Healthy Lifestyle For All

Is Stress Overwhelming You?

Dr. Duke Johnson, M.D.
Medical Director, Nutrilite Health Institute Center for Optimal Health

Stress: It's a serious health problem for every industrialized society in the world. In a way it's strange, because progress and technology were designed to make our lives easier. Instead, they have prevented us from getting away from our work and obligations.

In the past, you left work and you were done – but not anymore. These days, we often receive text messages and emails around the clock. Factors like competition, tight timelines, and economic pressures mean companies must operate at maximum efficiency in order to survive. The media reports daily on global economic instability and recession, so it's no wonder everyone feels stressed.

Stress can have serious negative short-term and long-term impacts on our health. Stress can raise blood pressure, lower immune function, trigger asthma attacks, cause ulcers, and increase the risk of digestive problems.¹ The bottom line: Controlling stress is critical if you want to achieve optimal health and increase your longevity.

The common recommendations for handling stress are usually not the most effective. When I began researching stress more than a decade ago, I collected more than 400 articles on the topic. Surprisingly, I found nearly everyone makes the same recommendations for handling stress. These typically include ideas like get away, take walks, meditate, listen to music, or find some alone time. While these techniques can help if you feel overwhelmed, they are temporary band-aids for a bigger problem.

Most of the stress we experience occurs when we lose sight of the priorities in our lives. Day-to-day "emergencies" demand most of your attention, and many of us have lost the ability to set boundaries on how and with whom we spend our time. In this way, life becomes a game of survival where your only goal is crossing things off your to-do list. As a result, you end up simply existing when you could be living a life that corresponds with your beliefs and goals.

For your health, you must learn to prioritize your life. You need to live according to your beliefs and learn to set boundaries. Remember, there are right and wrong ways to de-stress, which I explain in my new book, Optimal Health Revolution. By using stress reduction strategies that really work and keeping your eye on the big picture instead of the everyday emergencies, you can reduce stress and reach your goal of obtaining optimal health.

¹ Harvard Health Publications Group. “How Stress Affects the Body.” Stress Control (Harvard Special Health Report) May 2006: 37–41. Health and Wellness Resource Center. Web. 19 Aug. 2009.

Fighting Stress With Nutrition

Eating a healthy diet is always important – but it becomes particularly essential during times of stress. Unfortunately, most of us find eating healthy is even more difficult when we're stressed. Usually when we're stressed, we rush around and feel like there's never enough time to get through our to-do list. As a result, healthy food becomes less of a priority and we turn toward convenience foods and carryout.

Stress affects the eating habits of each person in different ways. Some people may lose their appetite, forget to eat, or skip meals. As a result, their bodies must use stored energy. This is tough on the body anytime, but especially when it is stressed. Other people may overeat, continuing to eat whether or not they are hungry. Others simply make bad decisions, eating fast food and prepared frozen meals or drinking too much coffee and alcohol. All of these reactions to stress are bad for your health and may even increase stress.

When we are stressed, we need to focus even more on healthy eating in order to avoid destructive eating habits. Each of our bodies can react to stress in different ways, and if our bodies are deprived of important antioxidants, phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals, health problems can take hold – raised blood pressure, decreased immune function, and digestive issues.

During times of stress, follow tried-and-true healthy-eating strategies. Eat plenty of different vegetables and fruits in a variety of colors. Decrease your intake of omega-6 fats found in corn, soybean, and safflower oils and increase your intake of omega-3 fats found in olive oil, vegetables, and salmon. These “healthy fats” help boost the body's immune system during times of stress, while the antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables help protect your cells from damage.

Remember, stress is part of life so we need to think carefully about how we respond to it. The best solution is to eat a healthy diet all the time – especially when we're stressed. Cut back on convenience and fast foods, caffeine, alcohol, high-fat foods, and sugar. Then, boost your intake of fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats.

At first it may not be easy to eat healthy foods when you are stressed, but keep trying! Remember, no one is perfect – so take supplements to make sure you're getting all the nutrients you need. Finally, use other avenues to manage stress like exercise, time planning, and relaxation techniques. In the end, your body will thank you!

Resource: Nutrition and Immunity, The Stress Response. Dales Ames Kline, MS, RD, LD, CNSD. January 2008.

10 Minutes a Day to Build a Stronger, Healthier You!

In 2010, how would you like to have a healthier body, home, and business life? You can! It’s easier than you’d think, and you can start to do it in just 10 minutes a day.

Suppose the January 1, 2010, newspaper headline read, “Magic Health Potion Discovered!” The article went on to describe that scientists had designed a miracle medication that will help to lower your risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, and several types of cancer. The same medication may also rev up your metabolism, help your body burn fat, and give you more energy. And, it can strengthen your muscles, help maintain bone health, help to reduce stress, and even help you look years younger! The best news … this magic potion is cheap and available everywhere!

Would you run out the door in your new Christmas pj’s to your local drugstore to find this “magic potion”? Your instinct to “run” is on target for the magic potion.

Motion Is the Magic Potion
The magic potion I’m talking about is exercise. Stay with me now, and let me tell you’ve what I’ve learned.

The physical benefits of exercise are extensive and well-documented. But to my knowledge, no studies have been done on the ways in which getting fit can change your life. At Nutrilite Health Institute (NHI), we have tested the 10-minute 4-3-2-1 workout, and we’ve seen some interesting results. One breakthrough is that people see 10 minutes as “doable.” As they started the 10-minute routine, they also began to make other changes in their life too. From our documented cases, many participants reported better self-esteem, higher business productivity, more self-control, increased happiness, and better relationships.

To improve your life there is not much that will compare to moving your body more – even just 10 minutes a day.* Exercise can transform the way we feel, think, act, and look. You can have a healthy body to meet your daily obligations and have leftover energy for fun! When your health and fitness improve, you can have the strength and energy to experience more that life offers.

4-3-2-1 DONE!
I would encourage you to visit my website: www.4321fitness.com to learn more about how moving your body just 10 minutes a day, the 4-3-2-1 way, on a regular basis will help you experience success, and you can begin the journey to transform your health.

You can do it! Start today! Remember to start small and finish strong!

All the best in 2010!
Coach Sean

*Consult with your doctor prior to starting any new exercise program.

Optimal Health for 2010 and Beyond

Dr. Duke Johnson, M.D.
Medical Director, Nutrilite Health Institute Center for Optimal Health

Would You?
Would you like to wake up each morning with such strength and vitality that you didn’t need something to “rev” you up? Would you like to feel confident that you are taking positive steps to reduce the chance of chronic disease? Would a natural reduction of much of the pain you are experiencing be of interest to you? Would you love to have people marvel at and envy your endurance that is a result of the healthy lifestyle you live? Is real weight loss and weight maintenance of interest to you? Would you really like to know which pathway will help you achieve your best health?

No Fads Allowed – Just Good Health
It seems as if everyone in the media is a “health expert” but in reality, a majority of these “self-proclaimed” experts do not base their claims in solid science or have your long-term health in mind. At Nutrilite Health Institute (NHI), we aren’t interested in popular fads because they are almost always misdirected or too narrowly focused. If we aren’t promoting something popular, there is a strong reason for it. We base all that we do on the best science available and a truly unique global perspective to enhance our teaching. At Nutrilite, we have been on the cutting edge of science for 75 years, and we won’t stop asking questions in the future. We want you to have the best products we can develop, to support a lifetime of good health, with science that will last the ages.

Perfection? Nope, Just Positive Steps
Optimal health at NHI involves your total lifestyle – every crazy, busy minute. We don’t teach or expect everyone to be perfect, but rather to take small steps in the right direction that can ultimately lead to your best health. Small changes can become habits, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can become a part of who you are.

Taking small steps to change your current habits can help to keep chronic disease out of your future. It’s much better to change now and enjoy good health, than to be forced to change later. What better time to begin this pathway than at the start of 2010? We know the path to optimal health is possible, because there are many Amway Global Independent Business Owners that we’ve seen whose lives have changed dramatically.

Join an Optimal Health Revolution in 2010
At NHI we offer our Amway Global Independent Business Owners the opportunity to participate in a 1, 2, or 3-day program in Buena Park, California, and over 15,000 IBOs globally have been through our program. Since everyone can’t visit, I hope that my new book, entitled Optimal Health Revolution, by BenBella Books, will help you begin the right path today. It’s written for those of you without any science training but is packed with over 900 scientific references for those who desire all the facts. Over 150 scientific references support the use of supplementation, and the book lays out much of the NHI optimal health philosophy for true lifestyle change.

Take your first step toward optimal health so that you can experience the life you were intended to have.

For optimal health,
Dr. Duke Johnson M.D.