; it is how old you actually are. Biological age is how old the body and cells are acting. It is also known as your physiological or functional age
April has been designated Move More Month by the American Heart Association. It is a great time of year to get back to moving with winter coming to an end. Even with restrictions for some activities, it is important for your overall health to get moving. Some interesting statistics to look at:
Throughout my blog posts, I share the importance of investing in your health through diet, exercise, and spiritual avenues. Humans consist of a body, soul, and spirit; each area needs to be nourished and provided the tools to flourish. I focus a lot on the diet as I believe it is our foundation of health.
Carbohydrate is the third and final macronutrient. One of the most recent type of diets is a low or no carb diet. Yet, just like protein and fat, we need carbohydrates in our diet.
Functions of Carbs
This is the second post in our series delving into the macronutrients, and we will be looking at fats. You can check out all about protein here. As mentioned in the previous post, we need all three macronutrients each and every day and this includes fat. Yes, we need good, quality fat in our diet.
The “Macros” are the nutrients that the body uses in large amounts and each day our bodies need a fresh supply of these macronutrients. There are three macronutrients: Protein, Fat, and Carbohydrate. Yes, your body needs all three to function in a healthy way, but we are each individuals, so our personal needs will vary. Let’s start with protein.
There is so much power in the foods we eat; they can build our health or tear it down. We each make the choice bite by bite; yes, we choose what to eat and ultimately much of our overall health is determined by these choices. One area that certain foods can help is with fat burning and botanicals can do this.