Happy 2012 everyone!
The New Year is a great time to re-set, re-evaluate, and to reflect; a good time to start fresh. I like to start fresh in January, in September, and on Mondays. Rarely do I look forward to starting fresh because it usually means exercising discipline, but it never fails that a couple of days after I start I feel fantastic.
Usually, I decide on very loose resolutions come the New Year, this year was no different. I want to remember my re-useable grocery bags when going to the store (embarrassing that I continue to forget them), I’m going to try to be more choosy about the battles I fight by letting a lot of unimportant things go, and of course I want to exercise more regularly and eat well. Yes, we nutritionists also struggle with healthy eating!
Its very common that a couple of weeks in, once life gets busy again after the holidays, and stress levels creep back up we fall off of our health and wellness plans and return back to old bad habits; old habits die hard and when we’re stressed those old habits are comforting. One of the best ways to stay on track with our health and wellness plans is to manage stress, maintain balance in all of life’s areas, and to use moderation by setting realistic goals.
In order to manage my own stress I’ve incorporated a couple of new tools and the one that I’d like to pass on today is Holy Basil.
Holy Basil is related to the basil we all love in home cooking but it has very different therapeutic properties. It helps to induce relaxation and calm and at the same time reduces stress and depression. It does this by balancing cortisone levels and as we know cortisone is implicated in the stress response. In addition to helping calm the nervous system, Holy Basil also balances blood sugar, acts as an anti-oxidant, and has anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties.
If you are looking to incorporate something new into your supplement regime, try Holy Basil.
What do you have in your supplement cupboard? I’m curious.
