Eating, Thinking, and Living Outside the Box

In today's #BWD:  rethinking how you plan your meals; being prepared for heart attack before it happens; and scents that might help you unwind from stress. May it bless you.

Be Well.
Bob



MIND

Destructive eating habits can sneak up on us. Before we know it, we're thinking of how much simpler life is when you can just tear open a box, or throw a plastic pouch into the microwave. Eating well takes effort, and sometimes that means changing the way we think about what we eat and where we get it. How Giving Up Boxed Carbs Uncovered the Need for Me to Become a Meal Planner tells one person's story of how sometimes the mind has to change before the body can.


BODY

Sometimes ignorance can be fatal. Do You Know These Signs of Heart Disease? You'd better. Educate yourself now with this short quiz from Spark People. Be able to recognize the signs of a heart attack in yourself or in someone else.


SPIRIT

Can you smell your way to serenity and better mental health? Maybe. In this well researched article, Dr Marcola discusses how Essential Oils Support Physical Health and Emotional Well-being. I wonder if they could get my downstairs neighbor's cigarette smoke out of my closets?

Taking Control of What You Can

In today's #BWG, I've pulled some items from the junk drawer that are close to my heart: a couple of them quite literally. Chronic disease and disorders can reduce the quality of our lives. Today's post is about ways to take back control. May it bless you.

Be Well,
Bob

Dr. Nancy Capello's annual mammograms were all normal. She made these important, high tech diagnostics part of her annual health routine, and found comfort in their findings. It took a skilled Gynocologist with experienced hands to find the dense ridge in her breast that the scans had missed and ultrasound revealed Stage 3 breast cancer. Are You Dense? is the story of how taking that extra step saved her life, and gave her a new sense of purpose. 

It might take a long time for you to make your first step toward fitness, but once you begin, the benefits are almost immediate. Here is a link to a 28 day program that will make your heart stronger, right from the starting line.

Living in a democracy means having a voice in the government's values and actions. The LIVESTRONG foundation is all about empowering and fighting for cancer survivors. Making Cancer a National Priority is a guide for letting your leaders know that you want them to be a part of the battle.

You might not think of loneliness as a chronic disorder, but when it leads to depression, it can be fatal. People who are divorced, widowed, or just haven't ever found the relationship they want with another person can slip into depression with deadly speed and fatal consequences. In How I Stay Single and Sane..., Shana Lebowitz talks about her journey from hating loneliness to embracing solitude: and learning to love who you are today.

Stress isn't always bad. It can keep you alert and ready to take action. Back in the days when predators were a constant threat to our lives, successful humans had a powerful fight or flight response to danger. In the absence of big cats and charging Grizzlies, we might experience that response while waiting to hear about a promotion or when some jerk cuts us off in traffic. When our body tells us to fight or run, and there's nobody to hit and nowhere to flee, the result is stress, and it can kill us. 10 Weird Side Effects of Stress is a slide show that teaches you how to recognize when stress is doing you more harm than good.

High Blood Pressure is often called "The Silent Killer." You don't feel it. You don't see it. Sometimes it has no symptoms at all. And it can lead to cardiac-pulmonary disease, kidney disease, heart attack, and stroke. This 8 question Blood Pressure Quiz from SPARKPEOPLE is not easy, I have high blood pressure myself, and I did pretty badly. I hope you take it. What you don't know about hypertension can kill you.

If you have a Facebook account, you hear about insomnia all the time. While a chronic inability to sleep can indicate serious health issues, everybody has trouble sleeping once in a while. Here are 8 Ways to Beat Insomnia when it's way past your bedtime, and you just can't seem to keep your eyes closed.