Olive Tree Wellness

23/01/2025

🥑🥥🥦Msg from the Andrew Weil Centre for Integrative Medicine🫑🥭🍍

"✨✨January 23rd is International Integrative Health Day!✨✨
Today is an occasion to celebrate and advance a transformative approach to healthcare. Integrative medicine is both a field of medicine and a way of living, grounded in whole person, healing-focused healthcare. By prioritizing prevention and wellness alongside treatment, integrative medicine empowers individuals to improve health, resilience, and wellbeing.

The ultimate goal is for "integrative" to become redundant, with its principles seamlessly embedded in standard medical care. Imagine hospitals serving anti-inflammatory meals to aid recovery from disease. Picture doctors prescribing time in nature to reduce stress, supported by workplaces that honor such recommendations. Envision schools teaching the 4-7-8 breath to their students, giving children tools to manage anxiety and focus.

With integrative medicine, these would no longer be exceptional practices but common expectations.

To achieve this healthy future, action is required. On this Integrative Health Day, we encourage you to take steps that make a difference:

Advocate for Integrative Medicine. Reach out to your local hospital, healthcare network, or insurer and request the ability to work with more integrative practitioners.
Spread Awareness. Share the principles of integrative medicine with friends, family, and your community. Recommend an insightful podcast, a social media account, or an integrative health publication such as AWCIM Magazine.
Support Change. The Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine has trained thousands of physicians, practitioners, and healthcare professionals in integrative medicine—many made possible by donor-funded scholarships from health advocates like you. Offer your financial support to help transform healthcare from within.
One day, when integrative medicine becomes simply "medicine," January 23 will need a new reason to be celebrated. Perhaps we’ll rename it Matcha Mushroom Latte Day. Until then, let us keep working to transform healthcare for the better, ensuring it serves everyone in body, mind, spirit, and community."

23/01/2025

💞🥳🎉Just checking in on your New Year🎉🥳💞on your path of transformation🙌🏾🙏🏾🥰😇✌️🌷🌷🌷

Remember in the closing month of last year, as we looked forward in “As a New Year dawns...” you were encouraged to,

26/12/2024

🎄🎄💞🥳Wishing you a Wonderfully Blessed Christmas Season & A Prosperous 2025🥳💞🎄🎄

December, December! December is usually a month of mixed feelings.

02/12/2024

Celebrate with us🥳🥳
Checkout our fresh online presence at www.olivetreewellnessglobal.com

Join us, Olive Tree Wellness, formerly Olive Tree Foundation, for this momentous re-launch of our website!

02/12/2024

OTW is inspired!!

11/10/2024

World Mental Health Day – Oct 10th 2024
Theme this year: “Mental Health at Work”

WHO is uniting with partners worldwide to highlight the vital connection between mental health and the workplace, stating that “safe, healthy working environments can act as a protective factor for mental health” and conversely, “unhealthy conditions including stigma, discrimination, and exposure to risks like harassment and other poor working conditions, can pose significant risks, affecting mental health, overall quality of life and consequently participation or productivity at work.”

Although governments and employers have the primary responsibility to protect and promote mental health at work, we can take steps to support our own well-being.

Two links that can be examined in taking charge of your mental health would be nutrition- the type and quality of your food intake; and how you manage stress.

At Olive Tree Wellness we are very concerned about these areas of impact on your well-being overall, but especially today, their impact on the very critical mental health of our global citizens- 970 million persons worldwide affected, according to a WHO 2019 report. Notably this was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently a massive burden of mental health disease was identified by a large scale survey co-led by Harvard Medical School and University of Queensland, which reported that 1 in 2 persons globally will develop at least one mental health disorder by age 75 yrs.

Fundamentally, mental health determines the quality of our lives. It has intrinsic and instrumental value and is integral to our well-being. It’s a state of mental well-being that enables persons to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community (WHO).

Mental health and neurodegenerative disorders can be linked to poor food quality and choices- especially in our children and adolescents, who are increasingly affected by depression and anxiety disorders.
Ultra-processed foods and refine sugars are two culprits that contribute significantly to inflammation in the body – which is the root cause of so many disease states [including insulin resistance and other metabolic disorders including obesity and overweight (World Obesity Day this year being Oct. 11th 2024)]. In the brain it is referred to as neuro-inflammation.

Our brains are a reflection of what we eat, in great measure, in addition to other environmental factors. Further, there is a growing field of study called nutritional psychiatry, which is shedding light on the profound connection between food and mood.
It is vital that we pay closer attention to what we eat, because it doesn’t just affect the health of our physical bodies but also our mental health & well-being.

A few foods/ nutrients that help promote mental health include:- high quality protein foods – like fish, grass-fed beef and eggs; healthful sources of fats- like fatty fish, avocado and olive oil; omega-3 fatty acid – rich foods; and phytochemical-rich foods- eat the colours of the rainbow.
Remember to eat whole foods as possible and greatly limit the consumption of ultra-processed foods and refined sugars.

Refer to the OTW July post on Ultra-processed foods for more!

22/07/2024

Did you know that Ultra Processed Foods can increase Dementia risk??
Find out more in this The Institute for Functional Medicine linked article on this 2024 World Brain Day! Theme: Brain Health & Prevention.

Ultra-processed food (UPF) is common in the modern Western diet. Excessive consumption of UPF has previously been associated with negative health impacts. How does high intake of these foods impact brain health? Read more about UPF and Alzheimer's risk in the following article: https://hubs.la/Q02GsGct0

11/07/2024

Do you know that today July 11th 2024 is the UN observed-
World Population Day!

World Population Day this year, highlights the importance of collecting inclusive data – counting everyone, everywhere, as they are!
In public health our concern is primarily the health of the population. Many times we are counting the number of persons in the population affected by a particular disease, hazard or incident. It is also important that we keep up with the population at large to better describe various trends in specific aspects of the masses – be it age group, geographical location or disease prevalence.

Zooming in from the global stage to the Caribbean Region, we recently commemorated two important days related to our population’s health: -
1. Caribbean Nutrition Awareness Day – June 1st 2024
Theme: “Healthy Eating, Active Living: Support Policies That Promote Healthy Food Environments”

2. Caribbean Public Health Day – July 2nd 2024
Theme: “From Awareness to Action: Public Health Matters”

Non Communicable Diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancers, which remain a major challenge for our population, are responsible for approximately 80% of all deaths in the Region of the Americas – according to PAHO.

We must aim to individually and collective do our part to turn the tide of this scourge in the region by highlighting and supporting the work done by our CARICOM and regional public health agencies, societies, academic institutions and governments; and the work that must continue to save our population and make us a resilient people and region.

“Public health is more than preventing diseases; it’s a holistic approach to improving the health of people and their communities, including the air we breathe, the food we eat, our lifestyle behaviours and the environment we live in,” - Dr Lisa Indar, Ad Interim Executive Director, CARPHA

“(Public Health)… is a right for every Caribbean citizen, and CARPHA is dedicated to being the region’s strongest advocate for healthful practices at all levels of society.” - Dr Mark Sami, Director of Corporate Services, CARPHA

01/06/2024

PART 3 of the 3-Part-Post on Autoimmunity & Tea
- An Intro to OTW's Wellness Pillars

OTW utilizes 4 Wellness Pillars in its Holistic Health and Wellness practices that can aid in addressing autoimmune disease challenges. We will take it one pillar at a time!

One Pillar is Integrative and Functional Medicine Nutrition. Looking at dietary components specifically, some offenders and deficiencies were mentioned under environmental factors implicated in autoimmune diseases (and there are more). However, the beauty is that there are dietary components and nutrients that can be incorporated into our lifestyles that can address the processes that directly and indirectly trigger, augment, compound autoimmune disease and its symptoms in the body.

Hence, I began with Teas!! The Olive Tree Wellness Tea line consists of core ingredients with specific and targeted properties. The tea plant itself, Camellia sinensis, as well as herbs and compounds mainly with adaptogenic properties comprise the teas offered by OTW.

The health-promoting multifunctionality of tea polyphenols of Camellia sinensis has been well illustrated, especially the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer effects, and metabolic modulation with multi-target action. Teas polyphenols are natural immune modulators, able to control and defeat disorders affecting the immune system through up-regulating or down-regulating immune responses without undesired adverse effects.

All of this is a lot of information we recognize. It’s just the laying of the foundation! You are invited to go on the journey with us…on the path of Healing for some; the path of Wellness for others.

Another OTW Pillar is Sleep Hygiene – which can have a huge impact on stress and other functions in the body, specially impacting autoimmunity and other health challenges. And as mentioned in my previous post, Better Sleep Month was also commemorated in May!

The foundational Pillar at OTW is Prayer and Meditation on Biblical Scripture, which aids to overarchingly bring- by repairing, restoring and /or aligning- balance and renewal to our bodies, souls and spirits. The 4th Pillar of OTW is Movement.

Our goal at Olive Tree Wellness is to unpack specific health challenges over time– bringing awareness and presenting Holistic Wellness approaches through these 4 pillars to put us all on the path of Healing and Wellness.




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31/05/2024

Just before it closes we wanted you to know that the month of May is also Better Sleep month😴😴

Good Sleep Hygiene is one of our Wellness Pillars at OTW! Our friends at IFM.org suggests why it is critical to get good quality sleep & it’s link to Autoimmunity in the excerpt below…

“Sleep is widely considered an important variable in immune health as increasing evidence suggests that poor sleep quality and quantity may be a driver for the development and progression of inflammatory diseases.

Research suggests that prolonged sleep deficiency may lead to chronic, systemic, low-grade inflammation and may be associated with some autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, Sjögren’s syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and osteoarthritis.”

We at OTW will delve into achieving proper sleep hygiene in the coming weeks! Stay tuned…

28/05/2024

PART 2 of OTW's 3-Part-Post on Tea & Autoimmunity

So what is an Autoimmune disease?

Autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s own immune system is unable to tell the difference between its own cells and foreign cells and mistakenly attacks itself – its normal cells. Thus far according to scientists, more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases that affect a wide range of body parts have been identified. There is a lot we know; and a lot that is still unclear about autoimmune disorders – including what exactly causes autoimmunity.

We know that 3 factors are at play:-
1. The immune system – where the dysfunction obviously exists;
2. Genes – giving a pre-disposition to disease;
3. The Environment – which usually delivers the trigger(s) causing manifestation of disease.
For the person suffering from an autoimmune disorder, your interest here is clear but for those not plagued by an autoimmune disease, your part is to be aware and aim to prevent any potential development of disease.

In terms of genes- scientists state that there is no single autoimmune gene, it’s a polygenic issue.
So how much control do we really have? What part, if any can we play? Genes? Not so much but remember we can impact to some significant degree our environment, which can then impact how our immune system functions. Fair enough? Let’s take a closer look.

Five (5) environmental factors are implicated in Autoimmunity:-
1. Infections (usually viral);
2. Dietary components for example gluten, vitamin D deficiency, increase in iodine intake, cow’s vs mother’s milk in infant feeding;
3. Pollutants – chemicals like PCBs;
4. Drugs –some chemotherapeutics
5. Stress!

Of these 5, there are at least three (3) that we have some measure of control over: - Dietary components, Pollutants and Stress.

In PART 3…How can OTW help address these factors, that are within our control?
Stay tuned…and Yes! Tea is involved!! We are still celebrating Tea:))

14/02/2024

Personalized nutrition influence on not just your gut but also your oral microbiota!

The oral and gut microbiomes have a complex relationship influenced by several factors, including the micronutrients, macronutrients, and phytochemicals that we consume. Research suggests that the intestinal microbiome can be influenced by diet and that these dietary interventions, while they may not result in the same responsiveness in all patients, may improve the symptoms and outcomes of a broad spectrum of diseases. On our latest episode of, "Pathways to Well-Being," we spoke with Megan Barnett, functional medicine nutritionist, about the oral-systemic connection and the role of personalized nutrition on these microbiota. Listen to the episode here: https://hubs.ly/Q02kXt6T0