speaks directly to our Human
Hearts,
as it helps us to
understand
and Living.
Heart
with all diligence,
for from it flow
the Springs of Life.”
– Proverbs 4: 23
.
The Holy Word of God
reminds us
of the Songs of our Lives.
How exquisitely Music embraces
the Beauty of Life.
The sounds of violins
and the piano and gentle flute
remind us of the Beauty of rivers and streams,
with grass so green,
and the flowers of Spring
reaching ever upwards
toward our Hearts.
.
The Beauty of God’s Blessings
brought forth
through His Precious Word
and our poignant music,
bring back so many fond
memories,
some made
and others
to be made.
Every Breath
you take
is a Song
you sing.
The Songs
of our Lives
provide the Music
that heals the Soul.
.
They emanate from
Perfection
expressive of the Love
of God.
My Friend,
you are very special.
.
The years
passed away earlier
Today.
And here
you are.
Precious
beyond Belief.
Eternal
in God’s Love
for you.
God never tires
of hearing you
sing the Song
of your Life.
Sensational are both
you
and the singing Angels.
From the beginning
of your precious Being,
the World has changed.
We have changed.
But,
in the air
the Birds are still singing.
.
By the Will of God,
generations
of mathematically impossible odds
conspired to bring
the Masterpiece that is
YOU
to Being.
And into the Setting Sun
will play the Music
of your Life,
as the precious Memory of you
is carried on
to the distant shores
of all the others
who will carry on.
Under
the Shadow
of your healing Smiles,
others will
find shelter
from the storms
of Life.
.
When you Dream
of Heaven,
the Lord is
there.
.
“For God speaks again and again,
though people do not recognize it.
He speaks in Dreams, in Visions of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they lie in their beds.
He whispers in their ears.”
– Job 33:14-16
The Journeys of our
brief Lives
travel from our thoughts
and our Dreams,
to the lessons of Life.
They abide
within the uncertainties
that are a part
of imperfect reality.
.
But let us remember
all the Beautiful Love
that God surrounds us with.
Not a day,
nary a night goes by
that you cannot feel Him
in your Heart,
in your Soul.
Venture
into the Beautiful Cathedral
of God,
into the woods,
into His Home,
into your Home.
Go
where the Trees
uplift every Spirit.
.
Slowly
close your eyes,
feel the wind blowing gentle in the breeze,
and imagine Him
wrapping His Arms
around YOU.
.
He is.
.
Whatever is truly Real
is projected
from
your Heart and Mind
and out into the vast and Beautiful
Universe
around us.
Reality
is centered
within.
And there is
a reason –
so is
God.
“Just beyond the thinking mind
is an unending field of Love
and quiet Beauty.
One can lie down there,
and live in Eternity.
This field cannot be seen by the mind,
it cannot be known
by the mind;
it can only be
felt
and found with the Heart.”
– Robert Rabbin
Tomorrow
is written by the Prayers
we Pray
today.
“The diversity in the Human Family
should be the cause of
Love and Harmony,
as it is in Music
where many different notes
blend together
in the making of a perfect chord.”
– ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
YOU
are an incredible work of Art
with a whole World
of your awareness,
created by the essence
of your Eternal
Being.
You
are among the most Beautiful
expressions of Life and Love
ever created in the history of Creation.
.
You
possess the innate ability
to express the highest of ideals
in the Eternal quest for LOVE
in its purest form.
.
You
are an awesome Creation,
a Beautiful epic
in an adventure
of God’s Creation
that is privileged to experience
your Lifetime
in the Beautiful World
He Created
for you.
.
Goodnight.
.
“Feel the Magic
and the wonders of this Beautiful World,
so perfect in every way
of this Creation by the Creator
our Lord God.
We really are lucky to be here
on this Earth,
and be part of this Beautiful World.
We must take care our planet.
It is the Heart of our Soul.”
– Alejandro Martinez
The Surprising Benefits of Clean Eating
Eating unprocessed food is a great way to improve your overall diet, but proponents say it can also do great things for your mental health.
By Matthew Solan
Erica learned the hard way how food affects her physical and mental health. Ten years ago, she worked in the high-pressure, go-go-go TV industry. Meals were devoured in minutes. Drinking two cans of Coke a day was the norm.
The work stress became overwhelming, and she soon left. But it wasn’t until later that she made the connection between what she ate and how it made her feel.
“I was not happy and my job at that time was no longer rewarding,” she says, “but I came to understand how my eating habits and choices had contributed to that.”
Erica realized that her food choices had aggravated her episodes of stress – and, conversely, that her stress had contributed to poor food choices.
“When I adopted a clean eating diet, where I cut out the processed and comfort foods, I immediately noticed a change not only in my mood, but how I reacted when things went wrong,” Erica says.
“No longer was my instinct to reach for the chips, soda, or ice cream.”
Less packaged, more whole
The term “clean eating” is trendy nowadays.
An entire magazine is devoted to the subject. From TV chef Curtis Stone and Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey to actresses Anne Hathaway and Jessica Alba, a slew of personalities and celebrities swear by clean eating.
But what does it mean exactly?
“Without all the excess sugar from processed foods and dairy, I had much less of the mental ups and downs that can happen when faced with daily stress.”
“There are a lot of different interpretations, and no one fixed definition,” says
Pamela Fergusson, RD, PhD, a registered dietitian and consultant with Fresh Start Nutrition in Toronto.
“But generally, it refers to eating less processed foods and more whole foods.”
That means food in its natural or near-natural state, with minimal or no added chemicals, additives, or refined sugar. Ideally, what you eat should not be processed, or minimally processed, allowing it to retain high amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients.
One way to approach clean eating is to skip anything that comes in a box, can, or similar packaging.
But there are exceptions.
“For instance, beans come in cans that may add a little extra salt for flavor and preservation, but they are still beans, which are a nutritious whole food,” Fergusson notes.
You can ID processed foods as those that undergo changes from their natural state: think instant oatmeal instead of steel-cut oats, or French fries instead of whole potatoes.
Sound simple?
For the most part, it is.
“Clean eating encourages eating more of the right kind of foods without thinking about low-fat, low-calorie, or low-carb,” says Fergusson.
If you follow a particular eating plan – including a vegetarian, vegan or Paleo diet – you can still incorporate clean eating into your regimen. Just make a point to avoid processed staples.
For instance, vegetarians may enjoy frozen veggie burgers, but they don’t meet the guidelines of clean eating. Vegans may opt for soy cheese, but that’s often made with additives and preservatives.
Food-mood connection
Clean eating can have a positive impact on your mood. Indeed, research is beginning to demonstrate how our food choices—not just what we eat, but what we don’t eat—can influence how we think and feel.
The scientific connection between our brain and food is an intertwining path, but here’s an abbreviated version:
When you get stressed, the body goes into fight-or-flight mode, releasing the hormones adrenal and cortisol to combat the stressful event. This reaction typically suppresses our appetite.
If stress persists, however, and you find yourself in a constant state of worry, anxiety, or prolonged exposure to stressful situations, these hormones overload the body and cause heightened inflammation and negative emotions.
“The worse someone feels, the more likely they will seek comfort,” explains Eva Selhub, MD, author of the books Your Health Destiny, The Love Response and Your Brain on Nature.
“Food can act as that comfort, which is why we call foods high in fat and sugar ‘comfort foods.’”
While it can make people feel better in the short term, comfort food serves only as a temporary fix, Selhub warns.
“You find yourself craving more feel-good foods to help fight the stress,” she says. “High amounts of these trans fats and high-sugar foods can further flame inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain, which creates more mental fog and depression.”
Healthy diet, enhanced mood
While your diet can contribute to stress, it may also control how your brain responds to them.
That’s why the goal of clean eating is to eliminate unhealthy “feel-good” food and replace it with natural choices that can actually promote greater brain health.
Studies have found that people who follow the Mediterranean diet, for example – which includes plenty of whole vegetables and fruits, unprocessed grains, fish, and other seafood – have a 25%-35% lower risk of depression compared with those who follow a typical “Western” diet high in processed and refined foods.
One reason that a diet abundant in natural-state foods benefits your brain and mood is that these foods contain high amounts of antioxidants, which have been shown to not only soothe inflammation and oxidative stress but help prevent it in the first place.
A “sweeter” outlook, naturally
If you battle unhealthy cravings as part of your stress, clean eating is a way to break free from your dependence.
Taylor, co-owner of St. Pete Strength and Conditioning in Florida, turned to clean eating when he became more dedicated to his weight-training regimen.
His approach: stick with foods close to their natural state, which helped eliminate high amounts of refined sugar in his diet.
Taylor says he noticed an almost instant change for the better.
“I’m detailed-oriented, I sweat the small stuff, and I get stressed easily. But the clean eating helps me stay more focused and not get sidetracked with distractions.”
Taylor pointed to cutting out sugar, a feeder of inflammation, as the main factor for his improved outlook.
“Without all the excess sugar from processed foods and dairy, I have much less of the mental ups and downs that can happen when faced with daily stress. I’m much better able to go with the flow,” he says.
Another advantage to clean eating is that it can expand your palate, so you’re not always stuck in a food rut.
“Clean eating encourages eating more of the right kind of foods without thinking about low-fat, low-calorie, or low-carb.”
“Clean eating is more about what you can have rather than what you can’t have,” says Rebecca Katz, MS, author of The Healthy Mind Cookbook.
“You’ll discover that when you eliminate a lot of processed ingredients, you’ll add more fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats that can turn into Technicolor meals full of bright greens, reds, and yellows.”
For her part, Erica discovered the many wonders of kale through clean eating.
“I learned that it was such a nutrient-rich food, and there were many ways to use it,” she says. “I use it in my breakfast smoothie, on lunchtime sandwiches, and as a side dish for dinner.”
Keep in mind that clean eating is designed to be flexible, so your healthy efforts will not collapse if you take a day off. If anything, the mental benefits of clean eating make it easier to rebound without guilt or stress.
“Now if I slip up, even over a few days, I’m aware of it and can more easily get back on track,” says Erica. “I don’t stress about it. That’s what’s so great about making positive change – it stays with you.”
Tips to Get Started
Here are some tips for making the move into clean eating:
Begin with breakfast. It’s a smaller meal and easier to prepare. Replace processed cereal with oatmeal, or a smoothie made with almond milk, greens, and frozen fruit.
Plan your meals. Organize and prep your meals for the week over the weekend. Have your fruits and vegetables chopped and stored in a container ready to go. It’s easier to reach into the fridge and grab what you need than to feel overwhelmed trying to prepare an entire meal from scratch.
Make a sweep of your kitchen. Get rid of processed foods lurking in your cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer. “This frees up space for you to add healthier alternatives that make cooking much more efficient,” says Katz.
Examples of “Clean Eating” Foods
The focus of clean eating is to consume more whole foods in their natural state and to avoid heavily processed foods.
When in doubt, read the label. “The ingredient list should be short and recognizable,” says Katz. “If you can’t say them, don’t eat them.”
Avoid anything with chemical-sounding names or phrases like “artificial coloring” and “flavors.” Here are a few examples of food staples that make up clean eating, according to Katz:
- Healthy fats such as olive oil, grass-fed butter, and coconut oil
- Fresh fruits – or canned, frozen, or dried fruit with no added sugar
- Fresh vegetables—or canned or frozen vegetables with no added sauces or salt
- Nuts like almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, and walnuts
- Organic or vegetarian eggs
- Unrefined grains, like whole-grain wheat bread and pasta, non-microwave popcorn, steel-cut oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, and whole-wheat flour
- Canned beans and legumes with little or no added salt (rinsing can reduce sodium by 35%)
- Plain yogurt
- Plain nut butters
- Unsweetened almond or cashew milk
- Organic or grass-fed meat, including beef and chicken
- Fresh or frozen fish, including Pacific cod, salmon, and tilapia
- Herbs and spices such as turmeric, basil, rosemary, cinnamon, and ginger
Cooking Tip
How you prepare your food can also help you eat clean. Stick with flash-cook methods like stir-frying and steaming, which lock in more vitamins and minerals. Avoid high-fat cooking techniques, like deep frying or stewing your food in animal or vegetable fats.
Printed as “Clean Eating”, Winter 2017
Tagged with: clean eating, diet, eating, healthy, highlights, Matthew Solan, Wellness, winter 2017
About the author: Matthew Solan
Matthew Solan is a health writer in St. Petersburg, Florida (matthewsolan.com).
Anderson Private School
School Calendar
2019-2020
.
Second Semester Jan. 7 – May 22
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April 28 (Tuesday) Trip to Scarborough Renaissance Festival
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(to be announced later) for In-service Training.
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