The 7 pillars of wellness

23/01/2021

Blue zones and the Power 9 🌍

Have you ever heard of the Blue Zones and the Power 9? They are 5 regions of the world, spotted by demographists and highlighted by a National Geographic reporter, Dan Buettner, as being the healthiest places on earth:

✅ Loma Linda, California
✅ Nicoya, Costa Rica
✅ Ikaria, Greece
✅ Sardinia, Italy
✅ Okinawa, Japan

Not only people live longer, but they also live happier. The Blue Zones have been a huge inspiration to the wellness movement and generated lots of studies. Here are the 9 factors, named as Power 9, found to be at the origin of such happy places:

1️⃣ People move naturally - they don't hit gym or fitness, they walk to go to the neighbours, up the hill, down to the store. They move daily, until the day they pass away.

2️⃣ A sense of purpose - they wake up in the morning having a deep sense of purpose, knowing what their place in the community.

3️⃣ Unwind - taking a nap, drinking a glass of wine, meditating, praying. Stress DOES NOT take over their life thanks to their soothing routine.

4️⃣ Practicing the 80% full rule - you won't see any of these people eating until they have to unbutton their pants. This way, they allow their stomach to communicate their brain that they have eaten enough!

5️⃣ Plant-based diets - most of these blue zones inhabitants eat very occasionally meat and fish and use all the local resources to vary their meal composition - grains, plants, legumes, dairy...

6️⃣ Red Wine - Social drinking around a good healthy meal, one to two glasses a day, has been proven to have real benefits on life expectancy and is a common practice in these blue zones.

7️⃣ Family first - Multigenerational interactions are standard practice in these areas. No nursing homes for the elderly, they keep being in daily contact with their children and grand-children, and... great grand-children.

8️⃣ Belong - Most of these people belong to some form of religion, but denomination doesn't matter. It is a about being part of a faith-based community, first and foremost.

9️⃣ Tribe - The world's longest lived people chose - or were born into- social circles that supported healthy behaviours. What a great and important one too!

If you are curious about these blue zones and the studies behind them, this short TedTalk is a great way to start - with a highlight on Ikaria, Greece 😍 ⬇️

Archelle Georgiou is a physician who uses her medical expertise to help people and business navigate the healthcare system to make sure they get what they ne...

17/01/2021

Food for thought 🥑

How much love do you give to your plate (and tummy)?

You've certainly heard or read this term before: macronutrients, from the trendy Instagram fitness coach who's turned into a nutritionist, from your family doctor or may be in some sort of TV documentary...

"Macronutrients are nutrients that people require in large amounts (macro = big). These nutrients are the ones that provide us with the energy (calories) we need to support growth, development, metabolism, and all other bodily functions. There are three energy-giving macronutrients— carbohydrate, protein, and fat.

(...)The World Health Organization suggests 55 to 75 percent of calories come from carbohydrate, 10 to 15 percent from protein and 15 to 30 percent from fat."*

And the great news is that carbohydrates (and fibers - your guts will say thanks) are in abundance in fruits and vegetables ;)

What about you? Are you eating a healthy proportion of macro nutrients? What about giving it a little bit more everyday care?
To start with, this quick test will allow you to assess your eating habits and macronutrients balance:

https://www.myplate.gov/form/myplate-quiz

From there, you may print this plate composition as we did at home, stick it on your fridge and try to follow it when designing your meals. For households composed of children, it is a great educative way for little ones to keep track of their meal balance through equations ;)

*quote from the excellent book of Shah, Reshma; Davis, Brenda. Nourish: The Definitive Plant-Based Nutrition Guide for Families

14/01/2021

Sense of purpose 💭

Why introducing the sense of purpose as a wellness pillar?

Purpose has been studied for decades by scientists and particularly psychologists, since it belongs, along with consciousness, to the main human beings psychological features. It is a trait of the animal kingdom too - most of the animals know what they are meant to do to keep their specie alive and healthy thanks to their purposeful instinct.

For example, a simple bacterium can detect glucose in its environment, move toward the glucose and ingest it to convert it into energy.

Compared to this bacterium, highly complex beings like us will probably take some deviations before to reach the same goal as the bacterium, that is to keep living and propagate herself 😁.

We are consciously self-aware because our nervous system additionally forms self-referent representations of our own self, in a recursive feedback loop. In other words, we permanently ask ourselves "why am I doing that?". We introspect ourselves on our meaning of life, restlessly, until we eventually find it!

Thus, being purposeless can be socially isolating and trigger some depressive symptoms, at different degrees. It is why it is considered as an essential step towards wellness.

The article below gives some very practical and realistic advices on how to find a purpose in life, if the latter is overdue.

"Read books that matter, turn hurts into healing for others, cultivate awe, gratitude, and altruism, listen to what other people appreciate about you, find and build community and write about your own life."

6 great ways to give it a boost and find the strength to get up in the morning with a self-awareness of what is meant to be your life 🧠
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_find_your_purpose_in_life

10/01/2021

Sleep better, feel better ⛺️

Did you know that you can disable blue lights on all your devices?

For those of us who work long hours on laptops and other screens, blue light can have disastrous effects on our melatonin production, essential to a deep sleep.

Some of us have the chance to be able to turn off devices long enough before bedtime, limiting the effects of blue lights. Some others can not avoid late night jobs on screen; when the little ones are in bed, and the house is finally quiet enough to catch up on work.

There is a simple step to take before buying any extra equipment, such as blue light glasses or blue light's shield. Turn on the blue light filter on your phone and on your laptop ;).

For mobile users, the blue-light filter can be found mostly with the other options such as Wi-Fi, plane mode, etc.

For laptop users, on Windows, you will find the option in settings, "night light". Simply change your settings there and allow the night light to be enabled permanently. On Mac, several third party alternatives have been created such as F.Lux or Iris Mini.

It will be a bit of a strange feeling at first. Your yellowish screen will seem a bit faded, or not bright enough. But it eventually becomes normal and the effects are immediate on the eye fatigue, and ultimately, the sleep!

For more information on how blue light affects your circadian rhythm, read this article of Harvard University:

Light at night is bad for your health, and exposure to blue light emitted by electronics and energy-efficient lightbulbs may be especially so. At night, light throws the body's biological clock—the circadian rhythm—out of whack. Sleep...

10/01/2021

Hello all!

Welcome on this page dedicated to wellness. The recent pandemic has shifted our lives in many ways, placing our emotional and physical balance at the centre of our preoccupations.

We have realised how the basics though essential gestures of the daily life would help us go through different lockdowns and restrictions, job loss or even human loss. Having a healthy diet, keeping our body in movement, maintaining relationships despite the distance, getting to know our immediate environment: all these intentions have allowed many of us keeping our heads up the water through this hectic period.

What about transforming the essay and carrying on focusing on some of the essential pillars of wellness that are as simple as ... ? :

- Fuelling your body with delicious and healthy food
- Moving your body regularly, indoors or outdoors
- Finding a sense of purpose
- Exploring nature and its beauties
- Thriving in relationships and community life
- Learning to set boundaries and unwind
- Encouraging a quality sleep

Each week, we will post resources, tips, ideas, questions to stimulate your mind and creativity towards the path of wellness, and ultimately, happiness.

Follow us and share our page with all the people you think could take benefits from it!

💜