Eat, Drink, and be Happy!
Happier is Healthier!
By Charlene Gullotta-Holland, B.S.
How much time and effort do
you put in each week trying to take the right vitamins, choosing just the right
food to eat, pumping up the right exercises, and reading the right health
articles, books and magazines? How much
time do you spend on trying to lose a few pounds? You probably would not be reading this
magazine or article if you didn’t think about these things and I bet you really
don’t have the answers you think you should have by now.
I’m sure you can come up with
a reasonable time estimate.
Now ask yourself how much time and effort do
you spend on improving your mental health, adjusting your moods, and improving
your relationships? How much do you
really think about your life?
Living a long life may have
to do with a combination of genetics and a healthful lifestyle. Sorry to say that you may not be lucky enough
to live a long life-but you may as well live as happy and healthy as possible
with the time you have here.
Research is emerging with
indications that obsessions with Cholesterol levels, body mass index, and
strict or restricted diet may not be as important to health and longevity, as
is our mental state of mind. A less stressed,
depression free, happier life, the research says, will increase your chances
for living longer.
Positive feelings, happier
moods, and laughter appear to have more direct rewards to health than
constantly being concerned with losing a few pounds, counting calories, eating
or not eating carbs, and dropping cholesterol points.
Taking more pleasure in life
sounds a lot better to me than trying out the latest health guru nag. Being Merry, seems
to add more healthy years to your life.
The high paced modern
lifestyle we live leaves us little or no time for each other, our kids, or
ourselves. We need to work a lot to buy
the things we need to make us happy! The
stress cycle begins here and we can’t seem to get off. Sudden death from heart disease can be more
common in people with certain stress reactions and personalities rather than
those who have high cholesterol. But
getting happy may be as much work as a treadmill run for some, and for others,
(and I hope that you are among them) may be easier than it seems.
What Defines Happiness?
What defines happiness is the
question that psychology and psychiatry have been constantly struggling
with. But I don’t think happiness can be
defined by a scientific method. Yet some
research on the matter of happiness supports the concept that happy people live
longer.
Pessimism can increase the
risk of early death. That is a
conclusion of a 70 year long study by the
Happier is Healthier!
Let’s discuss current
research and scientific data that supports the happier is healthier phenomena. What does science really know about happiness
and joy? Not much after surveying the
last thirty years of psychology journals.
Scientists of the mind focus on pathology and disease, so nobody makes a
study of happiness unless it is classified as a disease. There is hope on the horizon since recent
leadership at the American Psychological
Association wants to refocus research
on the study of normal people, not just the abnormal.
Stress kills!
We may not know much about
happiness, but we sure know that Stress
is a common denominator for not being so happy or healthy. Stress
and its chemical reaction and manifestations of the body and mind are widely
researched and have virtually concluded that stress causes illness and early death.
Life seems more hectic by the
hour, and we are all STRESSING OUT! This age of technology, electronic and
mechanical wonders allows us to do tasks in seconds that took our ancestors
hours, weeks, and even years to accomplish.
Yet rather than having more leisure time to enjoy ourselves, we are
required to do even more in response to the demands.
Not only does anger and
resentment build under stress, noteable behavioral changes occur. Increased drinking and smoking, lack of
sleep, risky sexual behaviors, poor diet, and less exercise are all noted
behavioral changes that occur when one is highly stressed. This affects the immune system which is in
direct control of your health and longevity.
Immune or not Immune?
Dr. Arthur Stone of the State
University of New York at Stony Brook found that the positive effects on the
immune system of a pleasant experience persisted longer than did the negative
effects of a stressful event. Criticism
by the boss can drop the bottom out of your immune system. But fishing or a pleasant family experience
will give your immune system a boost that lasts far longer than the downturn
after your boss’s ragging. Stone found
that criticism at work weakened the immune system for the day, but that having
friends over for a fun activity enhanced the immune system for two
days.
Having more of the good stuff far outweighs the bad.
What
can we do? The answer comes in avoiding
those behaviors that science is beginning to find can make you unhealthy and
miserable: Stress-Anger-Hostility-Exhaustion-Depression-and
loss of control.
These
are among the traits that have been linked to disease and early death.
Keep up the pleasure in your life, especially
when stress is on the increase. Eat,
drink and be merry (happy). Don’t obsess
about things you can’t control
and be smart about the things you can. Cleanse
your body to release the onslaught of chemicals we are exposed to from
the outside (environment/foods) and inside (stress).
And
remember that we are all unique in our genetics and have different
psychological states of mind, so in this, as in all things, beware of the one approach-fits-all guru philosophy.
Dance,
laugh, spread the love, live long and prosper!
For
more information on this article and to find out more about cleansing for
health, contact A Gentle Cleanse
at 407-2510. www.agentlecleanse.com