How to Spring into Wellness
Content Courtesy of the Forever Young Podcast with Christiana Egi and Cherrie-Marie Chiu.
The birth of a new season is all about new beginnings. As spring slowly approaches and we see buds on the trees and flowers bloom, I can’t help but feel a sense of hope. Just like the trees and flowers, we start to spring back to life as the grass gets greener and the weather gets warmer. We often hear about “spring cleaning” our environments but we don’t hear a lot about cleansing the machine that runs our bodies. Most of us may even take better care of our cars than our bodies! This is why it is important for us to cleanse and detox the gunk that is welled up inside of us.
I think it’s important to highlight some of the benefits of detoxification. Everything begins within the gut. An unhealthy gut means the inability to absorb nutrients and can lead to the inability to eliminate waste or decreases one’s ability to burn fat. Your gut is linked to not only hormones but also your liver, which has over 500 functions and is very important for our survival. Luckily, the brain detoxifies itself when we slip through the lymphatic system. This is a process through which waste is removed from the nervous system and the brain. However, we can also support our brains by eating healthy - a healthy gut is a healthy brain. We talk more in detail about gut health on our Forever Young Podcast which you can listen to here:
There are several ways we can detoxify our bodies easily with food and increased water intake. There are several small changes that we can do to make real benefits in our bodies.
Avoid processed and sugary foods. Eating clean and natural foods can really help our digestive system.
Staying hydrated. We're so lucky in this part of the world that we have water in abundance. Our bodies are made of 75% water, so proper hydration is essential to our bodily functions. Still, for many of us, it can be very difficult to stay hydrated.
Get enough sleep. As mentioned above, when we sleep the brain actually detoxifies itself. Try to stick to a regular sleeping schedule every night.
Get outside! After all, it is springtime and good weather can contribute to our health and well-being. Spend more time in your backyard by taking up gardening as a spring activity. If you don’t have access to your own backyard, start walking! This is a great activity that will get you moving and also get you into the spring spirit.
Take a break. It can also be a break from alcohol so that your liver works a little less and gives it time to rest and rejuvenate. Drinking more water helps flush out toxins and other wastes from our bodies.
Okay so, how do we do it? How do we spring into wellness?
Well, as with anything in life, we need to start by planning for success. Our plans should be simple, attainable, realistic, measurable, and sustainable. So once we have a plan, we should make sure that that plan is something that is meaningful to us personally. Don't do it for anyone else.
Commitment is very important. Remember that forming a new habit takes at least 21 days. You need to actually have these actions be repetitious so that you can get used to doing what it is that you are doing. If you do fall off the wagon like most of us, I mean, it's a human thing to do. Get back up and start again.
Other things that we can do to support the health and detoxification of our brain are meditation, yoga, or even deep breathing exercises. There are so many resources available online to get you started - check out this 10 minute guided mediation for mindfulness below.
As we spring into wellness, don’t be too hard on yourself. Take each day as a new day. It is important to start slow, so it is easier to change unhealthy habits one at a time. Until then, keep smiling because you're never too old to become younger.
The Forever Young podcast is created and produced by Christiana and Cherrie Marie Chiu. Produced and engineered by Elisse Hill. The podcast represents our opinions and those of our guests. The content should not be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. Please consult your health care professional for any medical questions. If you like our show, please tell your friends and leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. New episodes are available every other Wednesday. Have questions? Email us at ourforeveryoungpodcast@gmail.com.
