We’ve known for a while that our mental and emotional states play a role in our physical health. Prolonged stress increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other killers. Part of the underlying mechanism at work is inflammation, a root cause of many diseases. Turns out that even the minor stress of boredom can lead to increased inflammation.

Runaway inflammation is a cause of  various autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis and lupus as well as heart disease, colon cancer, strokes, and Alzheimer’s. (See Time Magazine) It’s not necessarily that stressful events cause these diseases but they are risk factors. That is, a stressful event and your body’s response to it could increase the intensity of the disease or trigger a relapse.

So what can you do?

Research continues to indicate that an optimistic outlook can dampen your body’s hormonal response to stress. The old joke is that optimists and pessimists are equally likely to be right but the optimists are consistently happier. Medically speaking, that optimistic outlook may help your body cope with stress without so much physical damage.

One study has also found that trust is protective of our bodies. At University of Michigan, they found higher levels of several chemicals that are risk factors for heart disease among cynics than among their more trusting colleagues. Friendliness seems to have a similar protective effect. (See Experience Life Magazine for more on these studies.)

These studies suggest that one of the best things we can do for our health may be to manage our stress. Meditation, gentle yoga, tai chi, long walks with friends, and hot baths could all help improve your body’s physical response to the stresses of daily life.

In addition, recent research indicates that resveratrol may be useful in combating inflammation. Eating foods high in resveratrol and other polyphenols will help. Red grapes, purple carrots, black elderberries and other polyphenol-rich foods should be part of your diet. You can also get highly concentrated resveratrol in Vivix. There is growing evidence that resveratrol supplements help fight inflammation and other physiological components of again.

All of these actions can help your body handle stress better. And of course, where you can remove some source of stress from your life by making different lifestyle choices, that should be considered as well.

That’s all for today. It’s time for me to go sit on the porch and watch the birds for a few minutes. That’s one of my personal favorites for stress reduction!

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Note: Postings in this blog are not intended to provide medical advice. Always seek the advice of a competent medical professional to address your own health issues.

Learn more about how Vivix can help you feel better and live longer. Email me to receive a free report on overcoming the challenges of aging. (Linda.F.Ford@gmail.com) 

Did you know that the skin is your body’s largest organ? An average adult’s skin spans 21 square feet, weighs nine pounds, and contains more than 11 miles of blood vessels. (Discover Magazine) Are you as careful about what you put on your skin as you are about what you eat? Do you know what is in your body soap? Your moisturizer? Your makeup? It’s worth thinking about.

Your skin ages due to the action of free radicals. These free radicals are coming at your skin from several sources. The three biggest sources are sun exposure, air pollution, and skin care products.

You know the scoop on sun exposure. Minimize it! Wear sun screen, wear a hat, don’t get over-exposed. Air pollution isn’t so easy. While we can try to stay out of the sun, staying out of air pollution is more challenging. Good skin care products offer your skin some protection from pollution so always wear a good moisturizer, even if you’re indoors all day.

That brings me to skin care products. Some cleansers, moisturizers and make up products have ingredients that are actually harmful to your skin. Not what you need with all the other things your skin is fighting. Look for products that have natural ingredients and offer your skin some nourishment.

It turns out that your skin needs nutrients just like the inside of you does. Shaklee’s Enfuselle line of skin care products offers your skin the nourishment it needs while blocking free radical reactions. And the soap-free Enfuselle cleansers nurture your skin while removing the environmental pollutants.

Most of us start thinking about our skin more as we begin to develop those little lines and wrinkles. I want to encourage you to start taking care of your skin before then. It’s not just about how you look; it’s also about the health of the largest organ in your body.

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To learn more about your skin and its nourishment,

Visit www.LandofAnd.com/OurPlanet and watch the “healthy beauty” video.

Earth Day is April 22. Time to start thinking about how we will take better care of our planet in honor of Earth Day and beyond.

Here are some interesting facts for you to think about. And a challenge for you: Read the list and identify 3 ways that you can change your daily behavior to reduce your impact on the environment. Post what you plan to do in the comments on this blog. For example, the average person throws out 4 pounds of garbage each day. If you were to start composting, you could reduce your garbage significantly. (List excerpted from Planet Pals.) 

·      Each person throws away approximately four pounds of garbage every day.

·      Most families throw away about 88 pounds of plastic every year

·      The energy we save when we recycle one glass bottle is enough to light a traditional light bulb for four hours

·      The garbage in a landfill stays for about 30 years. 

·      In 1995 over 200 of the world landfills were full.

·      More than 1/3 of all energy is used at home

·      We each use about 12,000 gallons of water every year; 1/3 of all water is used to flush the toilet.

·      The 500 million automobiles on earth burn an average of 2 gallons of fuel a day.

·      Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees

·      For every 2000 pounds of paper (1 ton) recycled, we save 7,000 gallons of water free from chemicals.

·      Recycled paper requires 64% less energy than making paper from virgin wood pulp, and can save many trees

·      The amount of wood and paper we throw away is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years

·      14 billion pounds of trash is dumped into the ocean every year

·      It takes 90% less energy to recycle aluminum cans than to make new ones

·      84 percent of all household waste can be recycled.

·      Each year billions of used batteries are thrown away in the United States. This constitutes 88% of the mercury and 54% of the cadmium deposited into our landfills

And here are some examples of how long it takes things take to break down:

·      plastics - 500 years,


·      aluminum cans - 500 years,


·      organic materials - 6 months, (cotton, paper, silk)

If we all do our part, our planet will be a lot better off!

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Shaklee was green before green was cool.

-       First company certified climate neutral by the EPA.

-       Basic H was one of the first official Earth Day products.

To learn more about Shaklee’s safe AND effective green household cleaners, visit http://landofand.com/ourplanet and click on “Healthy Home”