S-Life Mag

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Well-Being

Well-Being

"If I had one professional legacy — and it's the one thing I was known for academically — it would be to reduce antibiotic overuse and pharmaceutical overuse, and that also means helping people know what the alternatives are to take care of themselves naturally."

"I found that so many of the things women are doing are around this idea of perfectionism and a fear of missing out, of being a good girl, of always having to achieve, and this idea that we have to be doing it all. But that's not healthy for us! Because fundamentally what it is, is us telling ourselves that we’re never good enough."

"Stress isn’t something that’s all bad. Actually, all these survival responses are meant to protect us and a little bit of stress actually boosts our immune system. It makes you cognitively sharper. It’s just not good when stress becomes distress. In that case, we have to reframe it as, ‘I can handle this, I have the reserves, I have the resilience.’"

"I really love Wonder Woman as a superhero and as a power stance, but interestingly, I’m not really into trying to be Wonder Woman or Superwoman in my life all the time. I just turned 50 and I had this realization that I have to walk my talk for women of not pushing it and trying to do everything."

"Your microbiome sets up your immunity in your gut. Your immunity in your gut programs your nervous system. It’s really interesting because you have tons of neurotransmitters in your gut, so a lot of your body’s serotonin is actually produced in your gut and you have other hormones produced there as well that affect your mood. Interestingly, if your mom had a lot of viruses, like gut problems that translated into vaginal flora, it might affect your [own] microbiome."

"I want to make a t-shirt that says “My Microbiome Made Me Eat It” because it dictates what’s growing in your gut. It dictates what you’re hungry for, what you’re craving, how you metabolize, and how you process and eliminate your hormones. That has a huge impact on your whole system! Interestingly, we have this whole system called the HPA axis — the Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis — and it’s the most primitive stress response. It’s what causes fight or flight."

"I believe that health doesn’t have to be that hard, but it can feel hard when you’re in the learning curve of it. That being said, you’d be surprised at how quickly you can get results with natural approaches. I try and always ease in a couple of those things right at the beginning that are going to give people a big bang for their buck. If somebody is really constipated, I give them more vegetables and magnesium, they’re like, ‘This is a miracle!’ But it’s really not — it’s just about learning what to do."

"Do we expect to feel perfect every minute of the day? Most of us do, and that’s not realistic! We’re not waking up with the sun and going to bed at sunset and living completely in harmony with nature. We’re out of harmony with nature, but we’re expecting our bodies to still be completely perfect all the time. We’re so used to thinking about that quick fix with a pill. But what’s the long game?"

By S LIFE MAG • September 28, 2016