Elley Health

08/31/2021

Sitting All Day Long? This Supplement Is Like An Edible Foam-Roll Session

While not a cure-all for sitting-induced discomforts, the right supplement can offer some relief from the occasional aches of desk life.*

H**p oil, for example, is full of beneficial plant compounds called phytocannabinoids that can promote relaxation throughout the body, including in tense muscles.* You've probably heard of h**p's best-known cannabinoid, CBD.

In preclinical research (mice), CBD and its cannabinoid derivatives have been shown to help support a healthy inflammatory response and healthy joints.* Meanwhile, the clinical research in humans for phytocannabinoids in h**p oil and joint comfort for both oral and transepidermal (topicals) delivery is an exciting area of emerging research.*

Some researchers suspect that the phytocannabinoids found in h**p act similarly to those that the body naturally produces (aka endogenous cannabinoids) during exercise.* This would help explain why, in addition to alleviating everyday stress, the plant compounds promote that full-body calm that you'd get after a good run.*

mindbodygreen's calm+ supplement combines cannabinoid-rich USDA- and E.U.-certified organic h**p oil with two other calming plants: ashwagandha extract and lavender oil.* The result is an everyday supplement that can help make the body feel a bit more balanced, no matter what funky position it happens to be stuck in.*

While calm+ can help counteract the effects of sitting all day, it won't cure them.* Be sure to pair it with proper posture (here are some PT-approved tips for cleaning yours up), occasional movement breaks, and stretches that focus on improving mobility and easing stiffness to stave off those deskside aches.

08/31/2021

These Foods Might Support Healthy Blood Pressure Levels

The research, which was published this week in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, found that foods with high concentrations of flavonoids may have a positive impact on blood pressure—and that impact may be explained by how they influence the gut microbiome.

"Our gut microbiome plays a key role in metabolizing flavonoids to enhance their cardioprotective effects," says Aedín Cassidy, Ph.D., lead investigator on the study and professor in nutrition and preventive medicine at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University in Belfast. And this latest study is evidence that healthy blood pressure levels can be positively affected by small, obtainable changes in our daily nutrition.

As mentioned above, flavonoids are found naturally in plant foods, but especially in berries, apples, pears, tea, chocolate, and wine. For this study, researchers considered the food intake, gut microbiome, and blood pressure levels of a group of just over 900 participants aged 25 to 82—while also taking into account other clinical and molecular phenotyping.

They found that participants who had the highest flavonoid intake—measured by their intake of foods such as berries, red wine, apples, and pears—had lower (healthier) systolic blood pressure and a more diverse gut microbiome than those who did not consume as many flavonoid-rich foods. The researchers attribute at least 15% of the link between flavonoids and blood pressure to the health of the gut microbiome, specifically by that diversity of bacteria they found.

08/31/2021

Can You Actually "Think" Yourself Younger? A Longevity Expert Says Yes

Can you "think" yourself younger?

The science is on his side: According to a study measuring 68 healthy adults between 59 and 84 years old, those who "felt younger" actually had the structural characteristics of a younger brain—they were more likely to score higher on a memory test, and they had more gray matter in their brain, which is associated with better cognitive function.

Or let's take a look at the famous "counterclockwise experiment" from psychologist Ellen Langer, Ph.D. (who describes the study in detail in her book): In 1979, she created a "time warp" retreat where elderly men in their 70s would live as they did in 1959—everything about the space resembled the '50s, including the art on the walls, the "current" events they discussed, and the programs they saw on the (black-and-white) TV.
The point was to psychologically convince the men that they were, in fact, two decades younger, and at the end of the experiment, they showed significant improvements in hearing, vision, memory, and dexterity.

08/31/2021

9 Reasons People Struggle To Sleep + What To Do, According To Experts

1. Are you stressed?

2. Are you drinking too much caffeine?

3. Are you traveling?

4. Are you eating a lot before bed?

5. Is your bedroom conducive to sleep?

6. Are you drinking alcohol before bed?

7. Are you exercising before bed?

8. Are you not getting enough exercise?

9. Do you have a consistent sleep schedule?

How to fall asleep faster.

With these points in mind, one of the best things you can do to promote sleep gives yourself plenty of time to wind down.

"It's really important to calm your nervous system in the evening and train your brain to fall asleep at the same time each night," Bhopal says, adding that it'll help to start your wind-down routine at the same time every evening.

08/31/2021

This Is Actually How Many Steps You Need In A Day For Longevity (It's Not 10,000)

Young tells us that 7,000 steps is a more accurate number. Anything after 7,000, and "it's almost like a plateau," he says. Research backs it up: One study found that women who averaged approximately 4,400 steps per day had significantly lower mortality rates compared to women who took approximately 2,700 steps per day; however, the mortality rates leveled out at around 7,500 steps per day. Meaning, more steps taken per day was associated with increased longevity—but once you hit 7,500 steps, it doesn't seem to add any more benefit.
Functional Nutrition Coaching

Become an expert in whole body health & healing

Or take this 2020 study: Researchers did find that taking more steps per day was significantly associated with lower mortality, but when they measured those who took 8,000 steps versus 4,000 steps, they didn't see much of a difference.

However, just because those extra 3,000 steps might not make a significant difference doesn't mean we should brush off the 10,000 steps per day recommendation. "I tend to communicate 10,000 because we need to have a little bit of a moonshot in terms of steps," says Young. In other words: If people aim for a goal of 10,000 steps per day, in practice they might actually hover around 7,000—in this case, they're still maximizing the benefits.

And of course, any movement you can fold into your daily life is ideal. Try to follow whatever routine is most realistic and available to you. "The beauty of walking is that you don't need to dedicate a lot of time to it," says Young. "You can integrate it into your healthy lifestyle."

08/31/2021