An important ingredient in loving and accepting yourself is vulnerability. While it’s not always comfortable to share yourself; especially things you don’t like, it’s helpful for personal growth. In this podcast, Rick and Keith do a few rounds of Q&A. Since they don’t know what questions will be asked, it’s a great opportunity for both to practice vulnerability.
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I was taught as a child to use my time wisely. I felt like I needed to be productive at all times. My practice today allows me to give my best to everything I do, but I’m also able to give myself some downtime to do whatever I want to do, without guilt. With government officials, infectious disease experts, and public health professionals providing guidelines to keep us safe, many of us are experiencing changes to our normal routine. What I am hearing the most is disruptions to healthy eating habits. What if we could turn that around and see this time of uncertainty as an opportunity to be healthier? What if we chose to make a fresh start to eat healthier and improve our health through nutrition? More than ever, we have the time to do just that. The excuse “I don’t have time to plan, prep and cook” has gone away for those of us who are spending more time at home.
I recently listened to an interview with Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, Dean, Freidman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Based on extensive research, he communicates what I’ve felt might be the case with our nation’s health as it relates to coronavirus. The information I share here is directly from Dr. Mozaffarian, the CDC and other scholarly (peer-reviewed) articles. Knowledge is power and my hope is to share this knowledge so that it might inspire someone to replace current eating behavior with consistent, long-term nutritional habits that can restore their health. It’s not too late. By helping yourself, you help others.
First, some statistics:
- Only 12% of Americans are metabolically healthy. Basic criteria for being healthy includes waist circumference, blood glucose, triglyceride levels, cholesterol levels, and hypertension. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) considers the following to be “unhealthy”:
- a waist that measures over 40 inches in men or over 35 inches in women
- fasting blood glucose of 100 to 125 mg/dL indicates you have pre-diabetes, and 126 mg/dL or higher indicates you have diabetes
- fat, or triglyceride, levels in the blood of 150 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) or above
- total cholesterol over 200 mg/dL, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol over 100 mg/dL, or HDL (“good”) cholesterol below 60 mg/dL
- hypertension – blood pressure at or above 130/80 mm Hg
- In 2017–2018, the age-adjusted prevalence of obesity in adults was 42.4%. It’s gone up from there.
- Two in three adults are overweight or obese.
- Half of American adults have diabetes or pre-diabetes.
- Nearly half of the U.S. population has hypertension. Only 1 in 4 of those affected have their condition under control.
- Healthcare costs in the last 50 years have risen from 5% of the federal budget to 30%. Same thing for states.
- U.S. businesses in 1970 spent a total of $80 Billion dollars on healthcare – adjusted for inflation they now spend 1.2 trillion dollars on healthcare.
- Though people of all ages are affected by coronavirus, many of those who develop severe complications after contracting it have preexisting medical conditions. According to a CDC report, nearly 90% of adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the US had one or more underlying diseases.
- Clear link between people who have chronic diseases (many of which are diet related) and how sick these people get from coronavirus.
- Most people who are metabolically healthy do not get that sick from Coronavirus.
Many people are asking “What can we do?” We are told to wash our hands, social distance and wear a mask. Clearly, there seems to be something else the majority of Americans can do, that would significantly reduce their risk for getting critically ill from COVID-19.
What if….
- People used this time at home to learn just one new piece of nutrition knowledge each and every day and applied it in their life?
- People spent a little bit of time learning to cook instead of going out to eat?
- Our medical establishments, large food industries and government focused on keeping and/or getting us healthy instead of supporting big business ($$$) and prescribing medication for food-related chronic diseases (sorry, that’s a separate blog all on its own)?
- People made their health a priority?
Is it possible that this pandemic might not have had such devastating results if we were healthier as a nation? Research would suggest, yes. The pandemic might not have had such a crippling effect on our healthcare system, economy, and communities. Dr. Mozaffarian says there is hope and millennials are leading the way. They are demanding food that is healthier, sustainable and trustworthy. Businesses are hearing this. Dr. Mozaffarian says that businesses that don’t adapt will not be here in 20 to 30 years! Let’s be inspired by this generation and do our part to lead the way by starting now. Do your own research, learn, share and take intelligent action, if you can. Make the best of this unprecedented time. It could make all the difference in the world for you and your loved ones.
Amy
Some people believe that acceptance means being passive to injustices or situations that are unfair. For years, I held this belief. It doesn’t mean that. Instead, it means accepting the situation as it is in this moment, while working in a positive and loving way to make it better. Oftentimes when we try to right a wrong or improve things, our mind or ego leads the charge which can result in obsessive thinking, ruminating, complaining, judging, and withholding love and kindness. This is what we mean when we say “the fight within yourself”. This behavior, often unconscious, creates suffering for you and others. While this is certainly one way to interact with the situation, there is a different way. The latter involves consciously choosing to be grateful, loving, and kind as you intelligently work to make situations better. And if there is no action that can be taken, practice acceptance here too. When acceptance is practiced it brings peace.
We often change try to change people. This was certainly true for Keith. For many years, he was constantly trying to improve people. This was a classic case of the ego at work. Despite good intentions, trying change people is a recipe for suffering. To be clear, this is different from wanting the best for people. Trying to change them often involves acting to improve them without their consent or partnership. This behavior has adversely affected Keith and Rick personally and in their relationships with others. Listen as they share that the key to changing people is with them. Understanding this, Rick and Keith choose to accept people just as they are, while trying to stay on their own path of being kind, peaceful, and loving.
In this episode, Rick and Keith share how to be peaceful in your relationships. Close connections can be rewarding and also challenging; especially to the ego. They also provide opportunities for growth. As we’ve shared before, the ego is not a fan of this kind of growth. As you continue of the path of being present, kind, and serving, the ego will resist creating internal suffering for you. Rick and Keith discuss how to experience the growth process in a peaceful way.
Consider Daily Journaling
“An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person’s main task in life — becoming a better person.” — Leo Tolstoy.
To become a better person, more relaxed and in control, reflective, self-monitoring and more compassionate of others, consider journaling. This simple daily habit will likely make you more aware and conscious, as well as a more accurate witness to the reality that is your life.
Brain scientists suggests that the average lifespan of an emotion to move through the nervous system is one and a half minutes. This releases the burden of clinging to our emotional attachments longer than required. Daily journaling helps us make peace with toxic emotions and transform them into healthy ones. Otherwise, they remain ‘stuck’ in our nervous system instead of moving through us. The simple act of writing in our journal on a daily basis helps us to be mindful of the present moment, instead of being caught up in the past or future.
Mindfulness is the way to attain clarity as to what really matters. We become attuned to our emotions instead of allowing them to control us. Eckhart Tolle says that anytime we are emotionally agitated for no reason, we are recollecting unresolved memories and creating a Pain body experience. Journaling brings clarity and resolution.
In this episode, we talk to Joyce Laszloffy about how she kicked sugar and optimized her physical, mental and emotional health. Whether it’s an addiction to sugar or other unhealthy behaviors, we often seek something external to appease “the voice” in the head that says, “I am not good enough. I am not enough.” Listen as Joyce and Keith discuss how they overcame that voice and unhealthy behavior to live a peaceful, healthy life.