18 • January 2017 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC. Positive Ways To Cope With Stress & The World Around Us! Thoughts by Dr. Joanne Mumola Williams ~ www.FoodsForLongLife.com


SONOMA COUNTY, CA. ~ Getting through the holidays can sometimes be enough of a challenge, but his year’s world events have stressed many of us a bit more than


usual. If


you are feeling unmotivated, hopeless, sad and anxious, you are


But there


not alone. are


things we can do to try and lift the funk. Here are five of them:


#1 – Fight Negativity with Positive Thoughts Even with the political circus behind us, our thirst for min- ute-to-minute news has not abated even if it causes more anxiety. So I could suggest that


we disconnect, or only read the Upbeat Times, but in real- ity we won’t – and perhaps we shouldn’t because it’s important to stay involved with what’s happening around us. But just when I think the world is going to explode, I realize that there are still many things that I can be thankful for. So I make a mental list or, bet-


ter yet, I write them down, post them on the bathroom mirror and keep a copy on my bedside table so I can begin and end the day with positive thoughts. “I am in good health. My children are happy. I have a loving hus- band. I have 54 pints of tomato sauce and two dozen pints of applesauce in the pantry to look


forward to.” These affirmations bring me back to those things in my tangible world that bring me joy and away from thoughts that create fear and anxiety.


#2 – The Power of Food The day


after the election,


my entire lunch consisted of a bowl of French fries. For those of you who know me, I can see you gasping! I chased it down with a Mai Tai (I was in Hawaii). I didn’t feel better. In fact I felt worse. I eventually came to my senses and started eating my usual clean diet. But we all know how stress and anxiety can lead to poor food and beverage choices and it can become a vicious cycle. Then comes the weight gain that leads to even more stress and anxiety. To lose the weight, it’s best to accomplish that by eating good food, not by going on a fad diet or eating packaged weight-loss meals or shakes. Fill your plate with “power foods” such as beans, salmon, kale and other leafy greens, berries, nuts and seeds, quinoa and other whole grains, avocados, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, onions and garlic, dark choco- late and mushrooms. Also, in- clude fermented foods in your diet every day, such as raw sau-


erkraut or pickles, kombucha, miso, kefir, kimchi, tempeh, or yogurt. These power foods not only provide the critical nutri- ents you need, but they also create a healthy environment for your gut microbes. It turns out that these little bugs have a big affect on our mood! From a DNA count, we are more microbial than human so it’s no surprise that re- search continues to discover the many ways that these mi- crobes significantly affect our health. Researchers found that the micro-organisms in our gut significantly influence the body’s level of serotonin, the brain chemical that regulates how happy we feel. In fact, the pharmaceutical drugs Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil treat anxiety and depression the same way, by managing the body’s lev- els of serotonin. So maybe it’s best to ditch the pills and just eat a diet that will promote a good environment for our little friends!


#3 - Get off the Couch Sitting is the new smoking. Prolonged sitting increases the risk of having high blood pressure, heart disease, certain types of cancer, arthritis, and type-2 diabetes. Exercise can help


prevent these diseases.


In addition, exercise can help reduce anxiety and greatly im- prove mood. I remember when I was a seri-


ous runner (serious for me), and would go out and run 3 miles in the hills or on a nearby track with my favorite tunes flow- ing in my ears. I would return home with rosy cheeks and a runner’s high. I can’t even de- scribe how elated I felt. Why did I feel that good?


It turns out that exercise causes the body to release en- dorphins,


endocannabinoids


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18 • January 2017 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC.


and other “feel-good” brain chemicals that can ease depres- sion. It also is a great distrac- tion, unless of course you are


watching a news program while you are on your treadmill. Although I don’t run 3 miles a day like I did 25 years ago, I find other ways to get my blood and lymph flowing and my en- dorphins to kick in. I love to take brisk walks, do Zumba, or jump on my new mini-tram- poline. So find an exercise you love doing and start pumping out happy brain chemicals!


#4 - Connect with Friends and Family When reading the book, Blue Zones, by Dan Buettner, I no- ticed that people who live to 100 or older, had one thing in common - they all had a network of friends or fam- ily and a sense of community that gave them a life purpose. In today’s world, many of us live apart from our families and move from city to city for our careers. So it’s important to create a network of friends and assimilate into your com- munity as best you can. Meet like-minded people and work at creating relationships. You can’t sit at home and wait for your new best friend to come knocking at your door. Eight years ago, after work- ing and living in San Jose for over 20 years, my husband and I moved to Sebastopol and had to basically start over mak- ing new friends. None of our children or grandchildren live in California, so our friends are our main source of con- nection. Fortunately, we have many interests and have joined groups in the community that have lead to deep friendships – ones that give us support and comfort. I love this town and I feel like it’s wrapped its arms around us.


#5 –Vitamins and Herbs that Calm or Induce Euphoria In times of stress, our bodies quickly use up our B vitamins. Since they are water soluble,


... continued on page 19 “Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.” ~ Roy T. Bennett


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