With so much wellness information out there, changing unhealthy habits or developing healthy ones can feel overwhelming. We’ve got 3 simple ideas you can start today to spring you forward to your health goals.
Shift your perspective
Many people give up on health plans because, in an earnest moment, they made too many changes all at once. You don’t have to! Marathon runners don’t churn out 26 miles on their first day of training.
Remember that the changes you’re making aren’t temporary—they’re part of your new lifestyle. Build in new routines or trim unhealthy practices one at a time. Step by step.
Slip-ups don’t ruin the plan. Remind yourself, it’s not about perfection, it’s about consistency. Every choice you make is a vote for the person you want to be. You don’t have to get it right 100% of the time. Consistent, even small, choices add up to a landslide victory for the healthier, happier you.
Kick sugary drinks to the curb
The high level of sugar in soda is one of the biggest contributors to obesity and type 2 diabetes. (1) A 12-ounce can of soda averages about 40 grams of sugar, and some have as much as 56 grams! Swap it out for water or seltzer.
Unfortunately, fruit juice is hardly better. Twelve ounces of orange juice has 33 grams of sugar. Even though the sugars in orange juice are natural, your body responds the same way: spiking blood sugar and storing excess calories as fat.
Much better would be to eat an orange, where you’re also getting fiber. Not only that, some nutrients are lost in the process of making juice, (2) so a fresh orange is more nutritious.
Sleep—yes, it really is that important
It’s no exaggeration to say that good sleep will improve every system in your body.
Sleeping well balances your hunger hormones, which will help you with your weight-management goals. Not only that, it gives the neurons in your brain a chance to rest and repair themselves, so you can be in top mental shape during the day. Sleep strengthens your brain’s frontal lobe (your decision-making center) so you can make healthier choices.
Sleep boosts your immune system and allows your body to fight germs and repair injuries.
While you’re dreaming, your heart is recuperating from strain. Sleep also helps prevent the buildup of plaque in your arteries and helps regulate your daytime blood pressure.
For those who need sleep support, we recommend passionflower tea because it increases gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain, which relaxes your central nervous system and provides better sleep. (3)
One study found that ashwagandha improved sleep for folks experiencing insomnia as well as those who don’t. (4) A high quality supplement can help you increase your ashwagandha intake.
Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone in your brain, so taking a supplement about 30 minutes before you want to be asleep can help your body wind down the way it’s designed to.
Always remember, small, healthful choices make an enormous impact for good. Relax, you’ve got this.
Let’s get healthier, together,
Your friends at Santo Remedio
Referencias
1. Basciano, H., Federico, L., & Adeli, K. (2005). Fructose, insulin resistance, and metabolic dyslipidemia. Nutrition & metabolism, 2(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1186/1743-7075-2-5
2. hanson-Rolle, A. , Braesco, V. , Chupin, J. and Bouillot, L. (2016) Nutritional Composition of Orange Juice: A Comparative Study between French Commercial and Home-Made Juices. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 7, 252-261. doi: 10.4236/fns.2016.74027.
3. Elsas, S. M., Rossi, D. J., Raber, J., White, G., Seeley, C. A., Gregory, W. L., Mohr, C., Pfankuch, T., & Soumyanath, A. (2010). Passiflora incarnata L. (Passionflower) extracts elicit GABA currents in hippocampal neurons in vitro, and show anxiogenic and anticonvulsant effects in vivo, varying with extraction method. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology, 17(12), 940–949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2010.03.002
4. Langade, D., Thakare, V., Kanchi, S., & Kelgane, S. (2021). Clinical evaluation of the pharmacological impact of ashwagandha root extract on sleep in healthy volunteers and insomnia patients: A double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 264, 113276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2020.113276
