Do you Suffer from E.S.?

Today one of the biggest types of stress, is emotional stress. Emotional stress plays on our body, mind and soul.  Have you ever felt emotionally drained? Or have your spirits been dampened to the point that you give up on something that you loved or enjoyed doing?

It’s easy to ignore emotional stress and we usually wait until it’s too late . We lead busy, hectic lives and we often put the needs of others first before our own self-care. We are the first to hop to the aid of whoever needs our help, children, spouse, neighbor, friend, school fundraiser, pet, etc. etc. etc. The list goes on and on.

When we go on and on and on giving and creating an energetic output without allowing for an energetic input or re-charge, to put it simply our batteries get drained and sometimes to the point that ‘we stop working’. We don’t want to let that happen. The best thing we can do for others IS to take care of ourselves.

Think about what happens when we don’t. Often we will feel grudeful, resentful, and even bitter toward those that we love most.  Yet the answer is so simple. When we are happy, those around us tend to be happier so we are doing a DISSERVICE to ourselves and everyone when we do not take time for self-care and self-love.

If we look at self-care as mandatory instead of optional, it frees us to do more for ourselves and to enjoy it! When we enjoy we are in-Joy! I firmly believe we are here on earth to experience Joy. We are very good at experiencing many other emotions such as lack, fear, disappointment, grief, and more, but when it comes to Joy people often feel they are not deserving of it. This is so far from the truth. The truth is that we are meant to be joyous and loving beings and it starts with loving and delighting in the things that brings us joy.

What are some ways you could work on relieving some of your emotional stress by taking time for yourself?

Here is a short video I did awhile back about finding Joy and following your heart by using your Joy Meter. Perhaps you will be inspired by this. https://www.facebook.com/holbik/videos/10154969367120479/

I would love to hear from you ways that you take time for self-care and self-love. For me as an example, I finally got to that sought after place, where I felt I loved my body and had gratitude for it, but now I SHOW my body that I love it and that has made a huge difference in my self-care. I now enjoy yoga, meditation, walks, trying new recipes and more. All of these acts are acts of self-love and self-care and bring me Joy.

What about you? What is good for you?

Maggie Holbik.com is a Certified Life Coach and Holistic Nutritionist who resides in Northern Ontario, Canada and enjoys time in the city as well as spending time at her seasonal cottage where she refreshes her soul and practices joyous self-care.

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The Real Goods on Inflammation

So many people suffer from inflammation on a daily basis! Are you one of them?

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to protect itself against harm. There are two types: acute and chronic. The more familiar type is the acute type, which occurs when you bang your knee or cut your finger. Your immune system dispatches an army of white blood cells to surround and protect the area, which creates visible redness and swelling. The process works similarly if you have an infection like the flu or pneumonia. So in these cases, inflammation is an important bodily response which helps you to heal and recover.

However, there is also chronic inflammation.  Chronic inflammation can occur in response to other unwanted substances in the body, such as toxins, viruses and an excess of fat cells (especially fat in the belly area). Inside arteries, inflammation helps kick off atherosclerosis—the buildup of fatty, cholesterol-rich plaque. Your body perceives this plaque as abnormal and foreign, so it attempts to wall off the plaque from the flowing blood. But if that wall breaks down, the plaque may rupture. The contents then mingle with blood, forming a clot that blocks blood flow. These clots are responsible for the majority of heart attacks and most strokes.

A simple blood test called the hsCRP test can measure C-reactive protein (CRP), which is a marker for inflammation, including arterial inflammation.  CRP is produced in the liver and its level is measured by testing the blood. I highly recommend getting your CRP tested when getting routine blood work. I pesonally use this test as one tool to gauge and monitor the inflammation in my body, along with obvious signs such as:

• aches and pains
• fatigue
• being overweight
• red or itchy skin
• swollen fingers, toes, and/or wrists
• a diagnosed autoimmune disease
• allergies or infections

Inflammation is not fun at all! I will be sharing more blog posts on inflammation and ways to combat inflammation. Feel free to share in the comments, questions or experiences that you have around inflammation.

Some health professional believe inflammation is the root of all disease.  Whatever way one looks at it, inflammation is something we want to work at lowering and there are many natural ways to help with this. I look forward to sharing more with you soon. Be sure to follow along, to see updates on inflammation and other topics pertaining to our playing a pivotal part in our own wellness management.

Maggie Holbik.com, CNC, NNCP, CLC,  is a Certified Life Coach and Certified Holistic Nutritionist who resides in Northern Ontario Canada

 

We Make a Nice Pear!

My daughter made this for me for Valentine’s Day this year. Isn’t it sweet? I have always loved pears and as a child they were my favorite fruit. My Dad would come home with cases of them after negotiating with the produce manager at the grocery store who was looking to move along the fruit that was bruised or getting too ripe to sell.

It was a delight for us and to this day it is a fond memory of mine. Knowing what I know now about nutrition and the healing powers of fruit, I am especially grateful that my parents instilled in us the importance of eating fruits and vegetables as well as feeding them to us when the budget allowed. A priority was always made by my mother to make sure the food had the highest nutrient content possible considering that we did not have a lot of resources and lived in a very remote area, quite isolated from food sources. In fact,  those cases of pears I talked about in my childhood were brought home either by boat in the summer or snowmobile in the winter, on top of a long drive from the city.

Today while enjoying a juicy and ripe pear, I delighted in the taste and enjoyed the tantalizing sensations as the pear broke down and exuded its delightful juice in my mouth. It reminded me of how digestible pears are in their ripe form.  In fact while enjoying my pear, I played with it in my mouth and found I could just clamp down and the pear dissolved in my mouth without having to chew it! In this state it is very digestible and bio-available to the body which makes it a source for a quick uptake of nutrients and a powerful delivery system for the body.  On the flip side, when we eat pears that are not that ripe, the fiber content is higher which helps to assist in lowering cholesterol and sweeping out pathogens and debris from the intestinal tract.  So any way you eat them, they are ALWAYS good and good for you! 🙂

Pears are loaded with phyto-nutrients such as trace minerals, and amino acids such as valine, histidine, threonine and lysine.  They are also loaded with vitamins and minerals. The trace mineral salts make pear juice high in electrolytes which help to stabilize blood sugar.

Try incorporating more fruits into your daily routine. They are one of, if not the most healing foods on earth. The natural sugars in fruit are important for your liver and brain as well. In fact, if you find yourself craving foods such as carbs, chocolate, alcohol or even cigarettes, try increasing your uptake of fruit so your body gets the natural sugars that it so desperately needs and craves.

Maggie Holbik.com is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist and Life Coach who resides in Northern Ontario Canada.