10 Foolproof Tips to Protect Your Mental Health

Here are a few ways in which you can emotionally support yourself and your mental health:

1. Meditate – meditation is an important habit for improving focus, concentration, clarity and attention span, as well as having a calming effect. Benefits include: relieving stress, trauma and anxiety, calming the fight or flight trigger, counteracting aging, relieving depression, reducing insomnia, improving the immune system, increasing energy, improving communication skills, enhancing empathy, improving health, being more present, refreshing the mind, clearing the mental clutter and getting into a more expansive state. Meditation also introduces you to your inner self, your witness, your observer. Great moments of inspiration and creativity can come from those still spaces during meditation where you can connect with your inner guidance.
2. Adopt an attitude of gratitude – gratitude connects you with creative thought and brings you closer to the source energy. Gratitude aligns you with abundance and increases your faith.
3. Check in with your body – a mindful practice – this practice is to counter your daily frenzy of multi-tasking and bring you to a centered mindful place. A place of presence. Being with your body as it is with no judgment. It’s important to take time out for yourself, even if it is just for a moment.
4. Get moving –  exercise boosts energy, improves mood, reduces stress, releases endorphins, improves self-confidence, boosts brainpower, sharpens your memory and increases your creativity.
5. Hydrate your body – water is important for the brain. It improves blood flow and oxygen to the brain, improves memory, counteracts mental fatigue, and maintains the balance of body fluids. Water also energizes muscles and keep joints more lubricated, helps your skin look good, improves the quality of sleep, keeps your bowels moving and aids kidney function, and eliminates toxins.
6. Pop some probiotics – probiotics are live bacteria that are good for your health. Your mental and emotional balance hinge on a healthy gut environment.   Almost 95 percent of serotonin (the neurotransmitter in the brain that releases feel-good chemicals) is made in your belly.  You can keep your gut bacteria “healthy and happy” by including vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit, and beans in your diet and supplementing with a good probiotic.
7. Get your sleep – adequate sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle, and can benefit your heart, weight, mind, and more. Adults require as close to 8 hours of sleep per night as possible. Sleep problems are not only a symptom of depression, but also a contributor to it, so get adequate sleep.
8. Keep a positive support system – having a good support system can help you tackle conditions like stress and depression. Surround yourself with people who love and care about you.
9. Laugh out loud – do some laughter yoga. Laughter yoga is a unique exercise routine, which combines unconditional laughter with yogic breathing. Forced laughter soon turns into real and contagious laughter.
10. Spend time in nature – going outdoors can improve your physical and mental health. So, no matter what you do outside enjoy the beauty, peace and serenity of nature.

Yes, there are many more ways to protect your mental health. Find and adopt what works for you. Wishing you a week of love, vitality and contentment.

To your good health,

Charlene

Also, check out my other blogs:

• https://charleneday.com/laughter-yoga/
• https://charleneday.com/how-are-you-using-your-mind/
• https://charleneday.com/meditation-the-great-liberator/

12 Ways to Support Your Immune System

It is that time of the year again. It is after the holidays and all the extra eating. Our immune systems have taken a battering with all the extra sugar. Stress, (either physical or emotional), sugar, alcohol, toxins, poor diet, and lack of rest all contribute to weakening the immune system. The holiday season is full of these. Remember – consuming white sugar immobilizes your immunity for up to 3 hours. So, the logical consequence of this merrymaking is that we catch whatever is going around; either a cold or the flu.

Our immune systems have no single central location in the body and no chief organ. Instead, it is a cooperative system of biochemicals and white blood cells (leukocytes), tissues and organs which are distributed throughout the body in various locations. Constantly challenged, these cells work together, detecting any foreign substance in the body, defending and abolishing what does not belong.

To keep our immune system strong, we need a diet rich in yellow and green leafy vegetables, high antioxidant nutrients like onions and garlic, citrus fruits, whole grains, legumes, sesame seeds, nuts, low fat protein, pure water, occasional detoxification, exercise, adequate rest, meditation, gratitude, and nutritional supplements. Supplements are essential for the immune system.

Following are the supplements that I have found to work in building my immune system:

Soy protein provides the essential building block for all cells including our immune cells. The amino acids are the ‘bricks’ needed to build/repair all body parts. It is an essential raw material for the antibodies in our immune system. It also alkalizes the body.

A good multivitamin and multimineral, that contains zinc, (crucial to the bacteria-killing activity of B and T cells, important to stop the shrinkage of the thymus gland), copper (needed by thymus gland to produce its hormones) and iron (needed by T cells). It will also contain the main vitamins like B, C, D, E, etc. listed below.

Vitamin D3 boosts general resistance to disease, improves production of antibodies, and increases the effectiveness of macrophages.

B Vitamins especially B6 support healthy mucous membranes (first line of defence) and helps with the production of antibodies.

Vitamin E with selenium boosts general resistance to disease, protects against free radical damage, increases production of B cells, improves production of antibodies, enhances cooperation between T helper cells and B cells, and increases the effectiveness of macrophages.

Carotenes are crucial for the integrity of skin (first line of defence), protecting mucous membranes, tears, sweat, saliva, stimulating immune function, supporting the thymus and protecting against free radicals.

Essential fatty acids help nerves, brain and communication chemicals needed for the nervous, endocrine and immune systems.

Bifidus and acidophilus (the friendly bacteria) help boost the whole system as 70-80% of our immunity is in the Peyer’s Patches in the intestines. The caplet needs to be triple encapsulated to protect these essential bacteria from the acidity of the stomach.

Alfalfa absorbs contamination, alkalinizes the bloodstream, and fights viruses and bacteria. I take 30 when I feel any symptoms coming on.

Three of my favourite immune products are:

NutriFeron that was developed and extensively tested by immunologists in Japan, and clinically proven to support and stimulate the natural immune response process at the cellular level. It supports and stimulates the immune system, by increasing the activity of macrophages and inducing natural interferon production. It optimizes immune response against environmental irritants and airborne substances (as with allergies and asthma). I take this one daily for prevention.

Defend & Resist Complex activates the immune system, promotes the production of white blood cells, enhances resistance to infection, viral and bacterial, especially flu and herpes, and reduces mucus. It provides four clinically proven immune-supporting ingredients including echinacea and zinc. It works best when started at the onset of cold or flu symptoms when you feel that first tickle.

Vitalized Immunity contains as much Vitamin C as 16 oranges. It is a delicious effervescent drink for an occasional boost when your immune system needs fast support. Vitamin C is a natural antihistamine, helps iron be absorbed, helps form red blood cells, fights bacterial infection, helps macrophages, can increase production of interferon, increases the power of macrophages, protects against free radicals and has an anti-stress function.

So, if you need any help with your immunity, please feel free to reach out.

To your good health!
Charlene