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It’s Wellness Wednesdays! Let’s talk about ways to boost your health with gratitude. Did you know that gratitude can have a tremendous impact on your health? A recent study, titled “The Role of Gratitude in Spiritual Well-Being in Asymptomatic Heart Failure Patients,” found that it plays an important part in overall wellbeing.
The study found that being thankful helped improve the health of heart disease patients.
This has wider implications, and researchers believe it can help anyone. So, you don’t have to be a heart disease patient to benefit from showing gratitude to others. Anyone can be thankful and see improvements in their health.
Try these strategies to use gratitude to benefit your health
1. Understanding the heart of gratitude.
Being thankful is an important part of staying healthy.
- Do you show your gratitude when it matters?
- Do the people in your life feel you appreciate them? Have you told them how much you enjoy the things they do?
- Being grateful may require a conscious effort. It’s important to start noticing your thought processes and how you react to various situations.
2. How to show gratitude to your loved ones.
The people who are closest to you need to know you appreciate them.
- You can begin to show gratitude by thanking them for a specific action.
- You can also show your thoughtfulness by doing small things for them and making their lives easier.
- Sharing your time is important. Offer to do something your loved ones may enjoy. This will show you care and pay attention to their lives. It also shows you want to help.
- Everyone loves compliments, so give them out frequently with love.
3. How to show gratitude to your coworkers.
They spend hours with you and need to know you appreciate them.
- Send thank you notes to your coworkers to show them you care.
- Show your gratitude by bringing them lunch or offering to buy it for them.
- Sometimes just listening to your coworkers can be a good way to show your gratitude.
- Bring flowers to work to brighten your coworkers’ day.
4. How to show gratitude for yourself.
Recognize the great things that are happening in your life and be thankful for them each day.
- Sometimes making a simple list of all the positive and good things in your life can start you on the path to gratitude.
- Remember to give yourself compliments, too!
- Thinking about the positive things you have done for others can help you see how you impact the world.
5. How to show gratitude to strangers.
You may not know their name or life story, but the strangers you meet throughout the day can also benefit from gratitude.
- Does the person who makes your coffee stand next to a tip jar? You can make a generous tip and help brighten their day. You can also point out something they have done well.
- You don’t have to know your servers’ names to be grateful. You can thank them, compliment them, and share something positive.
Gratitude is an important part of life, and showing it to others can help strengthen your health. It’s crucial to note the positive things occurring every day. There are many ways to be thankful, so you can share the joy with others.
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I really wanted to talk about this topic today because your natural health and wellness is important. You can adopt healthy lifestyle practices that improve your health, your environment, and enrich your life, which can in turn improve the lives of those close to you. You have the power to break the cycle of poor health, including chronic disease, so that you can leave a legacy of health to your loved ones.
I use functional medicine and lifestyle medicine as the first line of treatment, before medications, to treat lifestyle-related chronic diseases. Lifestyle-related chronic diseases include diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and some cancers, just to name a few. Lifestyle practices, such as eating a whole-food plant-based diet and regular physical activity, can help you lose weight, reverse some chronic diseases (if you suffer from them), and can even help you with detoxification. In certain cases, these approaches may even outperform pharmaceutical therapy. But I always tell my patients that conventional medications may be appropriate at this time to prevent catastrophic illness, but over time, you can work to make the necessary lifestyle changes to possibly reduce and/or eliminate medications. Please remember to always consult your physician for your particular needs and circumstances prior to making any decisions whatsoever.
Is Dietary Supplementation Right For You?
For some people, vitamin and mineral supplements offer important health benefits. Supplements are designed to fight deficiencies found in our diet and complement the food we eat regularly. Supplements are basically “helping hands” to our daily food.
If you suspect that you aren’t getting the nutrients you need, consider shifting your focus from supplements to eating better.
But it is very important to note that we are not eating the same foods we ate years ago because the soils have been depleted of critical nutrients through current industrial farming practices. And because the soil is not as good as it used to be, the food supply (grown from the depleted soil) is not as good as it used to be. For example, you are not getting the same levels of magnesium as you would have gotten 30 or even 50 years ago.
Second, much of the food has been genetically altered, which can impact the inherent and unique nutritional composition that each food possess. For example, ancient einkorn wheat has less gluten, more protein, more Vitamin A, and more beta carotene, than modern genetically modified wheat.
Third, the toxic load in the environment today is much higher than 100 years ago. We can see this with global warming, toxic landfills, polluted oceans and waterways, etc. Toxicity levels interfere with nutrient assimilation and absorption not just into the foods, but into our bodies as well.
So… if you are unable to eat better, the supplements in my MaxHealth Total Wellness Bundle may provide the extra boost you need.
These are my favorite Wellness and Immune-Boosting Supplements to use! This MaxHealth Total Wellness Bundle will ensure you have the intake of the important vitamins, minerals, and probiotics to decrease inflammation and boost your innate wellness day and night. Taken together, it’s a solid plan for increasing your body’s natural resiliency.
For best results make sure you use the supplements with dietary changes including a whole food plant-based diet, regular exercise (at least 2-3x per week), regular sleep (8 hours per night), and intermittent fasting (at least 1-3x per week).
Weight Monitoring
Since weight management is very important in combatting chronic diseases, I recommend that you be mindful of your weight and its fluctuations, and that you monitor your weight AT LEAST on a weekly basis. I recommend a scale that includes a body composition monitor (*this scale cannot be used with a pacemaker or other implanted devices).
Physical Activity
Physical activity (or exercise) can improve your health and reduce the risk of developing several chronic diseases like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and cancer, just to name a few. Physical activity can improve your mood, boost your immune system, help you maintain a healthy weight, and is a great way to detox your body!
I often recommend yoga and resistance training for physical activity, but as you are aware, there are plenty of forms of “movement” that you can do! But for the basics, especially if you’re just getting started, yoga and resistance training are where I would start.
Yoga
Yoga can be a great way to improve your strength and flexibility, manage your stress, improve your heart health, and lose weight! I recommend using a grounded yoga mat to connect yourself with the earth and reduce inflammation.
Resistance Training
Resistance training is the mainstay for overall health. It not only has beneficial effects on reducing body fat, it also increases muscle size and strength. Check out some basic dumbbells/free weights that I recommend to everyone.
Another alternative for dumbbells/free weights are resistance bands. They are great for physical therapy, yoga, strength training, and excellent for traveling.
Remember, living a healthy lifestyle including eating a whole foods plant-based diet, regular physical activity, and reducing stress are the best ways to maintain a healthy weight. Let me know what you think in the comment section below.
Dr. Nicolle Martin
Dr. Nicolle is double board-certified in Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine. As one of the nation’s most acclaimed primary care and public health physicians, she is a nationally recognized author, speaker, researcher, consultant and media personality. She is the Founder and Chief Medical Advisor of DrNicolleMD.com, where she discusses actionable ideas and real-world strategies to help people take control of their health using integrative therapies and lifestyle change.
Dr. Nicolle also shares her knowledge via her popular social media accounts “Maximize Health” to help people pursue a healthier life. Her motto is simple: Minimize Medications, Maximize Health. With her credentials and warm “bedside manner,” it’s no wonder that the doctor is renowned as “America’s Favorite Family Physician.”
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