Gut feeling
Let's not bury the lead. Neuroscientist Peter Strick discovered a connection between the adrenal glands, the brain, and the body's postural muscles to determine how strengthening your core using methods such as pilates and yoga significantly decreases stress. In a recent TED Radio Hour podcast entitled 'Body Electric Part 4: Below the Belt', Strick makes the connection and suggests that short postural adjustments and ab-strengthening exercises can significantly impact your fight or flight response. As a side dish, I'm sending along a ten-minute core yoga video with Kassandra - I reviewed a few of them and this one has fewer opportunities to compromise your back but please use your judgement here. Talk to me if you need help finding a different core starting point.
Further, in 'The Recipe for a Nourished Brain', Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to Nutritional Psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidoo about what foods really do and do not impact our brain health and mood. Some may say it's taking 'food as medicine' a step too far, but it also might be a helpful nudge toward more whole foods. The research regarding yogurt was fascinating, especially because, like eggs, yogurt has had a ‘good for you one moment/not good for you the next’ reputation.