Don’t spend the holidays sick and depressed

Although the holidays are supposed to be a joyous time, millions of people instead suffer from physical illness or depression.

There are very good reasons for that.

Because the holidays also bring about stress for a lot of people…and stress can lead to a domino effect of both physical and mental issues which quickly turn a happy season into a loathsome, dreaded time.

Plus one can bring on the other—physical illness can lead to mental issues and vice versa.

Here’s what’s going on behind the scenes with your physical and mental states of health and more importantly, how you can help turn things around and feel a lot better.

Physical-Mental Connection #1:  The brain-gut axis
There is a series of chemical and electrical signals that continuously pass back and forth between the central nervous system (your brain) and the gastrointestinal system (your gut).  What affects one affects the other.

The brain-gut axis is the reason why you feel butterflies in your stomach when you're nervous, or may get diarrhea when you’re worried. 

It's also the reason conditions like anxiety and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or Crohn’s disease and depression frequently go hand in hand.

Physical-Mental Connection #2:  Nutrients for body and mind
Sound nutrition is not only vital for your physical health, but your mental health as well.

The six nutrients that are especially crucial for mental health are:  Zinc, vitamin B6, Omega-3 essential fatty acids, magnesium, calcium and vitamin B12.

Physical-Mental Connection #3: The gut flora influence
Chronic stress can cause the protective mucosal barrier in your inner gut wall to become less effective at defending your body against harmful pathogens.

That's why you may notice that you get sick easier when you're under stress or very upset--your body literally cannot fight illness off as well.

And when you’re not feeling well physically, that can turn around and affect you psychologically! 

Take care of your body AND mind
Although the network between body and mind is very real, unfortunately it is seldom a top priority when assessing someone’s state of health.  Instead a greater reliance is placed on medications for relief of symptoms, whether they be physical or mental.

For example, chances are excellent that many people suffering from anxiety or depression have not been asked, “How’s your diet?”

But they have been given Prozac, Valium or Lexapro.

And on the flip side, people suffering from chronic infections or acid reflux have probably not been asked, “Got a lot of anxiety or depression going on?” 

But they’ve certainly taken their share of antibiotics or acid reducers.

If I’ve just described you, listen up.  Because a whole new world of relief can open up for you when you take steps to nurture your body-mind connections:

1- Get those essential nutrients
There’s no getting around it—you must have a healthy diet of real foods if you want a snowball’s chance in you-know-where of having any measure of physical or mental health.

Choose fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs, dairy and whole grains (in moderation).  An occasional dessert over the holidays is fine, but let that be the exception and not the norm.

And if you want to make sure all your nutrient needs are met, Super Core multi-vitamin formula with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory support can pinch hit where your diet may be lacking.
Now is perfect time to put Super Core to the test because it’s at a new all-the-time low price of $24.97 per bottle!

2- Supplement with Omega-3 EFAs
Omega-3 essential fatty acids are crucial to physical and mental health, but the average person is seriously deficient in these essential nutrients. 

This is mainly due to our reliance on processed foods, vegetable oils, farm-raised fish and meat from grain-fed animals--which are heavy in Omega-6 EFAs but have few or no Omega-3 EFAs.  

But supplementation with a high quality Omega-3 fish oil formula like VitalMega-3 can help make sure your body and mind have enough of these vital nutrients to support strong health.

3- De-stress
Since stress can be so harmful to both your physical and mental health, it's crucial to fight it and help minimize its devastating effects on you.

One of the best ways to help drain away stress is to exercise—so get your doctor’s OK and do it at least 3-4 times a week.

4- Keep a healthy flora balance
Stress clearly takes its toll on your gut, which in turn can harm your physical health, which can then affect you mentally!

But Super Shield multi-strain probiotic formula can help you support your gut wall and immune system, and curb this mind/body sickness cycle.

Super Shield’s 13 quality strains of friendly bacteria can help repopulate your intestinal flora supply and bring it into a more healthful balance, which will help support sound digestion and provide a good home for the majority of your immune system.
 
It's been said that if you don't have your health, you don't have anything.

Take care of your body and mind now.  You couldn't give yourself a nicer holiday gift.