Getting a healthy balance

​In the modern world, life is so busy and today too many people are not feeling totally well or happy with their lives. The problem may be a physical health issue such as chronic back or hip pain, it may be work related stress or another mental and emotional health complaint with the most common being depression. Extreme tiredness and chronic fatigue are prevalent and there is an obvious indication that something is out of balance and although at the time it is uncomfortable, something needs to change. 

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The first step to making a change is to take responsibility for our own health and make the necessary lifestyle adjustments.  Alterations to diet and exercise along with a conscious effort to introduce more self-love and self-healing can have a massive impact on overall health and wellbeing and our bodies are designed to adjust to these changes quickly.

We are energy beings and every cell in our body is laden with genetic material known as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA is stored in the nucleus of every living cell and contains the instructions that make up who we are. These instructions can be changed by messages coming from outside the cell (the environment) and although our DNA doesn’t change, thousands of variations of a single gene are possible and a single gene can be quickly switched on or off so we need to be switching the good genes on and the bad genes off.

Some lifestyle suggestions for assisting with switching on the ‘good’ genes are:

Go outdoors for a daily walk
How does being out in nature make you feel? Spending time in nature has been shown to improve energy levels and is suggested therapy for those with chronic fatigue syndrome. Many people know that just being close to trees, plants and flowers can make them feel relaxed, calm and centred as their natural energy vibration lifts so as well as boosting energy levels, a walk outdoors in nature can act as a mood lift too.
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Eat healthily.
What, when and how you eat and drink (and any food supplements you take) can change the way certain parts of your DNA are read and implemented. So, even if you have a predisposition to obesity or other health problems, you can make genes for these conditions ‘inactive’ just by improving your diet. Dietary adjustments change the behaviour of the cells in your body and when genes are switched on (or off) they stay in this state when passed to the next generation so it is of high importance for would-be parents to be nutritionally aware.
Foods to limit are refined sugars as these bind to cells and triggers release of chemicals which can cause autoimmune conditions. Also try to avoid chemicals either sprayed on our foods (such as insecticides) or present in our foods (such as artificial sweeteners) as these can be very harmful to us, especially if consumed regularly. Over indulgence of animal fats has been linked to atherosclerosis (clogging of arteries and heart disease) for many years and for those suffering chest complaints such as asthma, a reduction in dairy products consumed may help tremendously.
Eating a variety of vitamins preferably from organic fruit and vegetables will help your body to heal itself and there are stories from people who publicly declared that they have cured themselves from serious disease just by switching to a raw plant based diet.
Some examples of foods which encourage healthy genes are:

• Vitamin B (found in fish, mushrooms, pulses, beans, wheatgerm or by supplementation) and Vitamin D( found in fish or by vitamin supplementation) both keep DNA healthy by preventing damage.
• Vitamin E (found in sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and wheatgerm) prevent DNA damage and may even repair damage already occurred.
• Antioxidants – vitamins A, C, E and Beta-carotene (found in fresh fruit and juices, salad, raw vegetables) silence oncogenes (cancer causing genes) and increase expression of cancer suppressor genes.
• Phytochemicals (also found in fresh fruit and vegetables) directly influence our DNA in a positive way.
• Reservatol (found in cacao powder) activates longevity genes.
• Anthocyanins (found in berries) protect DNA.
• Capsaicin (active components of chilli and hot peppers) protects DNA from damage.
• Ellagic acid (found in strawberries, grapes and raspberries) neutralises carcinogens before they damage DNA.

Being more conscious of thoughts, emotions and beliefs.
Our thoughts are incredibly powerful to the extent that every thought we think has a direct effect on our world. Our thoughts are directly linked to our emotions and all our life experiences are a result of our thoughts, emotions and beliefs.
Our thoughts emit an energy frequency which attracts what we are thinking about. Negative attracts negative and positive attracts positive so it is highly important to be aware of our thoughts and emotions.
Our thoughts and emotions have a direct effect on our body and health too. Our thoughts and emotions trigger the production of neuropeptides which directly affect every part of our body. Our thoughts and emotions also have the power to switch our genes on or off and create new neural pathways in our brains which can lead to healing or other changes in our body.
‘Love’ emotions such as gratitude and joy bring positive changes to our body and mind and switch on genes needed for optimal health but ‘fear’ linked emotions such as anger and worry, which are derived primarily from stress hormones, knock both the brain and body out of balance and downregulate genes needed for optimal health. Continued negative thinking and prolonged stress can be toxic to us and have severe effects on our health. Always remember that our thoughts and beliefs create our reality. Use this for positive benefits.

Stress reduction
Stress is a name given to a combination of emotions linked to fear and survival which can be responsible for negative effects on us both mentally and physically and as individuals. Although it is difficult, we need to be able to take responsibility for managing our own stress levels.
Generally, we can’t help but give too much time and energy thinking about potential problems and subsequently creating associated emotions which cause our natural energy vibration to drop which in turn affects our general health and wellbeing. When the body becomes highly stressed, it releases adrenaline (stress hormone) which prepares the body for action (also known as fight or flight response). This increases heart rate, causes blood pressure to rise and releases fats and sugars into the bloodstream ready to fuel the muscles. This means that with prolonged stress, fats and cholesterol are being constantly released into the bloodstream increasing risk of potentially serious problems such as heart disease and stroke.
Be governed by your emotions as they are always telling you something. If something makes you feel good then that’s positive although if something makes you feel unhappy or stressed, then it needs to change.
Work stress is very common and is often caused by an overload of work and lack of support. Unfortunately, there are pressures to earn money to survive so just walking away from work is often not an immediate option although sticking to a realistic schedule and being kind to yourself by taking an enforced break during the day to recharge is essential. During this break, take time to clear your energy field by having walk outside for at least 10 minutes in the fresh air. This is of even greater importance in the winter when the long working days means just getting some natural daylight is tricky.
Many people spend 8 hours each day at work which is a lot of time therefore it is so important to feel comfortable with your working life otherwise it can start to affect your health both short term and long term so put yourself first and be kind to yourself and your work output will naturally improve. If work is making you desperately unhappy then seriously consider a change and take the time to research other options as you deserve to be happy.
 
Learn to say no.
Stress related exhaustion can often occur in those who find it difficult to say ‘no’ or delegate. Work related stress can be caused by a lack of support and it is necessary to address this before your health starts to suffer. Be kind to yourself and know your limits Remember that taking time out during the day for yourself to recharge results in better health and a higher quality work output in the long term.
Also, love and fully accept yourself and be kind to yourself by not letting others expect too much from you. Politely explain when you feel something is too much as the first step to helping others is being healthy and strong yourself.
 
Be kind to each other
Interaction with other people can also affect us more than we realise. We are energy beings so greatly influenced by the energy of others and this can be either damaging or very beneficial to health.
Positive interactions with others and feelings of having social connections have been shown to have a significant effect on our health, A study by Fredrickson et al in 2008 involved a group of case study subjects experiencing a class practising a loving, kindness meditation an hour a week once a week. The conclusion which arose from this study was that recurrent self- generating positive emotions with increased feelings of social belonging resulted in lower blood pressure, slower heartbeat and reduced stress hormones and subsequently a lower susceptibility to heart disease, cancer and infection. Therefore feelings of having positive social connections have a positive impact on our physical and emotional wellbeing whilst loneliness or interacting with others who upset us has a negative, toxic effect on our health and wellbeing.
 
In summary 
We can keep our bodies as healthy and happy as possible by introducing lifestyle changes which may include eating a primarily plant-based diet rich in anti-oxidants, exercising outdoors regularly(this can just be a daily walk in nature), keeping thoughts and beliefs as positive as possible and spending quality time with people whose company you enjoy. These are all highly beneficial as well as making any necessary changes from anything causing a constantly low or fear based emotional state (including your own thoughts) so you can feel and enjoy the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
 
©Lisa Elmore
Forest Therapies and Wellbeing