Improve Your Health with Almonds and Kelli

What should you be snacking on? If you are looking to improve your health and shrink your waistline the answer is almonds! A new study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association offers up some compelling reasons why almonds should be our go to snack.

During the study two groups of participants who all had high LDL (bad cholesterol) levels each followed a healthy diet for 12 weeks. During the first six weeks, one group enjoyed a 1.5-ounce portion of almonds for a snack, while the other group ate a carbohydrate-rich muffin for a snack. Aside from the snack, the two groups had the same diet. The groups switched snacks for the second six weeks but again otherwise followed the same diet. Researchers found that when the two groups snacked on the almonds rather than the muffins, they reduced both their LDL and total cholesterol levels. Plus, eating the almonds raised their HDL (good) cholesterol levels, while eating the muffin decreased HDL levels.

What’s more is that even though overall body weight did not change when participants were snacking on almonds versus muffins, their belly fat and waist circumference went down.

And get this: both the muffin and the portion of almonds contained nearly the same number of calories (273 and 253, respectively) and both diets had the same overall number of calories. This evidence shows strong support for the argument that it’s the quality of calories that make for a healthy diet, not just quantity. The fact that almonds are rich in protein, fiber, and vitamin E —nutrients muffins score much lower in—most likely played a role in the results of this study. So next time you reach for a snack, think: nutrient-rich!

Want to learn more on how to make your diet fit your life and reach your goals?

Learn about a new 8 Week Program that starts May 6th thru June 24th! This includes nutrition coaching with in person weekly meetings and webinars. Take the challenge and get fit by JULY 4th. More info about Kelli's coaching services here click here.

REGISTER HERE - May 6th coaching at Sana Vita Studio

6 Compelling Reasons to Meditate

Meditation: Why it is good for your Mental and Physical Health

Meditation is the art of focusing 100% of your attention in one area. In the area of mindfulness meditation we're starting to get a better understanding of why it seems to be beneficial for so many aspects of life, from disease and pain management, to sleep, to control of emotions. What is Mindfulness exactly, as described by Perspectives on Psychological Science Study mindfulness is a "the nonjudgmental awareness of experiences in the present moment"

Here are 6 compelling reasons to begin a meditation practice:

• IT LOWERS STRESS - LITERALLY - Research published in the journal of Health Psychology shows that mindfulness is not only associated with feeling less stressed, its also linked with decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
• IT CHANGES THE BRAIN IN A PROTECTIVE WAY - University of Oregon researchers found that integrative body-mind training -- which is a meditation technique -- can actually result in brain changes that may be protective against mental illness. The meditation practice was linked with increased signaling connections in the brain, something called axonal density, as well as increased protective tissue (myelin) around the axons in the anterior cingulate brain region.
• IT MAKES MUSIC SOUND BETTER -  Mindfulness meditation improves our focused engagement in music, helping us to truly enjoy and experience what we're listening to, according to a study in the journal Psychology of Music. 
• IT SUPPORTS YOUR WEIGHT-LOSS GOALS - Trying to shed a few pounds to get to a healthier weight? Mindfulness could be your best friend, according to a survey of psychologists conducted by Consumer Reports and the American Psychological Association. Mindfulness training was considered an "excellent" or "good" strategy for weight loss by seven out of 10 psychologists in the survey. 
• IT HELPS US EVEN WHEN WE'RE NOT ACTIVELY PRACTICING IT - You don't have to actually be meditating for it to still benefit your brain's emotional processing. That's the finding of a study in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, which shows that the amygdala brain region's response to emotional stimuli is changed by meditation, and this effect occurs even when a person isn't actively meditating.
• IT MAKES YOU A BETTER PERSON - Sure, we love all the things meditation does for us. But it could also benefit people we interact with, by making us more compassionate, according to a study in the journal Psychological Science. Researchers from Northeastern and Harvard universities found that meditation is linked with more virtuous, "do-good" behavior.

Interested in starting a meditation practice?  Be realistic in your expectations. Training or taming the mind is a skill to develop over a lifetime. Sure, there are some immediate benefits to be found, but some take longer than others. If expectations are too high then you may well feel disappointed and demotivated at some stage. So just take one day at a time. 
A wonderful method to try is simply breathing! Breathing Meditation: This technique takes those pre-yoga class "Oms" to the next level. Also called yogic breathing or Pranayama, this meditation style is all about controlling the inhales and exhales. Greatist Expert Dr. Jeffrey Rubin explains, "Longer exhales tend to be calming, while longer inhales are energizing. For meditative purposes either the ratio of exhale to inhale is even or the exhale is longer than the inhale for a calming effect."

Interested in exploring meditation a bit more, come try Candlelight Yin Yoga Sunday evenings 7:00PM-8:30PM at Sana Vita Studio.  This meditative style of yoga holds postures for longer lengths of time, increasing flexibility, melting away tension, decreasing feelings of stress and anxiety, and increasing a sense of calmness and peacefulness. CLICK HERE for more information of to sign up!

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