3/13/12 The worry cure!

3/13/12    The worry cure! 

·         when you are awake at night worrying about stressful items, and when it can become toxic.  We have become an anxiety society.  How to manage it.

·         When you need to be treated more aggressively is when it becomes all consuming.  It is in our DNA to be anxious, but you have more control than you think. 

·         How to quiet the brain down and lead normal lives.  Give yourself a worry-window, sit back and tell yourself you need a time-out to let your thoughts take over for a while, it will help you to not stress out as harshly.  You can create a worry calendar, look and plan out your month (events/bills due)  on what you need to get done, it will give you structure and organization which will give you control and reduce anxiety and worry.  In the moment, use a balloon as a prop, take a deep breath of air, blow slowly into the balloon as you inflate it.  It forces you to slow your breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure down. 

·         The intestine is like a second brain, and very sensitive to stress and worry. Stress causes digestion issues- nausea and diarrhea.  To keep them from overreacting, try lemon balm –it also helps you sleep better (400mg 2x/day –one at beginning of the day, one at the end of the day, $4 drugstores).  Iberigast –use 20 drops in a glass of water as needed ($20 online), more of an immediate effect. 

·         Mind body connection:  a holistic cure to balance the body is to take 1tsp lemon juice, ½ tsp honey, 1tsp ground ginger –take 3x/day.  Lemon juice lowers blood pressure and stimulates weaker constitutions that lend themselves to worry, the ginger is a warming, nurturing herb, and the honey stabilizes blood sugar. Aromatherapy inhalers are good when you have to calm down quickly ($7 online) and use throughout the day. 

·         Food can be the safest way to cure your worry and just as effective as medicine.  The amino acids, complex carbs, and vitamins that go a long way to help. 

a)      Complex carbs act as tranquilizers, they will keep mood stable, you will get a good nights sleep –has serotonin. 

b)      Serotonin is also in tryptophan foods –salmon, shrimp, bananas, kale, and low sodium soy sauce.  Tryptophan helps you relax. 

c)      Vitamin c foods helps reduce stress hormone levels.  Red bell peppers, broccoli, kiwi, peaches, collard greens (1 cup collard greens will give you half the vit.c  that your body needs in a day!) 

d)      Omega-3 fatty acids, will stabilize your mood.  Not just oily fish.  Walnuts, flax seeds, edamame, soybeans

·         A whole day to incorporate all of those foods:

i)        Breakfast -Start off with a “panic proof parfait” –layer cantaloupe, cottage cheese, oats, and pistachios.

ii)      Lunch- “stress less taco salad”- take an upside down muffin tin and spray a whole wheat tortilla with a little olive oil, bake 375 degree oven for about 15minutes to make your taco shell.  Put in black beans, grilled turkey, redbell peppers, chili peppers, corn, and a dollop of greek yogurt. 

iii)    Dinner- “the wind down dinner”- get organic grass fed steak, you get the highest nutrition.  Make mashed blue potatoes- the pigment gives you bigger bang of nutrition.  Steamed asparagus with slivered almonds.

·         Actress Kristen Johnston wrote a book called “Guts” and the health crisis that nearly killed her, and how she overcame it.  (that chick from 3^rd Rock).  She had a secret addiction to rx pain pills and alcohol that caused an ulcer that caused her stomach to explode and her to almost die. http://www.doctoroz.com/book/guts (excerpt from the book).   

Peritanitis is when the food and acid leaks out from the hole and poisons your body – 3 warning signs:  weight loss, sudden severe pain, and black stool. 

·         Her favorite one-pot stomach saving recipe, Rosemary and Thyme Chicken.  http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/one-pot-rosemary-and-thyme-chicken

·         Anti-exhaustion hot-list

i)        Liquid B-12 from Nature’s Bounty ($11 drugstores), 40% of people don’t have enough of it.  You put the drops under your tongue. 

ii)      The Luna Energy Bar –wont make you crash.  Protein/fiber/carbs, pick one with 15grams of sugar. 

iii)    The IPosture ($80 iposture.com), you put the button on your body, it buzzes when you slouch.  Posture sends a signal to your psyche, the way you hold your body reflects the alertness you have in your life.

iv)    Latte  the combo of caffeine and milk will give you energy.  There is a mr.coffee latte machine. 

·         Bonus tip:  how to protein pack your day:  have 2Tb peanut butter in your oatmeal in the am- 8grams of protein.  Add a handful of hemp seeds to your salad- nutty flavor, and about a handful gives almost your daily serving of protein, same texture as sunflower seeds.  Wrap a slice of turkey around a cheese stick in the afternoon.  One handful of almonds, and half of a Verve energy drink.