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The Most Important Thanksgiving Recipe

AHA Publisher — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 08:00:03 +0000

Dr. Don Colbert – What is your most important Thanksgiving recipe? Your amazing turkey recipe? Your favorite mashed potatoes? The family’s secret-ingredient pumpkin pie? How about a grateful heart? A content attitude? How about peace and joy for Thanksgiving, the Holiday Season, and into the next year? God’s given us a recipe for these as well. In fact, you can start today with the most important Thanksgiving recipe. It can set your tone moving forward. This year, let’s focus on different ingredients. Ones that can change our lives. The Most Important Thanksgiving Recipe 1 PART GRATITUDE We’ve talked at length about ways to practice gratitude during the last few years. In fact, one of the best ways is to simply keep a gratitude journal to document things for which you’re grateful, big and small. You can write your gratitudes throughout the day, at the beginning of the day, or before bed. Thank God. Make this your lifestyle. What’s more, you can bless others with your gratitude by writing a note to someone. Let them know why you’re grateful for them. This may spur a whole circle of gratitude around you. It’s a great first ingredient! 1 PART CONTENTMENT Gratitude and thanksgiving are great, but what if we went beyond the blessings and truly learned to be content? Paul wrote: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (Philippians 4:12). While you’re listing the things for which you are grateful, what if you continued the list with “I am content with” and listed the things in your life with which you are wrestling? The things that make you anxious. The things that are troubling. What if, instead of glossing over the hard things, we listed those, lifted them in prayer to God, and determined to be content in our trust in Him? Of course, this does not mean we aren’t motivated to change bad situations. Paul was an incredibly motivated, active person. But perhaps listing the bad alongside the good and trusting God is the key to changing our hearts and our situations. God never asked us to fake it and pretend everything is great. In fact, Jesus instructs us to give our anxieties to Him. We can acknowledge them. There’s power in this. In fact, Paul, after stating that he has learned to be content in everything, proclaimed: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13). 1 PART PEACE Oftentimes, as we spend more time being grateful and becoming content, as we give our burdens to God, peace and joy follow. Miraculously, this can happen even when our circumstances don’t change. Peace is a condition of our hearts, not our environment. God tells us how we can experience peace: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7). Within the most important Thanksgiving recipe, may you receive the amazing gift of peace. 1 PART JOY What gets mixed in after we are grateful, content, and peaceful? How about joy? This last ingredient is the outward expression of all that God has done in our hearts. He can change us from anxious and negative to gracious, content, and peaceful. Even joyful! As He does, let your joy burst forth. What Can Gratitude, Contentment, Peace and Joy Do for Your Body? Although our spiritual Thanksgiving Recipe is the most important, it affects our physical health as well. In fact, we see in research that gratitude and contentment, which bring forth peace and joy while reducing anxiety, improve our health. They encourage: Stronger mental health: Amazingly, you can decrease cortisol (the stress hormone) by up to 23% by practicing gratitude (1). What’s more, healthcare practitioners have sustained lower perceived stress (decrease of 28%) and depression by keeping a gratitude journal (2). Controlling cortisol is crucially important to overall health. Healthier Hearts: In studies, gratitude is associated with better cholesterol levels, lowered blood pressure and decreased heart rate variability. This all works together to improve cardiovascular health and overall health (3, 4). Ease with Change and Healthy Habits: Some benefits of gratitude work in reverse. Researchers have found that those who practice gratitude also tend to make healthier choices. Specifically, there’s an association between those who are reportedly grateful and less use of tobacco, more exercise, and better food choices (5, 6). On the flip side, gratitude intervention shows promise when helping patients increase healthy habits. In one study, 31% of participants quit smoking and maintained abstinence after 6 months, compared to meta-analysis averages of 23% with a nicotine patch alone (7). Stronger Immune Function: Gratitude and optimism can actually improve your body’s response to inflammation. Studies have found that our bodies produce more disease-fighting cells when we are grateful and optimistic (8). In addition, anytime you reduce cortisol, you maintain a healthier balance with DHEA levels. This supports healthy immune function (9). Better Sleep and Healthy Aging: One key factor to healthy aging is brain health. One necessity for brain health is sleep. Fortunately, gratitude supports better sleep (10)! In one study, gratitude was linked to a 10 percent improvement in sleep and a 19 percent decrease in depression levels in patients with insomnia (11). What About Thanksgiving Food? Of course, the food is great too. Let’s celebrate with some of our favorite Keto Zone Thanksgiving favorites: Keto Zone Thanksgiving Menu: Keto Zone Stuffed Mushrooms Keto Zone Pumpkin Soup Keto Zone Thanksgiving Turkey with Gravy Keto Zone Cranberry Jam Keto Zone Cranberry Walnut Roasted Brussel Sprouts Keto Zone Cauliflower Mashed “Potatoes” Keto Zone Green Bean Casserole Keto Zone Thanksgiving Stuffing Keto Zone Pumpkin Cheesecake Bottom Line This Thanksgiving, consider a new recipe with new habits (ingredients). Start with daily gratitude and add daily contentment. Give your thanksgivings and anxieties to God. Then, notice the peace in your heart. Finally, let your joy shine through. Let’s make this entire Holiday Season a springboard of God’s goodness into next year. 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How to Be Happy: 15 Life-Changing Steps

AHA Publisher — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 08:00:54 +0000

Dr. Josh Axe, DC, DMN, CNS – Who doesn’t want to be happy? Aside from just feeling better on a daily basis, there is even scientific research to show us that being happy has concrete health and life benefits. As researchers point out, Positive emotions contribute to important downstream life outcomes, including friendship development, marital satisfaction, higher incomes and better physical health. People who experience frequent positive emotions have even been shown to live longer. Indeed, a recent meta-analysis of nearly 300 findings concluded that positive emotions produce success and health as much as they reflect these good outcomes. How can you be very happy? This is as much a matter of science as it is an art. Your mind is made to experience life from a place of joy and contentment. In fact, positive words and thoughts actually activate brain cells and reverse the signs and mental strain of depression. On the outside, when you see happy people, it just seems to be easy, like it’s a personality trait. But in reality, they are always choosing happiness. Choosing to see the good, letting go of what they cannot control, and allowing peace to live in their life. If you follow the 15 steps described below, there’s a good chance you can learn how to be a happier person. How to Be Happy? Happiness in its truest meaning is contentment. And contentment doesn’t start as a feeling, but as a choice to look at all that you have and all that is good in your life, and experience those good things more than you dwell on the bad. You might assume that happiness is something that some people feel based on their current circumstances — like their occupation, family, and health for example. But the more we learn about what results in happiness, the more we see that feeling happy actually requires effort and is much like a skill; with that effort, happiness is likely achievable for anyone. As science tells us, “happy people become more satisfied not simply because they feel better, but because they develop resources for living well.” • Happiness is an attitude and a choice, way more than we would like to believe. • It’s a byproduct of both releasing yourself and others from the burdens of life and choosing to live out of what you can control, rather than harping on the things you cannot. • The cool thing about happiness is that it is cumulative, meaning small feelings of daily joy can lead to significant improvements in your mood. • Happiness usually works in a cyclical pattern, with feelings of being happy leading to even more happiness. As researchers explain, “Positive emotions contribute to judgments of life satisfaction, well-being, and happiness in daily life and they are proposed to trigger upward spirals toward improved emotional well-being and happiness.” 15 Life-Changing Steps So how do you find happiness? The best habits happen in small manageable steps. Want to drink more water? Then start by adding just an extra half a glass or a full glass per day. Then add to it another half a glass the next week. Little by little you build the habit until it feels like a comfortable part of your life. Happiness works the same way! Maybe this week, you try to just decrease how much you complain, then next week, try practicing gratitude. To start your own “upward spiral” of happiness, here are 15 steps to take: 1. Choose to Be Grateful It may seem cheesy, but gratitude is a part of being happy that you have complete control over. It is so easy to complain about all the little things out of your control that frustrate you, especially if you work around a job with other people complaining about the same things. Instead, focus on the things you can control. Start with your own thoughts! Try spending five minutes every morning saying or writing down everything you are grateful for. Or, as part of healing prayer, regularly thank God for everything you have. Just fostering gratitude opens up places of joy for all that you have walked through and all the blessings that you have. This practice also helps bring attention to the things you are thankful for in your life that are going well. It’s easy to focus on the negatives sometimes; even research supports that “like any emotional state, feelings of joy, gratitude, interest, and contentment typically last only a matter of minutes…moreover, positive emotions are less intense and less attention-grabbing than negative emotions and are more quickly to diffuse.” Being swept up in financial worries, a struggling relationship or a health concern is far too common, but when we make a point to reflect on what we do have, we reap the many mood-lifting benefits of gratefulness. Studies have shown that by practicing forming “gratitude lists,” we can actually noticeably alleviate worry and boost our mood. Aim to do gratefulness practice every day if you can, either in the morning or before bed. Finding the “extraordinary in the ordinary” can lead to some serious positive changes in your life. According to one study, Gratitude is an important human strengths that contributes to subjective happiness. Grateful individuals are especially appreciative of the contribution of others to their happiness… Results imply reciprocal relationships among gratitude, subjective happiness, and good social relationships. Consequently, compared with unhappy people, happy people report close and satisfying relationships and feel more gratitude in their lives. 2. Choose to Forgive We know from studies that a major cause of depression stems from a lack of forgiving others. When we hold resentment or anger against someone that we haven’t yet forgiven, we are stuck in the past. One of the key traits that leads to happiness is living in the present moment as much as possible, instead of harping on uncontrollable events that have already taken place. If forgiveness is holding you back from experiencing joy here and now, then it’s time to release the anger you’re holding. Ask yourself, is there anyone that I haven’t forgiven? Even yourself? Sometimes, even if we have forgiven someone in our mind, it takes a few times of practice to really forgive them in our hearts. Forgiveness isn’t just forgetting, but actually releasing them from a debt that they may truly owe us. As the saying goes, refusing to forgive is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Is any grudge worth damaging your own life and happiness? Who is it that you need to forgive and let go of, so that you can move on and live your life to the fullest? Keep in mind that forgiveness is an act of kindness and compassion. Kindness towards others takes us out of our own mind and away from our own worries, plus it’s also contagious and usually leads to even more kindness. If you tend to be shy, often keep to yourself, or don’t know where you could potentially be of service, start small and keep in mind that every kind act and positive intention counts. 3. Use Positive Words Want to know how to be happy when you’re alone? If you want to learn how to be happy with yourself, start by focusing on your self-talk. Whether you are talking to yourself or others, the words you say and think have power. As it says in the Bible, “The power of life and death is in the tongue…” – (Proverbs 18:21) Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg, M.D., has been doing studies that actually prove this is true – that positivity through words can literally change your brain. He studied the brain and the effects of the spoken word or thoughts and found that even a single negative word increases activity in the amygdala, or the fear center of our brain. The body begins to release stress hormones and neurotransmitters that interrupt your brain’s normal activity. Angry words shut down the functioning ability of the frontal lobe which moderates logic and reasoning centers. Prolonged exposure to negative people or your own negative words, really can affect your ability to experience and expect joy and happiness. Research shows that speaking positive words, or even holding a positive word (like love, peace, joy, etc.) in your mind activates the frontal lobe and the motor cortex, which can move you into action and create an “upward spiral.” 4. Encourage Others Happiness is said to be contagious, as we can lift others up by demonstrating what joy is all about. Practice recognizing the best qualities that others around you have to offer, instead of focusing on their flaws. Show appreciation and respect for the good things that your family, coworkers, and friends do for you each and every day, and ultimately encourage them to seek out happiness for themselves. While it seems that encouraging others is a selfless act, being motivating and kind to those around you actually has benefits for your own happiness too. As studies suggest, “happiness is increased simply by counting one’s own acts of kindness.” Therefore, paying someone a compliment, giving them a confidence boost and recognizing their accomplishments can make your day, in addition to theirs! “A strong correlation exists between the well-being, happiness, health, and longevity of people who are emotionally and behaviorally compassionate”, states a study entitled “Altruism, happiness, and health: it’s good to be good.” 5. Be Intentional with Your Time Pay attention to how you currently spend your time each day. Start by making a list of what you do when you’ve got some free time: reading, watching TV, reaching out to family, working, exercising, etc. Write these activities down and estimate how many hours you are putting effort towards these things daily. Now write down a list of the top five things that are most important to you. How do your two lists compare? What are you spending time focusing on that isn’t serving your higher purpose, priorities, and goals? The most successful people in the world learn how to let their schedule reflect their truest priorities. If you can switch out 30 minutes of TV watching each day with 30 minutes of “you” time — maybe by taking a relaxing walk in nature (especially if you live in a city), cooking a new recipe, reading an inspirational book or trying energy healing — imagine how different your week would wind up feeling? Rewrite your schedule so that your day looks proportional to your values. Practicing time management in this way, by eliminating wasteful activities and blocking off dedicated time for the things that make you happiest, is a great way to feel more joy each and every day. “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” ― Michael Altshuler 6. Make a “Bucket List” Make a list of all of the things you’ve always wanted to do, but have been putting off for one reason for another. Interested in paddle boarding? Always wanted to try snorkeling? Prioritize the things that bring you joy and make a point to do the activities that are novel to you and would help bring you feelings of excitement and happiness, even if they seem small and trivial. When we write down our goals it makes them real. So write down your goals for the things you want to do and write down tangible steps you want to take each week, month or quarter to make this “bucket list” items a reality. As research points out, small feelings of joy add up and create a bigger sense of happiness, so don’t neglect the little things that bring a sense of accomplishment and a smile to your face. Take a risk, meet some new interesting people, and throw a bit of caution-to-the-wind if you need to. As studies tell us, “very happy people are more extroverted, more agreeable, and less neurotic.” “It’s not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes us happy.” — Charles Spurgeon 7. Examine Your...

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