It’s Wellness Wednesdays! We’ll talk about natural remedies for reducing stress. Stress is a normal part of everyday life. In fact, there are certain types of stress that are actually motivating and good for you. However, there are also bad types of stress that can build up and take over your life if you let it.
There are many treatment options to choose from when it comes to stress reduction. Turning to the help of natural remedies is a healthy choice, and many times it’ll help you to get to the root of your stress. When you know what causes your stress, you’ll be better able to recognize it and stop it from happening again in the future.
Here are some natural remedies that can help you reduce your stress:
1. Deep breathing techniques.
Breathing deeply can work wonders when it comes to stress reduction. Your breathing is a connection between your conscious mind and the unconscious. When you’re stressed, you take more shallow and short breaths. Counteract the stress, relax your body, and calm your mind with long, deep breaths.
2. Herbal remedies.
Stress-reducing herbs include valerian, passionflower, and kava-kava. These remedies double as remedies for problems, such as insomnia and anxiety, because stress is the most common cause of these ailments.
3. Watch what you put into your body.
What you eat on a daily basis can directly affect the way you feel and have an impact on your stress levels. It’s important to eat nutritiously, maintain a balanced diet, and limit harmful substances such as caffeine, especially later on in the day.
4. Make extra time for yourself.
When you’re stressed, you may feel like there’s just not enough time in the day to accomplish everything that you’d like. This might lead you to cut out doing things for yourself even though they’re vitally important. Go out of your way to make extra time for yourself to reduce your stress and rejuvenate your mind and body.
5. Take a warm bath.
A warm bath is a great natural way to leave the stresses of the day behind you. You can increase your bath’s stress-reducing benefits by experimenting with different aromatherapies through soaps, bath oils, or candles.
6. Break your routine with a relaxing activity.
Try something new and bring in some excitement by breaking your routine to pursue a relaxing activity. It’s a great way to relieve your stress and breathe new life into a dull day.
7. Maintain an exercise routine.
Exercise is an excellent way to combat stress. It keeps your body fit and your brain active. Exercise also releases endorphins in the brain, which energize you and reduce your stress levels.
Try to get creative when it comes to discovering new ways to combat stress. Your main goal is to avoid getting caught up in your stress. Rather than letting stress run your life, make the decision to be the one in charge. You’ll soon be able to recognize when negative stress is taking over so you can turn to one of your natural remedies to banish it from your life for good!
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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 Essentials Bundle may provide the extra boost you need.
These are my favorite Wellness and Immune-Boosting Supplements to use! This MaxHealth Essentials Bundle will ensure you have the intake of the important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants 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
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Last updated on July 19th, 2023 at 01:48 am
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