Top Tips to Reduce Inflammation

Excess inflammation can cause major issues in our body and may destroy our efforts toward beautiful skin and a fit physique. Our 24-7 workweeks, lack of sleep and high stress levels can dramatically raise inflammation in the body and leave us looking and feeling completely worn out. No matter how many products we use to improve our appearance or what types of workouts we accomplish, we'll never fully look our best if we don't take care of what is going on inside the body. 

Inflammation is part of the body's immune response and it's initially beneficial in the healing process. It helps heal wounds and protects the body from environmental factors. Additionally, an inflammatory response takes place during exercise to help the body adapt. These issues come into play when we are over taxed and acute inflammation (healthy, necessary) leads to chronic inflammation (where all the problems take place).

Chronic inflammation comes about from our lifestyle. If we over exercise, over eat, get lack of sleep and live a stressful life, we most likely have excess inflammation. This alone could be sabotaging our health goals.  Thankfully, there are a number of ways to reduce and manage inflammation at a healthy level. Check out my top tips below!

Consume Ginger and Turmeric

These ancient herbs have been shown to place a significant role in lowering inflammation. I try to incorporate these ingredients into my meals as much as possible. They are great in stirfrys, roasted veggies and soups.

Fish Oil

Load up on Omega 3’s. “Scientists form Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science reported on a study in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity that the daily consumption of fish oil, omega-3 reduced both inflammation and anxiety in a group of young healthy people.” – Medical News Today

Get 8 Hours of Sleep

A good night’s rest has been stressed over and over again, but there is actually a chemical response happening inside the body that is important for reducing inflammation. “A new study in the journal Sleep shows that sleep duration is associated with changes in the levels of specific cytokines that are important in regulating inflammation. The results suggest that inflammation may be the pathway linking extreme sleep durations to an increased risk for disease.” – Science Daily

Don’t Over Exercise

I am 100% guilty of this! I always think it is better to do more than less but definitely not in this case. We have to give our body time to recover in order to see beneficial gains and reduce the inflammation that comes from exercise. Try to switch up the workouts everyday so you are not taxing the same muscles, and be sure to take days off. I know it’s hard but worth it!

Get Cold

Applying ice or sitting in cold water causes inflammation to go down. If you are applying ice, be sure to put a wrap or towel underneath to avoid ice burn. I force myself to sit in cold water for 20-minutes. It is brutal but it works wonders. 

Meditate

This ancient practice has major benefits for reduces cortisol levels. Even if it's just a few minute of deep breathing, you will begin to change your overall state and significantly reduce stress. The practice of becoming present and deepening your breath calms the mind while reducing inflammation in the body. Start with 5-minutes a day and work your way up.

Hold a few yoga poses

Meditation and yoga go hand in hand. The deep breathing combined with yoga postures boosts seratonin, reduces pressure on the joints, improves confidence and lower inflammation. 

Rhythms of Renewal

What we put into our bodies is what we get out. Balancing so many responsibilities into our weekly schedules can become quite stressful which may lead us to slack in attending to our needs. Nevertheless, our bodily needs are something that should not be ignored. This week I am targeting ways to destress, relax and jump back into a solid rhythm of renewal. Go ahead and check it out!

Enhance Nutrition

When we have an injury that needs healing, the body sends pro-inflammatory cells to the injury site to keep out bacteria, virus, and infections. Inflammation should be just right for what it's sent out to fix, not too much or too little, and should go away when the job is done. Through excessive stress, environmental toxins, processed sugars and prolonged fatigue, inflammation can become chronically high and lower our immune defense.

Here are a few nutritional enhancements to lower inflammation in the body.

• Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory. For a quick and delicious way to consume it, blend 1 tablespoon grated turmeric root or powder, ½ cup coconut milk, ½ frozen banana.  

• Collagen regrows connective tissue and improves cellular turnover. Incorporate 1-2 scoops collagen protein powder into any smoothie or soup.  

• Broccoli sprouts support methylation which drops inflammation and improves t-cell function. Enjoy on a salad or with any meal. 

• Elderberry contains potent antioxidants that are essential for cellular turnover and immune defense. Enjoy elderberry tea any time of day.

Mindfulness

Any form of mindfulness based stress reduction can alleviate anxiety, strengthen parts of the brain responsible for attention and calm the nervous system thereby reducing inflammation in the body.

My challenge to you… for five days straight perform these simple and short breathing techniques. Incorporate it at the same time daily if possible to keep consistency. You will feel a significant shift in your stress levels

Enhance Energy 

Improve Creativity 

Reduce Stress 

Prolong Focus 

Nora’s Naturals

When all else fails, sometimes a delicious cocktail or mocktail is essential at the end of a long work day! Keep it clean and stay on track by using this simple list of staples: 

Staples of Clean Cocktails: 

• Quality Spirit: tequila, gin or vodka 

• Clean Mixer: club soda 

• Citrus: lime, lemon, grapefruit

• Spices/Herbs: jalapeno, basil, mint 

• Optional Sweetener: honey, stevia, maple syrup 

Staples of Mocktails: 

• Clean Mixer: club soda

• Citrus: lime, lemon, grapefruit

• Spices/Herbs: jalapeno, basil, mint

• Berries: muddled raspberries, blueberries, blackberries

• Optional Sweetener: honey, stevia, maple syrup

Self Care Habits

Simple acts to heighten abundance, stimulate positive thought and sustain energy in the midst of stress. 

Self care can feel contradictory. There are few daily reminders to focus inward, and nourish ourselves first.  We spend a significant amount of energy as outputs, rather than inputs. Between work, family, friends, daily tasks and responsibilities, it can be easy to spend 90% of our energy as an external focus with little left over to rejuvenate ourselves. After a while, this output can add up to depletion. I know when I don’t spend any of my energy inward, I am not nearly as helpful or valuable to those I would like to help. My work is nowhere near as creative as I expect it to be, and I generally just feel low. 

This week, I would like to share actionable self care strategies that do not take up too much time, but can make a difference in our state. As always, use any segment that speaks to you. Every day is different, so you can refer back to the specific section on the days you need it most. We are all working hard, doing our best. Adding in a little extra love, time, and care for ourselves is worth it. 

Positive psychology is the science of what is needed for a good life. While this focus is not new, dating all the way back to Aristotle's investigation of eudaimonia (a Greek word commonly translated as the state of good spirit or happiness), the emergence of effective disciplines to achieve this state is relatively modern. The Authentic Happiness theory demonstrates four areas of life that come together to create sustained joy. 

The Pleasant Life

Having as much positive emotion as possible and learning the skills to prolong and intensify pleasures.

The Engaged Life

Knowing personal character (highest) strengths and recrafting your work, love, friendship, play and parenting to use them as much as possible.

The Meaningful Life

Using personal character strengths to belong to and serve something that is larger than oneself.

The Achieving Life

Dedicated to achieving for the sake of achievement. There are specific strategies that have been proven to support all four aspects of Authentic Happiness: 

• Personal Relevance: Creating patterns, carrying out healthy routines and reinforcing positive thoughts to focus on oneself. 

• Perceived Challenges: Participating in experiences and engaging in daily challenges that stretch (neither over-match nor under utilize) existing skills. 

• Clear Proximal Goals: Setting short term goals  to become engrossed in the experience, and make engaged goal-striving more likely. 

Morning Mindset Journal 

Just like our physical challenge of the month, the mental component is designed to be done daily without impeding the schedule. Take 3-5 minutes first thing in the morning for the next 30 days to complete the prompts below. No need to overthink it. Just fill out whatever comes to mind that day. 

Every day is different, and there is no right or wrong way to complete it. Just the act of identifying these key areas daily can have a direct effect on mindset, gratitude and overall happiness. 

The Pleasant Life: Write down three positive thoughts, feelings or recent experiences that made you feel joy. 

The Engaged Life: Write down three personal characteristics you want to activate today- whether at work, in relationships or out in the community. 

The Meaningful Life: Write down three simple actions you can complete today that would have a positive impact on someone or something. 

The Achieving Life: Write down three goals that you plan to accomplish today, then write down one action item for each to complete by the end of the day. 

Similar to the connection between exercise and brain function… There is a bidirectional connection between the gut microbiome and the feelings of happiness/satisfaction in the brain. The human gut is lined with more than 100 million nerve cells. The digestive tract produces 90% of our feel good hormone serotonin, and the gut bacteria produces many other neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, and GABA. All of these neurotransmitters are critical for mood regulation, concentration, motivation and reward. 

There are ways to feed the healthy gut bacteria and minimize the bad bacteria. For this month’s challenge incorporate two items daily from the “Super Strength” list below and cut out two items daily from the “Old Offenders”. 

Super Strength: 

• Plantains 

• Kimchi 

• Sauerkraut 

• Yogurt (no sugar) 

• Kefir (no sugar) 

• Dark leafy greens 

• Berries 

• Seaweed 

• Apples 

• Asparagus 

• Flaxseed 

• Artichoke 

• Natto 

• Gouda, cheddar, cottage cheese 

Old Offenders: 

• Soda 

• Fruit juice 

• Packaged snacks

• Cereal 

• Pasta 

• Candy 

• Crackers 

• Baked goods (unless homemade) 

• Nutrition bars 

Noras Naturals

Part of self care to me is indulgences. I really enjoy desert, and always trying to find healthier ways to get to treat myself throughout the week. Here are a couple new recipes for cookies. Each recipe uses most of the same ingredients, so you do not have to buy too many items. They are also very simple and time efficient. 

Snickerdoodles 

• 2 cups almond flour 

• ¼ teaspoon baking soda 

• ⅓ cup melted coconut oil 

• ¼ cup honey 

• 1tbsp vanilla extra 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Roll into balls and bake for 9-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Once cooked, roll balls into a mixture of cinnamon and coconut sugar. 

Coco Brownie Cookies 

• 2 cups almond flour

• ¼ cup cacao powder

• ¼ tsp baking soda

• ½ cup coconut oil

• 4 tbsp honey

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Let cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Place into cookies on a tray and bake at 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes. 

Coconut Cookies 

• 2 ½ cups unsweetened coconut large flakes

• ½ cup almond flour 

• ¼ cup coconut oil 

• ½ cup maple syrup 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

I hope this week’s self care strategies and yummy recipes are a great start to the busy month ahead. Thank you for your consistent energy and taking the time to join me here every Friday!

Five Wellness Tips

It seems that we are constantly moving and grinding throughout the work week. To keep it short and simple this Friday I just wanted to give you all a friendly reminder to stop and make sure that YOU, both mentally and physically, are taken care of! This week I am sharing with you 5 simple wellness tips that I look forward to throughout my day to make sure I am taking care of myself! Once reading through, I want to vocalize that it is totally okay if some of these tips do not resonate with your preferences enough for you to practice these daily. However I hope they certainly get your juices flowing so that you have some options to refer to.

Floss Twice Per Day

WHY: The International Journal of Epidemiology conducted a study on 5,611 subjects and found those who did not floss increased their risk of mortality by 30% compared to those who flossed daily. The mouth contains a number of bacteria that link to the gut. When the toxic bacteria are not cleaned out daily, plaque and inflammation start to build. This type of inflammation is a precursor to chronic diseases.

TRY: Floss as soon as you wake up and right before you go to sleep.

Enjoy Matcha Each Afternoon

WHY: Matcha tea contains three times as many antioxidants as standard green tea, because of the way it is harvested. The process of shading the matcha plant increases the chlorophyll and amino acid content.   In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that regularly drinking matcha can result in an increase in your body’s rate of thermogenesis (the rate at which you burn calories) from 8-10% (without matcha) to 35-43% (with it)! The study also found the catechins in matcha reduces the damage caused by free radicals, slowing down the aging process and reducing inflammation. 

TRY: Matcha Latte

•  2 Teaspoons Matcha Powder

• 1-Cup Coconut or Almond Milk

• 2 Teaspoons Honey

• Mix together and serve hot

I enjoy this in the afternoon when I want to switch over from coffee. It’s an excellent way to keep energy up without disrupting sleep. I’ll have the latte as late as 5pm.

Breathe Deeply for 5 Minutes Daily

WHY: The Journal of Neuroscience found a change in brain chemistry when implementing breathing exercises and meditation. The findings demonstrated there is specific growth in areas of the brain responsible for attention and processing sensory input. The studies also showed that guided breathing could alter gene expression, greatly improving immune function and energy metabolism.  Additionally, taking longer exhalations illicit the relaxation response offsetting the

detrimental physiological effects caused by stress. 

TRY: Pick a specific time each day for your breathing routine, put it in your calendar as if you would an ongoing conference call or a meeting. Repeat daily at the same time as best you can. Keeping it consistent helps to ensure you will stick to it. You can simply sit and breath to music or in silence- breathing in for 3 counts, out for 5. Inhale 3, exhale 5. There are great apps for additional meditations, such as Calm and Headspace.

Move for 20 Minutes Daily

WHY: The Harvard Alumni Health Study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found the importance of keeping a consistent exercise regime.  The participants who started and kept up an exercise program had a 23% lower risk of chronic disease than those who started a program and eventually stopped.

The Department of Physiological and Brain Sciences at Boston University has proven that exercise can help treat depression, while low activity can be a major contributing factor to depression. Moderate daily exercise increases brain derived neurotropic factor  (critical protein in neural network of the brain) and serotonin (fulfillment hormone), both essential for lowering anxiety and influencing mood.

TRY: Perform 20 minutes of daily HIIT training, walk, bike, swim, yoga… any type of movement you enjoy. Just like the breathing routine, put 20 minutes of movement as an ongoing appointment in your calendar.  If you’d like a guided workout, here are a few options (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh0ZILWcaTpKVJjuVne3e1A/featured).

Eat Dark Chocolate

WHY: The phenolic antioxidants in cocoa stimulate changes in the pathways involving gene expression, protecting the nerves from injury and inflammation.  The US National Library of Medicine found the cocoa in dark chocolate to protect the skin from oxidative damage from UV radiation and have beneficial effects on satiety, cognitive function, and mood. A study conducted by the National Institute of Health found that eating dark chocolate two or more times per week lowered the risk of having calcified plaque in the arteries by 32%.  Cocoa also stimulates the production of serotonin, which helps improve overall mood.

TRY: Enjoy dark chocolate (70% cocoa or above) each day. I have 2-3 pieces in the afternoon when my energy is low or at night when I’m craving sugar. A few great brands- Lindt, Alter Eco, Theo

The Importance of Finding Time for Self-Care as an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs have always had a lot on their minds, but the ubiquity of modern technology adds a layer that can be exhausting. In between strategizing inventory challenges and expansion plans, business owners are also barraged with customer emails, Slack messages, and social media notifications. It’s a quick recipe for burnout without appropriate breaks and self-care.

Below are 4 main takeaways from my FastCompany interview with Leann Livingston, the senior international marketing manager at Square, about the importance of prioritizing breaks, ways to free up time for self-care & how to recognize early signs of burnout.

Self-care is a business imperative that should be prioritized.

Time is money, so the idea of a 30-minute lunch—or even a five-minute walk outside—might sound impossible at first blush. “We’re wired to be productive,” Tobin says. “Yet I always find that being productive does not necessarily equate to the best performance.”

Through that lens it’s clear that self-care is a smart business investment. Trying to work through periods of low energy or feeling overwhelmed typically leads to tasks taking longer and subpar work. “Five minutes a day can add up to significant change in our mood or mindset,” Tobin says. “[It’s about] being okay taking that time, knowing that … it’s all going to be there, but you’ll be even more creative and productive when you get back to it.”

Livingston takes a daily half-hour lunch break away from the computer, during which she puts down her phone, goes outside, and focuses on a meal—a routine she describes as life-changing. “It never feels like you have time to take out of your day,” she says. “But you will always be better off for it. [Even] if you just sit outside for 30 minutes, it will help you get through the rest of your day much more efficiently, versus kind of just dragging through the rest of it.”

As for the notion that self-care is selfish, the pair wholeheartedly disagree. “You are doing what you need to actually be your best version of yourself,” Livingston says, “and that helps support others and those around you.”

Know Thyself: Recognize your individual signs of burnout- and what makes you feel energized.

By the time you’ve hit total burnout, it’s probably been building for a while, Livingston and Tobin agreed. But since everyone has different businesses—and lifestyles—individual signs of stress will vary. For some it might be keyed-up anxiety and finding themselves snapping at family members; others may feel sapped, like it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning.

“For me personally—and … a lot of our small business owners as well—it’s [about maintaining] energy levels. The things I really like doing no longer seem enjoyable,” Livingston says. “You’re no longer energized by the thrill of having your own business. Or things that you used to enjoy start bugging you in a way they wouldn’t normally. That’s when the warning [lights] start to go [on] for me: You might need to take some time out.”

What one does with that time out also ties back to energy. One business leader’s idea of a reenergizing day off may be a massage followed by a night out with friends. By contrast, an entrepreneur who has young children may prefer a quiet reading night. It’s about what leaves you, personally, with more energy to tackle the day.

Delegation & automation are your friends.

For Tobin, delegating tasks to staff is crucial for her—even though many owners may find it hard to let go. “We can only do so many high-level…tasks versus low-level work,” she says. “I [like] outlining those two categories and then breaking them up within our team.… Having that organization, and then knowing that we don’t have to do both categories all the time, has been really helpful.”

Livingston notes the importance of automating routine tasks. Square, for example, offers tools that can automate sending marketing emails and basic communications with customers, as well as other software that assists with inventory, team management, payroll processing, operations, and more. Technology, Livingston says, can “help free up your time, help you prioritize those tasks that need to be [not just done], but done well.”

Incorporate small strategies for quick boosts.

As Tobin puts it, “It’s really nice to be able to go to yoga class for an hour” at lunch, but many business owners could never do that. But a minute here and there adds up. She recommends walking around for one minute every hour, for example. And when she’s overwhelmed, she uses a jade roller that she stores in the fridge, running the cool stone over her face for a “physical stimulus [that] can really snap you out of it.” As for Livingston, she has adopted a daily 30-minute screen-free lunch before diving into the afternoon’s tasks.