Empowering Healthy Nutrition
While there are many published books and blogs about healthy food, there are also many opportunities to combine nutrition with self-care to empower our healing.
Perhaps you have heard about the art of matching food with music to “finesse” the taste? How about “mixing music with nutrition” to reduce epileptic seizures, or “mixing beetroot juicing with breathing exercises” to improve cardiovascular health?
We know so much about wonderful and powerful properties of nutrition. For example:
- Avocado is a berry fruit which can lower glucose blood levels1
- Almonds can lower blood pressure2
- Elberberry syrup can fight viral infections3
- Black tea can reduce cholesterol4, while green tea can improve memory5
- But did you know that chamomile tea can improve symptoms of depression while passionflower extract can reduce anxiety?6 Did you know that blueberries can reduce pain in people with osteoarthritis?7
So let’s explore some ideas how we can multiply the benefits of healthy eating by adding an “extra touch”. Did you know that beetroot juicing and slow-breathing pranayama exercises can lower blood pressure?8 Perhaps BEETS and BREATHING can beat hypertension!
“The secret to living well and longer is: eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure.”
Did you know that a modified Atkins diet (and a ketogenic diet) is an effective therapy to reduce seizures in people with epilepsy?9 Since listening to specific Mozart compositions (such as sonata K.448)10 can also reduce seizure frequency, what would happen to seizures when we combine a modified Atkins diet with listening to the Mozart music?
Mixing food with yoga? Did you know that both chia seeds and yoga can improve glycemic control?11 Did you know that yoga and tai chi, as well as dietary interventions, can improve pain symptoms in people with fibromyalgia?12
Mixing food with barefoot walking? Blueberries provide (yummy) anti-inflammatory effect, and so does barefoot walking in nature (a phenomenon known as “earthing”) and listening to music.13 Can you imagine the benefits of “anti-inflammatory combo” of blueberries + barefoot walking + music for people with chronic pain, and for those fighting arthritis or cancer?
What about empowering medicinal properties of elderberry syrup and honey to fight viral infections?14 To strengthen our immune system, we can “mix” elderberry + honey with yoga, moderate intensity exercises, breathing exercises, aromatherapy, and being in nature, since each of these activities supports our immune defenses.15 Please enjoy exploring your most favorite and “feel good” combinations.
As a side note, did you know that the most universal seasoning to improve taste of food is gratitude and self-compassion?
In conclusion, we can multiply the gifts of healthy nutrition in many ways. Let us empower our individual and collective healing with a mindful combination of what we eat and what we do.
Thank you, best wishes and stay well,
Greg
2. BMC Public Health 2020
3. Adv Integr Med 2020
4. J Nutr 2003
5. Phytomedicine 2017
6. J Adv Nurs 2015; J Clin Pharm Ther 2001
7. Nutrients 2019
8. Adv Nutr 2017; Complement Ther Clin Pract 2020
9. Nutrients 2020
10. Clin Neurophysiol 2020
11. PLoS One 2019
12. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med 2019; Ann Med 2019
13. Trends Cogn Sci 2013; Nutrients 2019; Explore 2020
14. Complement Ther Med 2019; BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 2020
15. Neuroimmunomodulation 1995; Ann NY Acad Sci 2005; J Behav Med 2018; Oncotarget 2018;
